Part 52 (1/2)

”Flow's but a handful,” said Tommy.

”Curran, then, you jackanapes!”

”Curran's no enough.”

Mr. Lorrimer flung up his hands in despair.

”I wanted something between curran and mask,” said Tommy, dogged, yet almost at the crying.

Mr. Ogilvy, who had been hiding his admiration with difficulty, spread a net for him. ”You said you wanted a word that meant middling full. Well, why did you not say middling full--or fell mask?”

”Yes, why not?” demanded the ministers, unconsciously caught in the net.

”I wanted one word,” replied Tommy, unconsciously avoiding it.

”You jewel!” muttered Mr. Ogilvy under his breath, but Mr. Cathro would have banged the boy's head had not the ministers interfered.

”It is so easy, too, to find the right word,” said Mr. Gloag.

”It's no; it's as difficult as to hit a squirrel,” cried Tommy, and again Mr. Ogilvy nodded approval.

But the ministers were only pained.

”The lad is merely a numskull,” said Mr. Dishart, kindly.

”And no teacher could have turned him into anything else,” said Mr.

Duthie.

”And so, Cathro, you need not feel sore over your defeat,” added Mr.

Gloag; but nevertheless Cathro took Tommy by the neck and ran him out of the parish school of Thrums. When he returned to the others he found the ministers congratulating McLauchlan, whose nose was in the air, and complimenting Mr. Ogilvy, who listened to their formal phrases solemnly and accepted their hand-shakes with a dry chuckle.

”Ay, grin away, sir,” the mortified dominie of Thrums said to him sourly, ”the joke is on your side.”

”You are right, sir,” replied Mr. Ogilvy, mysteriously, ”the joke is on my side, and the best of it is that not one of you knows what the joke is!”

And then an odd thing happened. As they were preparing to leave the school, the door opened a little and there appeared in the aperture the face of Tommy, tear-stained but excited. ”I ken the word now,” he cried, ”it came to me a' at once; it is hantle!”

The door closed with a victorious bang, just in time to prevent Cathro--

”Oh, the sumph!” exclaimed Mr. Lauchlan McLauchlan, ”as if it mattered what the word is now!”

And said Mr. Dishart, ”Cathro, you had better tell Aaron Latta that the sooner he sends this nincomp.o.o.p to the herding the better.”

But Mr. Ogilvy giving his Lauchlan a push that nearly sent him sprawling, said in an ecstasy to himself, ”He _had_ to think of it till he got it--and he got it. The laddie is a genius!” They were about to tear up Tommy's essay, but he s.n.a.t.c.hed it from them and put it in his oxter pocket. ”I am a collector of curiosities,” he explained, ”and this paper may be worth money yet.”

”Well,” said Cathro, savagely, ”I have one satisfaction, I ran him out of my school.”

”Who knows,” replied Mr. Ogilvy, ”but what you may be proud to dust a chair for him when he comes back?”