“Attend to your lessons now, children. Bert will be back soon,” said Miss Skell.
Nan gave a sigh of relief on hearing this. It could not be so very serious, then.
As for Bert, his heart was beating rather faster than usual as he entered Mr. Tarton’s office, but the smile with which the head of the school greeted the pupil seemed to tell the boy that he was not brought down for anything serious.
“Good-morning, Bert!” said the principal. “I called you here to see if you have a top in your pocket—you know what I mean—a top that spins with a string wound around it. Have you such a top?”
“Why—er—yes—yes, sir,” stammered the boy. What in the world could Mr. Tarton want of a top? Could he have turned childish and have a desire to play with a top in his office, Bert wondered.
Then another thought came into the mind of the lad. Perhaps Mr. Tarton thought Bert had been playing with a top during class time. So the boy said:
“But I didn’t have it out in the room, Mr. Tarton! Really I didn’t! I was spinning it in front of the school, but I put it in my pocket when I came in and——”
“Yes, I know you did, Bert,” and again Mr. Tarton smiled. “I saw you spinning your top, and that’s why I sent for you. I want you to come and spin the top for me in front of the class in science.”
This was more and more puzzling.
The principal must have seen that Burt was puzzled and a bit worried, for he laughed a little and said: