Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1900-02-16

nothing nau ever Dccu thheu, MOI souiu
the most diligsnt search bring TO light
any traces Of the presence OF thief.
Both John and Bert were miserable.
When rhe noon intermission came, the
bows, as usual, CARRIED their lunch out |
under great oak tree that stood at the |
roadside n little way OF. or course |
they discussed the knife.
ut must have been stolen" John said, |
as he deity peeled <he shell from .
hard-boiled egg.
Think soT'
Ii was Charlie Smith who spoke, and
there was such an unmistakable sheer
In his voice that Johns face Redeemed.
"Well, l guess the thief aln't far Of"
what do you msanP"
Charlie waited to take a 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 i said"
John sprang up, his eyes blazing.
do you mean that / stole the knife,
Charlie Smith? Dare TO say 1t, and I'll
| lick you. i IN no tnle1.
Didn't say you WERE" Charlie de-
| clared. a little hastily. ITS strange
where that knife went TO, though"
John could not deny this, neither
could ne 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 t~e knife was laid 10
him Voicing his resentment only made
matters worse. One thing comfortcd
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. A 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 az
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
-.... ,as ;Al--R ,..tA ..,.l si,.4.t. T.
clever stroke Of Rert's sent the ball fly
ing through the ar. II rose, passed
THROUGH ONO of tie P=ues Of GLASS IN The
tiny window of the -"hoolhouse lot and
disappeared from sight. \ moment
later Miss LAIR looked up from her book
into Bert's flushed Face.
, -
5 battcd the ball through the upstairs
window III pay for the glass It's
Charles ball, & new one. Can VIC SC
up and get ito"
As the mischief was already done, Ag-
ues Larr saw no reason Why she should
scold about it. She gave permission foI
The boys TO ascend TO The loft. The
only way this could be done was to place
a chair ON desk, stand upon this, and
3 putting one hand on each side Of The
opening in the ceiling, swing up. This
+ was not a difficult task for these strong
Il active boys. In n few moments John
Charlie and Bert were in the loft, anC
only the teacher. commands prevented
10 the other boys from following. The.
peered about in the dim light, STOPPING
y TO avoid the rafters.
"IIercs the balL" Bert cried. why
" look here boys; what's this"
> lie pointed to an opening in the wal
Tho newt moment tho" all eVr9o| "c"i
- for from the creyice tiny ANNA
sprang, ran across the room and disaI
peared in n hole.
~ gray squirrel" Charlie shouted
II knew they had a nest up here"
] inc chudr,n were accustomed 10 ha'
\ ing their rccitations interrupted 10y tn
? curious chattc4.u. -> H.''- g."
mails. and often caught glimpses {
\ them as they hurried 10 or from the1
\ strange home.
\ Little ones are grown up and gon
amt thcy?" John asked.
II Charlie stopped down and looked.
II Eyes. There's nothing here but nu
il shells and-what's that
i lie inserted his hand in the openin
II 4 moment later he was extending
a towards his companions There, in u
4 upturned palm, lay the missing knit
i For moment no one spoke. Then Jol
said, quietly:
81 am glad"
And I" Charlie commenced, thu
TX stopped. 1--WE got something TO cay
he went on, but guess I'll wait un
his we get down"
It'll The boys climbed down. There we
Ter many ordinations of wonder, much {
he guing as to why the squirrel shou
er. have carried off the knife, and arg
nd mcnts 10 prove that il was lighter tn
TO some nuts. At last there came lull
ng the conversation, and Charles held c
his hand to John.
Use. I'm sorry and ashamed that hint
ais that you were thief, old fellow. f.
in give me. won't you?"
ats As he was cleared OF suspicion, 10
Der. found il easy to do this. The myste
ort was solved, and the thief was allow
1T 10 go unpunished.-Det Free Pre-
hen "
ned An Atheist Chief Justice.
end Sir Robert Stout, the new chief J