John seemed as much astonished as pleased, as he took the rod and began to pay on the blows; while his antagonist received them without a word or cry, but with a sullen and dogged look. After he had completed the dozen, the teacher told Benjamin to take the ratan, and bestow the same favor upon John’s back. Both faces changed at this unexpected turn in affairs, and Benjamin laid on his dozen with a heartiness that showed he fully entered into the spirit of this part of the arrangement.
This operation finished, the teacher asked each of them if he was satisfied, and received an affirmative answer.
“Well, then,” said the teacher, “if you are both satisfied, your quarrel is made up, and you may complete the reconciliation by shaking hands, and giving each other the kiss of peace.”
There was a general titter among the scholars at these words, which the teacher promptly suppressed. Seeing that the two culprits hesitated, he repeated the order; but they did not move.
“Well,” he continued, “I see your feelings are hardly mollified, yet,—I shall have to see what I can do;” and he took the rod, and advanced towards them.
The boys, blushing to their temples, barely extended their hands, and brought their faces together, followed by an explosion of laughter from the whole school, which the teacher sternly silenced.
“That won’t do,” said the teacher; “it was too cold and mechanical,—there was no soul in it. You can do better than that; now, try again.”
After a little more coaxing (the ratan still impending over their heads), the culprits concluded to comply, and went through the ceremony in a much more cordial manner. There was a new burst of laughter from all hands, in which the teacher himself joined, this time; and the two offenders retreated to their seats, with faces as red as peonies, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Such was the story upon which the dialogue was founded. In dramatizing it, however, Clinton and Whistler had found it necessary to make some slight changes.
The boys made three copies of the dialogue—one for each of the principal characters. It was decided that Clinton should take the part of schoolmaster, and the two belligerents were to be represented by two smaller boys. These boys had agreed to meet Clinton and Whistler on Saturday afternoon, to study and rehearse their parts. The place of rendezvous was a charming little dell, in a grove behind the schoolhouse, which was well known to all the children in town by the name of “Spouting Hollow,” from the circumstance that it was occasionally used by the young orators as a place of rehearsal.