Miss Williams went home at recess time for some reports she had left in her room. Most of the boys stayed in the schoolhouse, for Dave was telling of the make-up of the new teams.
Jed Burr had a good deal to say about it, but Dave settled it all without his advice. When they had arranged their plans there were a few minutes left for play. The boys began chasing each other about the room.
Bob, in dodging a boy who was chasing him, pulled open a door of a little storeroom just behind the teacher's desk. He was intent on hiding, but the other saw his move. Bob only slipped inside the storeroom, and then sprang out again.
Several times Jed Burr brushed by Sammy and Bob, and seemed to take a pleasure in bumping up hard against them. Bob paid no attention to his ugly ways.
Then the teacher came back, and recess was over. There was half an hour of practising on some school songs. After that Miss Williams gave out some writing exercises to be done at home.
She went to the little storeroom to fill an ink-well. Jed Burr threw a wad of paper at some girls as the teacher's back was turned. He jumped on his seat and was getting ready to go through what he thought was some smart antics, when Miss Williams cried out sharply, and came back into the schoolroom.
"Who pushed the large bottle of ink off the table in the storeroom?" she asked, sternly.
No one replied. There was utter silence as she looked from face to face.
"Some one did," went on Miss Williams. "It lies broken on the floor, and the ink is all over the room." And necks were craned to notice her black footmarks from the storeroom.
