teacher meadows read this remarkable letter as though uncertain whether he were asleep or awake. it would be difficult to describe the effect on the “audience.” they were not particularly emotional people, but this letter seemed to affect them strongly.
poor will! his cup of sorrow was full! the first words told him the mistake he had made, and he listened, with the anguish of despair, while teacher meadows read on remorselessly to the end. he could neither creep under his seat nor steal out of the apartment. he knew that every eye was fixed upon him—oh, what would people think! once, when the letter was nearly finished, he ventured to glance towards some of his school-mates; but their faces were so full of anger, astonishment, and horror, that he hastily looked in another direction.
but in the midst of all this suffering, there was one consolation—his parents were unable to be present. he knew how grieved they would feel, and so he rejoiced at their absence, and bore his misery as patiently as he could.
and yet he was tortured almost beyond endurance. oh, why had he written so freely about his school-fellows in this letter? why had he written so disrespectfully about mr. meadows, who was always so kind to him?
teacher meadows, who scarcely ever spoke unkindly to his pupils, now said to the hero, in a constrained and[277] harsh voice: “i cannot understand how any boy could think such a subject—say, rather, want of subject—and so free an expression of his views, could possibly win him the prize.”
in a low and faltering voice, will said something about “a great mistake.”
“oh, a mistake,” said mr. meadows. then he added sarcastically: “that is too bad; for if your friend henry had received this letter, he would have had a very vivid idea of your comrades’ characteristics and of your teacher’s incapacity.”
then, remembering that others were present, he checked himself, and said more mildly, “will, i am disappointed in you; i had formed a much better opinion of you. there, let it pass; i shall say no more about it.”
poor boy, he was certainly to be pitied! censure was to him intolerable; and censure before all these people! truly, he was being punished for his carelessness.
after all, he had not said anything so very wicked about either teacher or school-fellows; and perhaps an impartial judge would have decided that, all things considered, the writer of such a letter deserved the prize. but mr. meadows’ judgment was biassed; he felt insulted; and he thought otherwise.
“but,” chuckles the astute reader, “surely marmaduke could not be duped after that!” we beg your pardon, gentle reader; but if you think that, you are not skilled in the art of writing stories.
marmaduke, also, was unable to attend school that day; and if you read the letter carefully once more, you will perceive that it is so vague and incoherent that no one except the four in the plot could make anything out of it. those who heard it would not perceive that any great danger menaced marmaduke; and even if they should warn him to be on his guard, he would hardly connect this letter with the one he was to receive in due time. no; marmaduke would be as unsuspicious as ever, no matter how much he might be warned.
and thus it happened that will’s muddled wits preserved the plot.
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but the other boys! ah, they had reason to feel aggrieved and insulted!
all except george were indignant at poor foolish will. mr. meadows had decided that the odds were in favor of george, and, much to the chagrin of four ink-loving youths who knew they would win, he bore away the prize. he was a philosopher, but not a stoic, and now supreme content played over his visage. in fact, he felt so joyous and exultant that he could laugh at will’s blunder.
not so, the others. out of sight and hearing of the people, they pounced on will, (figuratively speaking,) and glared at him with the most ferocious and horrible expression of countenance that they could put on.
even good-natured charles was vexed to be thus openly criticized, and he said sullenly, “well, will, i guess you needn’t call our plot mean after this.”
will heaved a sigh, but said nothing.
“look here, boys,” the winner of the prize interposed; “suppose that one of us had been asked by a cousin a long way off to give an opinion of his school-fellows, would it have been as mild and as sincere as the one will gave? i know that a great many boys would have said far meaner things than will did; for, when a boy comes to speak of his school-fellows, he will hardly ever say a word in their praise. i’ve often wondered why it is,” musingly, “and i think sometimes a boy is a blockhead, anyway. well, perhaps it isn’t so; perhaps i’m mistaken. come, charley; be just to poor will.”
“listen to the orator!” mockingly observed a defeated competitor [not one of the six]. “he talks as though he made it a business to study a ‘school-fellow’s’ habits!”
“the prize has made an oracle and a hero of him,” chimed in another, who probably felt that there was more or less truth in the sage’s remarks.
“what’s the name of his prize, anyway?” queried still another defeated one, with considerable interest in his tones, but not deigning to glance towards the victor.
“oh, it’s some mighty good book, i suppose;” answered the first speaker. “in fact, so good, that it’s bad!”
