"You brutal ruffian!" shrieked Mrs. Tootle. "How dare you touch my
child? You shall answer for this in the police court, sir."

"Waymark," cried her husband, who had struggled to the scene through
the crowd of cheering boys, "what's the meaning of this? You forget
yourself, sir. Who gave you authority to use corporal chastisement?"

"The boy has long deserved a good thrashing," he said, "and I'm glad
I lost my temper sufficiently to give him a portion of his deserts.
If you wish to know the immediate cause, it simply was that he threw
a book at his governess's head and hit her."

"Mr. O'Gree," called out the doctor, "take your boys back to their
duties, sir! I am quite unable to understand this disgraceful lack
of discipline. Every boy who is not at his seat in one minute will
have five hundred verses of the Psalms to write out!--Mr. Waymark,
I shall be obliged to you if you will step into my study."

Five minutes after, Waymark was closeted with Dr. Tootle. The latter
had all at once put off his appearance of indignation.

"Really," he began, "it's a great pity you let yourself be carried
away like that. I think it very probable indeed that Felix deserved
castigation of some kind, but you would have done much better to
report him to me, you know, and let me see to it. You have put me in
an awkward position. I fear you must make an apology to Mrs. Tootle,
and then perhaps the matter can be allowed to blow over."

"I think not," replied Waymark, whose mind was evidently made up.
There was a look of recklessness on his face which one could at any