Joe hesitated a moment. Then he replied, “His name is Gaston.”
“What Gaston? Do you mean Leonard Gaston, of Laymanville?”
“Yes, sir, that’s his name. That’s where he lives.”
“And you—look here! Are you the boy who ran away from home last June? I know your father, if you are Joseph Gaston, and I know that he has been breaking his heart about you for three months.”
Joe turned his face from the crowd, and looked down at the floor. There was perfect stillness in the room. Joe was the first to break the silence. He held up his head, and looked the superintendent squarely in the face.
“I did run away from home,” he said, “and it was foolish and it was wicked. I didn’t know it then, but I do now, and I want to go back, especially since I found the horse. I think maybe if I take Old Charlie back with me they—they won’t be so hard on me; they—they’ll be gladder to—to—”
The boy burst into tears, and broke down completely. The superintendent rose from his chair, and opened the door into a private office.
“Here,” he said to Joe; “come in here. I want to talk with you.”
On the threshold the superintendent turned to look at Captain Bill.