A compulsory ride--Merited retribution--A sad plight for a proud
boy--Laughter and ridicule--Oscar's neatness and love of dress--The
patched jacket--Oscar's objections to it--Benny Wright, the boy of many
patches--His character--The jacket question peremptorily settled--A
significant shake of the head--A watch wanted--Why boys carry
watches--Punctuality--Oscar's tardiness at school--The real cause of
it--Thinking too much of outside appearances--Character of more
consequence than cloth--An offer--The conditions--A hard question--How to
accomplish an object--Oscar's waywardness--Boarding-school
discipline--The High School--An anticipated novelty.


CHAPTER XI.

THE MORAL LESSON.

Oscar's shrewdness--His reputation for integrity--A new
want--Perplexity--A chance for speculation--A dishonest
device--Its success--Secrecy--The fraud discovered--Oscar's
defence--Restitution refused--Indignation--The Monday morning
lesson in morals--Dishonesty--Rectifying mistakes--The principle
unfolded--Restoring lost articles--A case for Oscar to decide--His
reluctant decision--Taking advantage of another's ignorance--Duty of
restitution--Other forms of dishonesty--Better to be cheated than to
cheat--Effect of the lesson upon Oscar.


CHAPTER XII.

SICKNESS.