that had befallen him that he could find no words in which to
express his feelings.

But that was not all, I can tell you. The boys were full of the
new idea; and strange as it may seem, the more kind things they
saw done, the more they were anxious to do themselves, and nearly
all the objectionable pastimes they had formerly engaged in were
laid aside. No one ever went fishing just for the pleasure of
throwing the panting, struggling fish on the grass; no one ever
tormented frogs, or pulled the wings off the poor flies nowadays.

The boys of the Hill-top school had taken all living things under
their protection, and you may be sure that they put down all kinds
of thoughtless cruelty.

It was just a year from the day on which they made their bargain
with Mr. Patterson that the fountain was set up. It was shrouded
in a great flag until it should be finally unveiled.

It was a great day in the village, I can tell you. Never before
had the Hill-top schoolboys been so looked up to. The fountain was
their gift to the village. They had earned it faithfully and well.
They were all there, drawn up in a circle about the fountain,--
Ralph and Dick and Tommy and Master Sunshine, and all the other
pupils of the school. Close by were gathered their relatives and
friends; for the formal unveiling was felt to be a most important
matter, and the whole village had turned out to witness the
ceremony.

Mrs. Norton was looking very pleased and happy over some words