soon forget it. It isn't for his interest to insult a man who has
the power to annoy him that I possess."

"Haven't you got a mortgage on his farm?"

"Yes, and at a proper time I shall remind him of it. But to come
back to your own affairs. What was the prize given to young
Frost?"

"A blue-and-gold copy of Whittier's Poems, in two volumes."

"Plain binding, I suppose."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. The next time I go to Boston, I will buy you the same
thing bound in calf. I don't intend that you shall suffer by your
teacher's injustice."

"It wasn't so much the prize that I cared for," said John, who
felt like making the most of his father's favorable mood, "but
you know you promised me twenty-five dollars if I gained it."

"And as you have been defrauded of it, I will give you thirty
instead," said the squire promptly.

John's eyes sparkled with delight. "Oh, thank you, sir!" he said.
"I wouldn't change places with Frank Frost now for all his
prize."