"Why, more than anyone else in the world, sir."

"She is keeping you here at considerable expense. Don't you think
you owe it to her to pay more attention to your studies?"

"Yes, Doctor, and I am going to do better hereafter."

"How will your mother feel when she hears of this chicken-stealing
episode?"

"Oh! Doctor; she mustn't hear of it that way. We didn't think of it
as stealing last night, but this morning Ned and I talked about it
and we are going to see Farmer Field and tell him what we did and
pay for the chicken."

"Do you mean, Dick," and the good doctor's voice shook a little as
he asked the question, "that you and Ned decided to tell Farmer
Field about the taking of his chicken, before you knew that I had
heard of your camping out?"

"Why, yes, sir. I supposed Ned had told you."

"Your friend Ned is rather a curious boy, but when you are in doubt
about the right and wrong of anything, you might do worse than ask
his advice."

"Oh! I get enough of that without asking for it," said Dick.

And the doctor laughed, but he soon looked pretty serious again, and
said: