This was the sly Bel's little revenge on Dalgetty, who began confusedlyto explain that it was not he any more than the other trustees, and heonly wished that they had all been here to see, as he had seen, howfinely the school had been managed; but nobody heard what he exclaimed, forfar above all the humming and buzzing and laughing there came up from thecentre of the school-room a reiterated call of "Sirs!" "Trustees!" "Mr.Trustee!" "Board!"

It was Archie McLeod, standing up on the backs of two seats, waving ayellow paper, and trying frantically to make himself heard. The face of aman galloping for life and death, coming up at the last second with areprieve for one about to be shot, could hardly be fuller of intenseanxiety than was Archie's as he waved his paper and shouted.

Little Bel gazed bewilderingly at him. This was not down on herprogramme of the exercises. What could it be?

As soon as partial silence enabled him to speak, Archie proceeded toread a petition, setting forth, to the respected Board of Trustees, thatthe undersigned, boys and girls of the Wissan Bridge School, did herebyunanimously request that they might have no other teacher than MissMcDonald, "as long as she lives."

This last clause had been the cause of bitter disputing between Archieand Sandy,--Sandy insisting upon having it in; Archie insisting that itwas absurd, because they would not go to school as long as Miss McDonaldlived. "But there's the little ones and the babies that'll be growin'up," retorted Sandy, "an' there'll never be another like her: I say, 'aslong as she lives'"; and "as long as she lives" it was. And when Archie,with an unnecessary emphasis, delivered this closing clause of thepetition, it was received with a roar of laughter from the platform,which made him flush angrily, and say, with a vicious punch in Sandy'sribs: "There, I told ye, it spoiled it a'. They're fit to expire over it;an' sma' blame to 'em, ye silly!"