"Will you kindly read the entire poem?" Herring had a good voice when he wanted to display it, and he now read the lines that the doctor had read, the poem being about twice as long as the portion already given.
"The poem I have here contains these lines," said the doctor, who had been following the manuscript in his hand, "but it is considerably longer."
"I did not put those verses in the poem that I submitted, sir," said Jack. "They had already been published in the News, and I would not think it right to submit any but entirely new matter. Will you read the rest of the poem? I can tell if it is mine, and I have a copy in my desk. If the rest is mine I do not see how these lines got in it, for I certainly did not put them in."
"The other poem is certainly Jack's," said Percival. "He showed it to me at the time he wrote it, and I have a copy of the paper containing it. I would not wonder if other boys had it also."
"I have!" spoke up five or six of the boys, Harry, Arthur and young
Smith among the number.
"Will you kindly let me see the out-of-town paper you have, Herring?" asked the doctor.
"Certainly," said Herring, taking the paper to the desk.
"When was your poem published, Sheldon?"
"Two weeks ago."
"And this paper is a week old. You say you got it this morning?" to Herring, who was on his way to his seat.