“Aint he funny?” asked Wort.

“Funny?” replied Aunt Stanshy, who did not intend that any one else should depreciate her idol.  “Funny? of course not.”

All this time Will was chasing Sid, who was heading up the lane and was about entering Water Street.  Sid was in a hurry, and unaware that he was wanted by any one in the lane, had broken into a run; but Will had run to so many fires that he was equal to this emergency and overtook Sid, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“What do you want?” asked Sid.  “I want to catch that man ahead there and borrow his clam-digger.”

“Come back to the house with me a little while.”

Any of the club boys would do any thing for Will, and Sid turned.

“Good-morning, Mr. Somers.”

Will turned his head, so covered with wilfully curly hair.  In his hand were the bread and cheese still.  He blushed as he said, “Good-morning, Miss Barry.”

“Whew,” he said to himself, “the teacher has caught me now!”

Several people indeed “caught” Will Somers, in that way, that morning, and wondered what he was doing, running bare-headed.  He carried his point, though, captured Sid, and led him back to the house.

“Now, Sid,” exclaimed Will, on his way to Aunt Stanshy’s “there has been trouble in the Up-the-Ladder Club, I learn, and I want to fix it up, and you will help me, will you not?”

“O yes,” replied Sid, whose nature was not a hard and implacable one.

“Wort is at the house, and you are willing to say you are sorry you hurt him, and you want to make up and be good friends?”

“O yes.”

When Will entered the house with his prize, the two met Wort face to face.

“I want these two knights to make up and be good friends again, because it is all foolish and wrong, you know, holding out against one another,” said Will.

The two boys eyed one another, Sid grinning, Wort looking sulky and foolish.

“Wort,” said the late principal of the academy, “I am sorry I hurt you.  I didn’t mean to do it, but I suppose I was too anxious to keep up the discipline of the school, and I got agoing, you know.  Let’s shake hands and be friends.”

Wort hesitated.

“You ought to do that,” said Will.  “Shake hands, Wort,” and as he spoke he carelessly but effectively waved a stick of sassafras-pipe in Wort’s sight.  It is one of the most potent sticks that can be used for a boy’s “licking.”

“Well, I will,” said Wort, “and I didn’t mean to hurt you;” unwilling that Sid should be the only one thought able to inflict an injury.

“I now announce,” said Will, “that soon as possible, I shall take every boy down to Sandy Beach for an afternoon’s fun; that is, every knight who makes up.”

This had a magical effect.  All the disaffected knights followed the example of Sid and Wort, “making up” and joining the beach-party.  The excursionists had a capital time on that occasion, and returned in such a frame of mind that it could be considered as settled that the club, once in splinters, was now mended.