“Yes, ma’am,” replied Bob. “I tried to. I did the best I could.”
“Did you have any help, Bob?” Miss Williams asked, looking straight into Bob’s face.
“Why—I don’t know what you mean, Miss Williams,” said Bob. “Frank and I went over a lot of words at home, last night.”
“I mean, you had no key, no idea of what words I was going to give out?” asked the teacher.
“Oh, dear, no! How could I?”
Miss Williams paused again. It seemed hard for her to go on, but she finally said:
“Bob, I had two lists of words. One I had copied to send to a sister who is a teacher in the next township. Both were in my desk when I left the school last night.”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Bob.
“This noon I found one of them missing.”
“Why, who could have taken it?” said Bob.