that are chasing me."

Nick found he could gain nothing; but he believed the sister was right
and the brother wrong, as afterward proved to be the case.

There were no more houses between his own home and the school building,
and Nick resumed his dog trot, never halting until he came in front of a
little whitewashed cottage just beyond the stone school-house.

The latter stood at the cross roads, and the cottage to the left was
where the teacher, Mr. Layton, an old bachelor, lived with his two
maiden sisters.

Mr. Layton, although strict to severity in the school-room, was a
kind-hearted man and was fond of the Ribsam children, for they were
bright, cheerful, and obedient, and never gave him any trouble, as did
some of his other pupils. He listened to Nick's story, and his sympathy
was aroused at once.

"I am very sorry," said he, "that your good father and mother, not to
mention yourself, should be so sorely troubled; but I hope this is not
serious. Nellie came to me about three o'clock and asked whether I would
let her go home."

"Was she sick?" asked the distressed brother.

"Not at all; but she said you had gone to Dunbarton in your carriage and
she wanted to meet you coming back. She knew her lessons perfectly, and
Nellie is such a good girl that I felt that I could not refuse so simple
a request. So I told her she could go. I saw her start homeward with her