was a very nice one with a pearl handle, and he could not afford to
lose it. Every one looked, and every one declared they knew
nothing about it. ‘This young gentleman had it last, and seemed to
want it very much. Are you quite sure you put it back?’ said the
man to Lewis, who was much troubled at the loss, and vowed over
and over again that he did return it. His denials seemed to do no
good, however, for every one was sure he had taken it, and after a
stormy scene Miss Crane paid for it, and the man went grumbling
away.”
“Did Lewis have it?” cried Nat, much excited.
“You will see. Now poor Lewis had another trial to bear, for the
boys were constantly saying, ‘Lend me your pearl-handled knife,
Gooseberry,’ and things of that sort, till Lewis was so unhappy he
begged to be sent home. Miss Crane did her best to keep the boys
quiet, but it was hard work, for they would tease, and she could not
be with them all the time. That is one of the hardest things to teach
boys; they won’t ‘hit a fellow when he is down,’ as they say, but
they will torment him in little ways till he would thank them to
fight it out all round.”
“I know that,” said Dan.
“So do I,” added Nat, softly.
Jack said nothing, but he quite agreed; for he knew that the elder
boys despised him, and let him alone for that very reason.
“Do go on about poor Lewis, Aunt Jo. I don’t believe he took the
knife, but I want to be sure,” said Daisy, in great anxiety.
“Well, week after week went on and the matter was not cleared up.
The boys avoided Lewis, and he, poor fellow, was almost sick with
the trouble he had brought upon himself. He resolved never to tell
another lie, and tried so hard that Miss Crane pitied and helped
him, and really came at last to believe that he did not take the
knife. Two months after the peddler’s first visit, he came again,
and the first thing he said was
“‘Well, ma’am, I found that knife after all. It had slipped behind the
lining of my valise, and fell out the other day when I was putting in
a new stock of goods. I thought I’d call and let you know, as you
paid for it, and maybe would like it, so here it is.’ ”
“The boys had all gathered round, and at these words they felt
much ashamed, and begged Lewis’ pardon so heartily that he could
not refuse to give it. Miss Crane presented the knife to him, and he
kept it many years to remind him of the fault that had brought him
so much trouble.”
“I wonder why it is that things you eat on the sly hurt you, and
don’t when you eat them at table,” observed Stuffy, thoughtfully.
“Perhaps your conscience affects your stomach,” said Mrs. Jo,
smiling at his speech.
“He is thinking of the cucumbers,” said Ned, and a gale of
merriment followed the words, for Stuffy’s last mishap had been a
funny one.
He ate two large cucumbers in private, felt very ill, and confided
his anguish to Ned, imploring him to do something. Ned
good-naturedly recommended a mustard plaster and a hot flat iron
to the feet; only in applying these remedies he reversed the order
of things, and put the plaster on the feet, the flat iron on the
stomach, and poor Stuffy was found in the barn with blistered
soles and a scorched jacket.
“Suppose you tell another story, that was such an interesting one,”
said Nat, as the laughter subsided.
Before Mrs. Jo could refuse these insatiable Oliver Twists, Rob
walked into the room trailing his little bed-cover after him, and
wearing an expression of great sweetness as he said, steering
straight to his mother as a sure haven of refuge,
“I heard a great noise, and I thought sumfin dreffle might have
happened, so I came to see.”
“Did you think I would forget you, naughty boy?” asked his
mother, trying to look stern.