Jason was not to be caught napping. His eyes gave out the quick light of humor, but his face was serious.
"I been so busy waitin' fer you that I reckon I must 'a' forgot that."
The school-master laughed.
"Come along."
Through the thick crowd that gave way respectfully to the new professor, Jason followed across the road to the building opposite, and up the steps into a room where he told his name and his age, and the name of his father and mother, and pulled from his pooket a little roll of dirty bills. There was a fee of five dollars for "janitor"; Jason did not know what a janitor was, but John Burnham nodded when he looked up inquiringly and Jason asked no question. There was another fee for "breakage," and that was all, but the latter item was too much for Jason.
"S'pose I don't break nothin'," he asked shrewdly, "do I git that back?"
Then registrar and professor laughed.
"You get it back."
Down they went again.
"That's a mighty big word fer such little doin's," the boy said soberly, and the school-master smiled.