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the four inky-fingered youths who knew they would win, thought this so comical that they laughed derisively.
george’s eyes flashed fire and his blood boiled, but he said, as calmly as he could, “i’ve often noticed that boys that guess at things hardly ever hit the mark. now, your ideas about this prize are very wild; for it’s about a midshipman’s cruise round the world.”
the four defeated ones scowled at him, and one of them said, as he turned to go, “well, boys, we might as well be off, for these fellows don’t care for us, they say.”
and they strode away, leaving the four plotters together.
it may not be pertinent to the subject to picture here so dark a side of life, but now the reader will understand why the six avoided the society of the other boys of the village, and clung to each other. poor fellows, with all their faults, they were free from such jealous passions.
as soon as they found themselves alone, george said eagerly, “come, charles, don’t be too hard on will.”
“well, george, i don’t know but that you’re right in what you said,” charles admitted; “but it was very unpleasant for us, and what will people think?”
“pshaw! what do we care about that!” the sage exclaimed contemptuously, hugging the prize to his bosom. “after all, i don’t know but that will said more in favor of us than against us; and wasn’t it worse for him than for us? if he can bear it, we can.”
“george is quite right,” stephen declared. “will is more to be pitied than all of us put together.”
“i don’t want anybody’s pity,” will said sourly.
“marmaduke and jim got it the worst,” said steve. “the only thing that troubles me at all, is that our plot is spoiled;” in a doleful tone.
“spoiled! how is it spoiled?” the sage inquired. “marmaduke wasn’t there to hear the letter, and no one else could make any sense out of it.—i—i mean,” he added quickly, “no one would know what it meant.”
“well, how are we to patch it up again?” charles asked uneasily.
“i think we had all better make up friends with will[280] this minute, and get him to write to his cousin again,” george said, smiling brightly.
charles and stephen were of the same opinion, but poor will was in a bad humour, and he said sullenly, “i won’t write to him any more; so that you needn’t make up with me on that account.”
the boys were appalled. george’s words had revived hope in their breast, but now it seemed that their darling scheme must fail; for, without henry to write the letter and help them forward, it would be only a humdrum affair; and unless will would send for him, he perhaps would not come—or, if he should come, he would spend all his time with will, and have nothing to do with them. consequently, the three crowded round will, made him so sensible of his own importance, and played their parts so well, that he finally smiled, relented, and promised to do any thing they wished.
“and you will write soon, won’t you?” charles asked eagerly.
“yes; i’ll write as soon as i can;” will returned. “say, boys,” anxiously, “do any of you know what mr. meadows did with my—my letter?”
“yes; he kept it for a witness against you;” wickedly and promptly answered quick-witted stephen.
“jim is the next one for us to deal with,” said george; “and,” sighing profoundly, “there’s the rub!”
then charles, who had been reading a novel of the “intensely interesting” sort, said jocosely, “perhaps we can buy his silence.”
“as the nervous old gentleman said when he gave a nickel to a little boy to stop his noise,” steve subjoined.
“he will have to be soothed and let into our councils,” the sage observed, “and perhaps it will be just as well, because we shall need more than five to manage our plot, and ‘the more, the merrier,’ you know.”
“i know something, too; i know that ‘too many cooks spoil the pudding,’” said steve, in a tone of melancholy foreboding.
“stephen goodfellow, we are not cooks!” charles retorted.
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soon afterward the plotters separated; will, to go sorrowfully homeward; george, to hasten gladly to his parents and be congratulated on his success; charles and stephen to find, “soothe,” and let into their councils, the boy called jim.
it is sufficient to say that jim was overjoyed to take part in their plot, though vexed at them for having kept him in the dark so long, and at will for having spoken of him as a “first-rate coward.”
thus the bad effects of the exchanged composition were remedied, though mischief enough had been done by causing teacher meadows to have a bad opinion of will. and will, foolish boy, fancied that by this means he had been cheated out of the prize.
perhaps it was the best thing that could possibly have happened to him, for, from that day forward, he cultivated order so assiduously and determinedly that in course of time he became more orderly than even george. he vowed to wreak dire vengeance on himself if such a mishap should ever again befall him, and it was noticed by his mother and schoolfellows that his ridiculous blunders were on the decrease. with all his belongings in perfect order, it was much easier to keep out of trouble; especially, as he was also more circumspect in all his movements than heretofore.
an additional advantage. two bumps, one over each eye, took root, and grew, and grew, and continued to grow, till they bulged out exceedingly. not knowing the cause of this, will continued to cultivate order, and his bumps continued to grow and bulge out, till he became the most distinguished looking youth in the village.
boys, never mind the bumps, but take the moral to heart, and if any of you are untidy, reform before your want of order exposes you to disgrace and pain, as will’s did him.
