"Well, that was more of a misfortune than a disgrace."
"It hurt like the dickens."
"I suppose it did."
Mr. Denny paused; he was up against the hardest job he had ever tackled. It was harder than he had thought it would be.
"You see, Hervey, how it is. Last week you stayed away over night at some farm. I had told you you must not leave camp without my knowledge. For that I had you stay here all day, making a birchbark basket. I thought that was a good punishment."
"I'll tell the world it was," said Hervey.
Mr. Denny paused before proceeding.
"Did it do any good? Not a bit."
"The basket was a punk one," said Hervey.
"Again you rode down as far as Barretstown, hitching onto a freight train."