"Oh, uncle," interrupted Emma, "none of us are liars!"
"I hope not, my dears. But I shall be very particular, and watch closely for the slightest deviation from the plain truth, and will give, as I have said, the watch to the child I find to be the most truthful."
"You will have to give us all one, then," said his namesake, "for I am sure I speak the truth, and Emma and Maud are very truthful, for mamma has often said so."
"I always try to be," said Maud in a low voice.
"Well, well, we will see," continued Uncle John. "And perhaps I will have to give you each one like this." He closed the case and put it out of sight, and John marched off to school thinking how grand he would feel carrying the watch around with him to show to his admiring friends, and even hinted the probability to some of them. His Latin lesson was not perfect, and after recitation his teacher called him:
"John, will you promise me that this lesson shall be learned for to-morrow?"
"Oh yes! I will certainly study it to-night, and know it perfectly," was John's ready reply.
That night his father inquired about his lessons. John coloured a little as he said: "I knew all but my Latin; I promised I would study that to-night." He intended doing so, but left it until the last, because it was the hardest; then a friend came in, and John went with him to the parlour, where the family were sitting, to show him a new book.
"What time is it?" asked Emma.
"I did not look at the clock when I came down," said John.