After Ronald had become somewhat familiar with the school, he found it rather difficult to wholly repress the promptings to fun within him. During the first week of the principal’s absence, Marcus had occasion to reprove him several times, privately, for offences of this kind, and on one occasion, detained him after school, as a punishment. One afternoon, as Marcus was hearing a class recite, he was startled by one of his most quiet boys crying out:—
“You quit that!”
“What is the matter, Edmund?” inquired Marcus.
The boy, coloring deeply replied:—
“Ronald has been snapping nut-shells at me for half an hour, and he just hit me in the eye with one. I was very busy ciphering, and I spoke before I thought. I forgot I was in school.”
Ronald was called out, a handful of nuts was transferred from his pocket to the teacher’s desk, and he was then directed to stand upon the platform facing the school, until he had committed to memory a page from a geography used by another class. In all this Marcus was as calm and mild as usual; but nevertheless, Ronald did not feel very pleasantly, as he took his position and commenced his task, though the punishment was not what he feared it would be, when called out. His mortification was not a little increased, when, after reciting the task, Marcus assigned him a new seat, directly under his own eye. Ronald avoided all company, on his way home, that afternoon, and seemed especially anxious to keep out of the reach of Marcus, through the rest of the day. Marcus, however, had something to say to Ronald, and after tea he found an opportunity to say it.
“Ronald,” he said, “I have been thinking that I had better increase your lessons a little. I am afraid you are getting along too easily at school.”
“Why, I think our lessons are pretty hard,” replied Ronald, somewhat surprised.
“They are hard enough for most of your class, but you learn so readily that I shall have to give you some extra tasks,” added Marcus.
“I don’t think that is fair,” replied Ronald. “If I get all the lessons that the others do, I should think that is enough.”