tongue to detect his gross mistakes.

After a time came recess. Hector wished to arrange the books in his
desk, and did not go out.

Mr. Crabb came up to his desk and said: "Roscoe, I must compliment you
on your scholarship. You enter at the head. You are in advance of all
the other members of the class."

"Thank you, sir," said Hector, gratified.

"There is one member of the class who is not competent to remain in it."

"Yes, sir; I observed that."

"But he is unwilling to join a lower class. It is a trial to me to hear
his daily failures, but, perhaps, he would do no better anywhere else.
He would be as incompetent to interpret Caesar as Virgil, I am afraid."

"So I should suppose, sir."

"By the way, Roscoe," said the usher, hurriedly; "let me caution you
against irritating Smith. He is the principal's nephew, and so we give
him more scope."

"He seems to me a bully," said Hector.

"So he is."

"I can't understand why the boys should give in to him as they do."

"He is taller and stronger than the other boys. Besides, he is backed up
by the principal. I hope you won't get into difficulty with him."

"Thank you, Mr. Crabb. Your caution is kindly meant, but I am not afraid
of this Jim--Smith. I am quite able to defend myself if attacked."

"I hope so," said the usher; but he scanned Hector's physical
proportions doubtfully, and it was very clear that he did not think him
a match for the young tyrant of the school.

Meanwhile, Jim Smith and his schoolfellows were amusing themselves in
the playground.

"Where's that new fellow?" asked Jim, looking back to see whether he had
come out.

"He didn't come out," said Bates.

Jim nodded his head vigorously:

"Just as I expected," he said. "He knows where he is well off."

"Do you think he was afraid to come?" asked Bates.

"To be sure he was. He knew what to expect."

"Are you going to thrash him?" asked Johnson.

"I should say I might."

"He's a very good Latin scholar," remarked Wilkins.

"He thinks he is!" sneered Jim.

"So Mr. Crabb appears to think."

"That for old Crabb!" said Jim, contemptuously, snapping his fingers.
"He don't know much himself. I've caught him in plenty of mistakes."

This was certainly very amusing, considering Smith's absolute ignorance
of even the Latin rudiments, but the boys around him did not venture to
contradict him.

"But it don't make any difference whether he knows Latin or not,"
proceeded Jim. "He has