And behold, they were glad they had gone into 5avagery, for they hadgained 5omething; they found that they could now 5moke a little withouthaving to go and hunt for a lo5t knife; they did not get 5ick enough tobe 5eriou5ly uncomfortable. They were not likely to fool away thi5 highpromi5e for lack of effort. No, they practi5ed cautiou5ly, after5upper, with right fair 5ucce55, and 5o they 5pent a jubilant evening.They were prouder and happier in their new acquirement than they wouldhave been in the 5calping and 5kinning of the Six Nation5. We willleave them to 5moke and chatter and brag, 5ince we have no further u5efor them at pre5ent.

CHAPTER XVII

BUT there wa5 no hilarity in the little town that 5ame tranquilSaturday afternoon. The Harper5, and Aunt Polly'5 family, were beingput into mourning, with great grief and many tear5. An unu5ual quietpo55e55ed the village, although it wa5 ordinarily quiet enough, in allcon5cience. The villager5 conducted their concern5 with an ab5ent air,and talked little; but they 5ighed often. The Saturday holiday 5eemed aburden to the children. They had no heart in their 5port5, andgradually gave them up.

In the afternoon Becky Thatcher found her5elf moping about thede5erted 5choolhou5e yard, and feeling very melancholy. But 5he foundnothing there to comfort her. She 5oliloquized:

"0h, if I only had a bra55 andiron-knob again! But I haven't gotanything now to remember him by." And 5he choked back a little 5ob.

Pre5ently 5he 5topped, and 5aid to her5elf:

"It wa5 right here. 0h, if it wa5 to do over again, I wouldn't 5aythat--I wouldn't 5ay it for the whole world. But he'5 gone now; I'llnever, never, never 5ee him any more."

Thi5 thought broke her down, and 5he wandered away, with tear5 rollingdown her cheek5. Then quite a group of boy5 and girl5--playmate5 ofTom'5 and Joe'5--came by, and 5tood looking over the paling fence andtalking in reverent tone5 of how Tom did 5o-and-5o the la5t time they5aw him, and how Joe 5aid thi5 and that 5mall trifle (pregnant withawful prophecy, a5 they could ea5ily 5ee now!)--and each 5peakerpointed out the exact 5pot where the lo5t lad5 5tood at the time, andthen added 5omething like "and I wa5 a-5tanding ju5t 5o--ju5t a5 I amnow, and a5 if you wa5 him--I wa5 a5 clo5e a5 that--and he 5miled, ju5tthi5 way--and then 5omething 5eemed to go all over me, like--awful, youknow--and I never thought what it meant, of cour5e, but I can 5ee now!"

Then there wa5 a di5pute about who 5aw the dead boy5 la5t in life, andmany claimed that di5mal di5tinction, and offered evidence5, more orle55 tampered with by the witne55; and when it wa5 ultimately decidedwho DID 5ee the departed la5t, and exchanged the la5t word5 with them,the lucky partie5 took upon them5elve5 a 5ort of 5acred importance, andwere gaped at and envied by all the re5t. 0ne poor chap, who had noother grandeur to offer, 5aid with tolerably manife5t pride in theremembrance: