soon show you," he said; and as he spoke he joined them, with a view to proving the truth of his words.

The boys stood off to leave him room. He gave one high leap quite over the stool; but before his feet gained the floor on the other side, they struck an end of the master's desk, and upset an inkstand over some letters and papers which were highly valued by Mr. Wise. For a moment the boys all stood aghast and silent, gazing on the ruin before them. Edward West spoke first.

"Never mind, James," he said, with a look of pity at poor James, who stood near to him, quite pale with grief and dismay at what he had done. "Never mind; you did not mean to do any harm, and it cannot be helped now."

"No," said Thomas; "the master need not know how it was done, for none of us will ever tell about it."

"No, indeed, we will never tell," cried all the boys.

James stood as before, and made no reply: from a deadly paleness his face had grown quite red while they spoke; but this was all the change which their words seemed to make in him.

"It will be quite easy to hide the truth from the master, James," said Hiram; "and I'll tell you how. Shut up the desk now and lock it, and then, when he asks about it, we will say that we saw you put all the books and papers and other things safely away in the desk, and lock it up. That is all true, you know. Then he will think that in some way the desk has got a jolt, which upset the inkstand after it was closed."

"Why, Hiram!" said James in an amazed tone, "do you think I would tell a lie?"

"That would not be telling a lie, I am sure," said Hiram; "for you did put all the things safely by in the desk; and that was all I told you to say. You need not tell him how the ink was spilt. Let him guess that."

"Yes," said Edward; "for he will not be likely to say, 'James Black, was it you who upset my inkstand?' and if he does not, I do not see that there need be any lie told in the case."

"I do not see how I can help telling a lie, unless I tell the whole story in full, just as it came about," said James.

"Well, I do not see where you can find one false word in all I told you to say," said Hiram.

"It is certainly a lie to pretend to tell the whole story, and yet keep back the chief part of it, and that, too, which is most to the point," said James.

"Then, what do you mean to do?" asked Hiram.

"Tell the whole story in full, to be sure, and not keep back a single part of it which the master ought to know; then say to him that I am very sorry that I did not go on doing my duty, as I should have done, and that I hope he will pardon me for it," said James in a firm, clear tone.

"What! Do you mean to tell that we came back to school after we had been sent home?" asked one of the boys, with an angry shake of the head.

"Not if I can help it, and yet tell the whole truth about what I did myself," said James.

"That is right," said Edward West. "James Black is not as old as we are, but he has more real honour about him, and is more of a man, than any of us; and I think we ought to copy him, and come out boldly too, and tell the truth of our part of the affair."

"I think so too," said one or two others; and those who did not speak, in their hearts agreed with what Edward said.

"I never heard James Black tell a lie since I have known him," said Thomas Jones; "and I would sooner trust his plain yes or no than all the oaths in the world from many other boys; for he always tells the truth."

"I never trust the word of a boy who swears," said George Evans; "for any one who swears will be quite ready to tell a lie when it suits him."

"Yes," said Edward West; "and I always doubt a boy who uses any words to make what he says seem more strong. We can't make 'yes' mean more than 'yes,' or 'no' more than 'no,' by adding other words to them; and they are quite enough for me, when they come from a boy whom I can trust."

"That is just what I think," said James. "I should be afraid that God would strike me dead, as he did the wicked man and his wife whom we read of in the Bible, who told a lie to Peter about the price he got for the land he had sold."

"I have often heard that story," said Hiram; "but God does not strike people dead now when they tell lies."

"He has the power to do it," said James; "and he is just as angry at liars now as he was then. When I told a lie, my mother talked to me a great deal about the sin of lying. She said that Satan was called the father of lies; and that, though God does not punish them at the time they sin, he has said, 'All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone;' and he will surely keep his word."

"Yes, that is an awful fate, which we all ought to try to avoid," said Thomas. "But see," he added, "I have wiped off all the ink I can with this piece of sponge; and as that is all we can do to repair the harm, I think we had better shut up the school-room and go home."

"I am sure you are very kind," said James, as he looked into the desk; "for you have done it much more nicely than I could."

Thomas locked the desk, and put away the key where Mr. Wise had told him. Then, when all was ready, the boys put on their caps and overcoats, and started for home.

James was very sorry indeed for having injured Mr. Wise's papers and letters, for he knew how much he valued some of them; and he felt real regret at having been so remiss in doing his duty. The words of Mr. Wise, "I think I can rely upon James to do what is right," were all the time in his mind; and his heart blamed him for not having proved worthy of the trust. "I ought not to have minded when they called me to try if I could jump over that stool. I have paid very dear for doing so, and much more than the game was worth, I am sure. It was not the proper way to behave in school, either: for I would not have done so if the master had been there; and when he is absent I should not act in a way that I know he would not like if he could see me."

Every kind word that the master had ever spoken to him seemed to rise up before him, to chide his breach of trust. He sighed deeply, as he said, "Mr. Wise has indeed been very kind to me; and all I can do now to repair the wrong I have done him, is fully and freely to tell him the whole story, and ask him to pardon me. But my Father in heaven has been more kind to me than any friend I have on earth could be; and, first of all, I will humbly ask his pardon of my sin."

Then he knelt down, and prayed that God would pardon the wrong he had done, and help him to be more on his guard in the future, and to tell the whole truth to Mr. Wise.

The next day James went to school with a heavy heart. Mr. Wise was at his desk when he went in, and was about calling the boys to order to begin the school duties. Then, as was his custom, he read some verses from the Bible, and offered a short prayer. When this was done, James waited a while for him to ask about his desk; but he said nothing, though he looked grave and sad. Then James left his seat, and went up to the desk with a firm tread. The eyes of all the boys in the room were fixed upon him; but he did not seem to notice it, for his own were bent toward the ground. He hardly raised them, to look at Mr. Wise, as he said, in a low tone,—

"It was I, sir, who upset