The boy did not know what to say. He was in a scrape that he could not lie out of.
"Where have you been to-day?" repeated Mr. Fuller sternly.
The look and the tone in which these words were uttered loosened Frank's tongue very quickly.
"I have been in the woods, sir," said he.
"Been in the woods!" repeated his father. "Ran away from school! Sneaked out of the house like a thief! Is this what I sent you to Eaton for?"
"No, sir; but I don't like this school, and I don't want to stay here. I want to go home."
"You'll not go home. You will stay right here, and go to school every day; and if I ever hear of your playing truant again, there will be a settlement between us that you will remember. Now, young man, I will tell you, for your satisfaction, that you have destroyed all your chances of going to California with me. Don't expect any privileges until you have learned to behave yourself."
Mr. Fuller settled back on the sofa and turned his attention to the paper he held in his hand, while Frank, after sitting uneasily on the edge of his chair for a few minutes, and twirling his cap on his finger, arose and left the room.
Presently the door of the library opened, and Leon came out, with red and swollen eyes, and started for the barn.
When he returned, he brought with him his cousin's rifle and his own double-barrel, which had been hidden in the haymow.