"Gustus, come back," called Beth.
He looked crestfallen, but felt in duty bound to do as his little mistress bade. She brought her books, and had Gustus sit down beside her. Then she tried him with the alphabet. He proved woefully ignorant. After pointing out to him, A, B, and C, many, many times, she said:
"Show me A, Gustus."
He grinned. "A what, missy?"
"The letter A, of course, g——" She almost said "goosie," but thought in time that such a word would not be dignified for a teacher to use.
She did not find the fun in teaching that she had expected. Nevertheless, she persevered. Her face grew flushed as Gustus proved himself more and more ignorant.
When Mrs. Davenport returned from town, she found Beth at her self-imposed task.
"Mamma, Gustus ought to go to school."
"I don't wants to go," he cried, his eyes rolling so there was hardly any black visible in them.
Mrs. Davenport did not press the point. She intended to talk it over with her husband.