"But you had nothing to do with it. Oh, Bert, what made you run away at all. Why didn't you stop and tell the truth?"
"I—I got scared, that's why. I was afraid he'd get a policeman."
"Danny ought to own up that he did it."
"He won't do it. He'll put it off on me if he can,—because I chased him in the first place."
"Did Mr. Ringley know it was you?"
"I don't know. Now, Nan, remember, you promised not to tell."
"All right, Bert, I won't say a word. But—but—what do you think Mr. Ringley will do?"
"I don't know."
When they reached the school Danny Rugg was nowhere to be seen. The boys continued to have fun snowballing, but Bert had no heart for play and went to his classroom immediately. But he could not put his mind on his lessons and missed both in geography and arithmetic.
"Bert, you are not paying attention," said the teacher severely. "You just said the capi-
