The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-09-08


they discussed the knife.
Tt must have been stolen" John said,
as he deity peeled the shell from q
hard-boiled egg.
think so?''
It was Charlie Smith who spoke, and
there was such an unmistakable sheer
in his voice that Johns face reddened.
swell, I guess the thief amt far off,
What do you mean?"
Charlie waited to take huge bite
from the molasses cookie he held in his
hand before replying. The other boys
held their breath. There was no sound
save the signing of the wind in the
green leaves far above their heads.
, Just what said" ~
John sprang up, his eyes blazing.
do you mean that stole the knife,
Charlie Smith? Dare to say it, and I'll
lick you. I'm no thief"
"Didn't say you were," Charlie de-
clared, little hastily. cts strange
where that knife went to, though"
John could not deny this, neither
could he force quarrel upon his school
mate. Yet he plainly saw that suspi-
cion was directed towards himself. His
position was a difficult one. He felt
that the taking of the knife was laid to
him. Voicing his resentment only made
matters worse. One thing comforted
him-Bert believed him innocent. The
parents of the boys were warm friends,
and while Elsie Miller greatly regretted
losing her knife, she never thought
John guilty of theft.
Weeks passed by. At that time the
so-called summer term" of school was
continued through all the hot weather.
AS the work on the farms increased, the
older boys were obliged to remain at
home and help.
Late in August there came rainy
morning, and the pupils were again all
in their places. Before noon the sun
was shining. The boys hurried through
their dinner, as they had planned a
game of ball. The air was cool, and the
game was played with much spirit. A
clever stroke of Bert's sent the ball fly
ing through the air. It rose, passed
through one of the panes of glass in the
tiny window of the schoolhouse loft and
disappeared from sight. A moment
later Miss LAIR looked up from her book
into Bert's flushed face.
''Please, teacher, I'm sorry, but I've
batted the ball through the upstairs
window. I'll pay for the glass. It's
Charles ball, a new one. Can we 90
up and get it?''
AS the mischief was already done, Ag-
mes LAIR saw no reason why she should
scold about it. She gave permission for
the boys to ascend to the loft. The
only way this could be done was to place
chair on desk, stand upon this, and,
putting one hand on each side of the
opening in the ceiling, swing up. This
was not difficult task for these strong,
active boys. In few moments John,
Charlie and Bert were in the loft, and
only the teachers commands prevented
the other boys from following. They
peered about in the dim light, stopping
to avoid the rafters.
Here's the BALI" Bert cried. 'Why,
look here, boys; what's this?''
He pointed to an opening in the wall.
The next moment they all sprang back,
for from the crevice tiny animal
sprang, ran across the room and disap-
peared in hole.
"A gray SQUIRREL" Charlie shouted.
II knew they had nest up here"
- The children were accustomed to hav-
ing their recitations interrupted by the
curious chattering of these little ami
mails, and often caught glimpses of
them as they hurried to or from their
strange home.
Little ones are grown up and gone,
amt they?" John asked.
Charlie stopped down and looked.
Yes. There's nothing here but nut
shells and-what's that?"
He inserted his hand in the opening.
A moment later he WIS extending Il
towards his companions. There, in the
upturned palm, lay the missing knife.
For moment no one spoke. Then John
said, quietly:
II am glad"
"And l." Charlie commenced. then
stopped. ''I've got something to saw"
he went on, "but guess I'll wait until
we get down.
The boys climbed down. There were
many EXPLANATIONS of wonder, much ar
guing as to why the squirrel should
have carried off the knife, and argu-
ments to prove that it was lighter than
some nuts. At last there came lull in
the conversation. and Charles held out
his hand to John.
I'm sorry and ashamed that limited
that you were thief, old fellow. For
give me, won't you?"
AS he was cleared of suspicion, John
found it easy to do this. The mystery
was solved, and the thief was allowed
to go npunished.-Detroit Free Press.