82 Sucker Days. 



sucker in both hands. The stones were 

 slippery, and in an effort to steady himself 

 the boy partly lost his grip, and felt the 

 sucker surely working out of his hands 

 you know how it feels and despair- 

 ingly tossed it toward the bank. The 

 sucker landed among the dry pebbles, 

 protruded his long, white nose, and opened 

 his round mouth in surprise, and then with 

 one ungainly flop threw himself into the 

 brook again. Why can't a fish ever flop 

 the other way just once ? The boy in 

 confusion could not see which way the 

 fish went, and a moment later there was a 

 peculiar sort of mist in the boy's eyes that 

 prevented him from seeing much of any- 

 thing, and the round drops, welling up 

 straight from his heart, followed each 

 other in quick succession down his cheeks. 

 Sorrowfully he trudged up to the school- 

 house and made wet tracks to the hard 

 board seat in the middle of the room. 

 That seat had seen quieter moments, when 

 the boy had time to " fire " spit-balls upon 

 the wall overhead, or to bore converging 

 holes in the desk, into which various 



