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The teachers caught the enthusiasm, and were very much in favor of the project, for in the whole movement they saw the fruit of their own teaching.

The superintendent had been detained, and was surprised to find the school standing in knots about the room. He soon called them to order, and expressed his regrets that they should get into such disorder. There was a smile on all faces, and he saw that there was something more in the apparent disorder than he thought. After school it was fixed that each class should find its own case of poverty. The young men’s and the young women’s Bible classes undertook to supply Sitles with a broom-machine, a class of girls took Aunt Parm’ly under their wing, other classes knew of other cases of need, and so each class had its hands full. But Willie could not get any class to see that Widow Martin had a sewing-machine. That was left for his own; and how should a class of eight boys do it?

VI.

SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS.

Willie took the boys into the parsonage. They figured on it. There were sixty-five dollars to be raised to buy the machine. The seven boys were together, for Tommy Puffer had gone home. He said he didn’t feel like staying, and Sammy Bantam thought he must be a little hungry.

Willie attacked the problem–sixty-five dollars. Toward that amount they had three dollars and a half that they had intended to spend on a present for Mr. Marble. That left just sixty-one dollars and fifty cents to be raised. Willie ran across the street and brought Mr. Marble. He said he had made up his mind to give the boys a book apiece, and that each book would cost a dollar. It was rather more than he could well afford; but as he had intended to give eight dollars for their presents, and as he was pleased with their unselfish behavior, he would make it ten.

“Good!” said Charley Somerset, who always saw the bright side of things, “that makes it all, except fifty-one dollars and a half.”

“Yes,” said Sammy Bantam, “and you’re eleven feet high, lacking a couple of yards!”

Willie next called his father in, and inquired how much his Christmas present was to cost.

“Three and a half,” said his father.

“That’s a lot! Will you give me the money instead?”

“Yes; but I meant to give you a Life of George Stephenson, and some other books on engineering.”

This made Willie think a moment; but seeing the walking-stick in the corner, he said: “Mrs. Martin must have a machine, and that three and a half makes seventeen dollars. How to get the other forty-eight is the question.”

Mr. Blake and Mr. Marble both agreed that the boys could not raise so much money, and should not undertake it. But Willie said there was nobody to do it, and he guessed it would come somehow. The other boys, when they came to church that evening, told Willie that their presents were commuted for money also; so they had twenty-five dollars toward the amount. But that was the end of it, and there were forty dollars yet to come!

Willie lay awake that night, thinking. Mr. Marble’s class could not raise the money. All the other classes had given all they could. And the teachers would each give in their classes. And they had raised all they could spare besides to buy nuts and candy! Good! That was just it; they would do without candy!

At school the next morning, Willie’s white head was bobbing about eagerly. He made every boy and girl sign a petition, asking the Sunday-school teachers not to give them any nuts or candy. They all signed except Tommy Puffer. He said it was real mean not to have any candy. They might just as well not have any Sunday-school, or any Christmas either. But seeing a naughty twinkle in Sammy Bantam’s eye, he waddled away, while Sammy fired a shot after him, by remarking that, if Tommy had been one of the shepherds in Bethlehem, he wouldn’t have listened to the angels till he had inquired if they had any lemon-drops in their pockets!