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‘No, you didn’t,’ he said, ‘you went because I told you. And you’ll go again.’

‘Not unless you tell me what I’m to get,’ I said.

‘I tell you what I believe,’ he said; ‘you never spent the whole shilling at all on that; you bought something for yourself with the rest, you young swindler! No wonder you won’t go back to the shop.’

This was, of course, a mere taunt flung out by his inventive fancy; but as he persisted in it, and threatened exposure and a variety of consequences, I became alarmed, for I had little doubt that, innocent as I was, I could be made very uncomfortable by accusations which would find willing hearers.

He stood there enjoying my perplexity and idly twisting a piece of string round and round his fingers. At length he said, ‘Well, I don’t want to be hard on you. You may go and change this for me even now, if you like. I’ll give you three minutes to think it over, and you can come down into the playground when I sing out, and tell me what you mean to do. And you had better be sharp in coming, too, or it will be the worse for you.’

He took his cap, and presently I heard him going down the steps to the playground. I would have given worlds to go and join the rest at tea, but I did not dare, and remained in the schoolroom, which was dim just then, for the gas was lowered; and while I stood there by the fireplace, trembling in the cold air which stole in through the door Ormsby had left open, Marjory came in by the other one, and was going straight to her father’s desk, when she saw me.

Her first impulse seemed to be to take no notice, but something in my face or attitude made her alter her mind and come straight to me, holding out her hand.

‘Cameron,’ she said, ‘shall we be friends again?’

‘Yes, Marjory,’ I said; I could not have said any more just then.

‘You look so miserable, I couldn’t bear it any longer,’ she said, ‘so I had to make it up. You know, I was only pretending crossness, Cameron, all the time, because I really thought it was best. But it doesn’t seem to have done you much good, and I did promise to take care of you. What is it? Ormsby again?’

‘Yes,’ I said, and told her the story of the commission.

‘Oh, you stupid boy!’ she cried, ‘couldn’t you see he only wanted to pick a quarrel? And if you change it now, he’ll make you change it again, and the next time, and the next after that–I know he will!’

Here Ormsby’s voice shouted from below, ‘Now then, you, Cameron, time’s up!’

‘What is he doing down there?’ asked Marjory, and her indignation rose higher when she heard.

‘Now, Cameron, be brave; go down and tell him once for all he may just keep what he has, and be thankful. Whatever it is, it’s good enough for him, I’m sure!’

But I still hung back. ‘It’s no use, Marjory, he’ll tell everyone I cheated him–he says he will!’

‘That he shall not!’ she cried; ‘I won’t have it, I’ll go myself, and tell him what I think of him, and make him stop treating you like this.’

Some faint glimmer of manliness made me ashamed to allow her thus to fight my battles. ‘No, Marjory, not you!’ I said; ‘I will go: I’ll say what you want me to say!’

But it was too late. I saw her for just a second at the door, my impetuous, generous little Marjory, as she flung back her pretty hair in a certain spirited way she had, and nodded to me encouragingly.

And then–I can hardly think of it calmly even now–there came a sharp scream, and the sound of a fall, and, after that, silence.

Sick with fear, I rushed to the head of the steps, and looked down into the brown gloom.