On the walk, as he approached the school-house door, Pen was standing, with a group of Hill boys. They were discussing the accident that had occurred on Drake's Hill the day before. They paid little attention to Aleck as he passed by them, but, just as he was mounting the steps, Pen called out to him.
"Oh, Aleck! You wanted to show me your subscription paper last night. I'll look at it now, and you look at mine, and we'll leave it to the fellows here who's got the most names and the most money promised. And I haven't got my grandfather on it yet, either."
Aleck turned and faced him. "Remember what you said to me last night?" he asked. "Well, I'll say the same thing to you this morning. I'm not interested in your paper. It's none of my business. You get your subscriptions and I'll get mine."
And he mounted the steps and entered the school-room.
Miss Grey was already at her desk, and he went straight to her.
"I've brought back my subscription blank, Miss Grey," he said, and he handed the paper to her.
She looked up in surprise.
"You haven't completed your canvass, have you?" she asked.
"No. If you'll read the paper you'll see it wasn't necessary."
She unfolded the paper and read the letter written on it. Her face flushed; but whether with astonishment or anxiety it would have been difficult to say.