Then he will
tell me, and the one whom he names must come and take his place. He,
in turn, will watch and report the first one that he sees whisper. And
so we will keep the game going till it is time for school to be
dismissed. The boy or girl who is standing at that time will be
punished for all of you."
"What will the punishment be, Mr. Johnson?" asked a bold, bad boy. "A
good thrashing," answered the master. He was tired, he was vexed, he
hardly knew what he said.
The children thought the new game was very funny. First, Tommy Jones
whispered to Billy Brown and was at once called out to stand on the
floor. Within less than two minutes, Billy saw Mary Green whispering,
and she had to take his place. Mary looked around and saw Samuel Miller
asking his neighbor for a pencil, and Samuel was called. And so the
fun went on until the clock showed that it lacked only ten minutes
till school would be dismissed.
Then all became very good and very careful, for no one wished to be
standing at the time of dismissal. They knew that the master would be
as good as his word. The clock ticked loudly, and Tommy Jones, who
was standing up for the fourth time, began to feel very uneasy.
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