“Good gracious! I hadn’t any idea we should be so late!” cried mother, as Mr. Chester helped her to alight. “But there were so many things to do, and on the way back we had a little accident—our horse slipped and broke one of the traces, and it took us half an hour to mend it. Won’t you come in, Mr. Chester?”
“Just for a moment,” he answered. “Tom, you go on home and tell your mother I’ll be there in ten minutes,” and he followed mother into the house.
Tom paused only long enough for a swift whisper in my ear.
“You’ve forgiven me?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“I felt awfully bad when I looked over the wall and saw you digging. I knew what you’d think of me. But it’ll never happen again!”
“It did hurt,” I said.
“And don’t you give up, Biffkins,” he added; “and don’t you go to blaming yourself. We’ll win out yet,” and he gripped my hand for an instant and was gone. And my heart was at peace again, for I knew that my ally was true to me.
What Mr. Chester said to mother we never knew, but he must have put the adventure in a decidedly milder light than he had used with the boys, for he and mother were laughing as they came out into the hall a few minutes later. And a great load was lifted from me, for I had feared that mother might really take a dislike to the place, if Dick got into serious trouble about it.
The episode was not entirely ended, however, for next morning a note came from Mr. Chester for Dick, and the two boys were sent off together to apologize to Mr. Tunstall, who, they reported, had received their apology as gracefully as could be expected.