“What do you mean?” he demanded, shaking Penrod by the shoulder.  “Ten minutes ago, for the very first time in our lives, your mother and I were saying we were proud of you, and here you go and throw a rock at me through the window when I’m shaving for dinner!”

“I didn’t!” Penrod quavered.  “I was shooting at a sparrow, and the sun got in his eyes, and the sling broke——­”

“What sling?”

“This’n.”

“Where’d you get that devilish thing?  Don’t you know I’ve forbidden you a thousand times——­”

“It ain’t mine,” said Penrod.  “It’s yours.”

“What?”

“Yes, sir,” said the boy meekly.  “Aunt Sarah Crim gave it to me this morning and told me to give it back to you.  She said she took it away from you thirty-five years ago.  You killed her hen, she said.  She told me some more to tell you, but I’ve forgotten.”

“Oh!” said Mr. Schofield.

He took the broken sling in his hand, looked at it long and thoughtfully—­and he looked longer, and quite as thoughtfully, at Penrod.  Then he turned away, and walked toward the house.

“I’m sorry, papa,” said Penrod.

Mr. Schofield coughed, and, as he reached the door, called back, but without turning his head.

“Never mind, little boy.  A broken window isn’t much harm.”

When he had gone in, Penrod wandered down the yard to the back fence, climbed upon it, and sat in reverie there.

A slight figure appeared, likewise upon a fence, beyond two neighbouring yards.

“Yay, Penrod!” called comrade Sam Williams.

“Yay!” returned Penrod, mechanically.

“I caught Billy Blue Hill!” shouted Sam, describing retribution in a manner perfectly clear to his friend.  “You were mighty lucky to get out of it.”

“I know that!”

“You wouldn’t of, if it hadn’t been for Marjorie.”

“Well, don’t I know that?” Penrod shouted, with heat.

“Well, so long!” called Sam, dropping from his fence; and the friendly voice came then, more faintly, “Many happy returns of the day, Penrod!”

And now, a plaintive little whine sounded from below Penrod’s feet, and, looking down, he saw that Duke, his wistful, old, scraggly dog sat in the grass, gazing seekingly up at him.

The last shaft of sunshine of that day fell graciously and like a blessing upon the boy sitting on the fence.  Years afterward, a quiet sunset would recall to him sometimes the gentle evening of his twelfth birthday, and bring him the picture of his boy self, sitting in rosy light upon the fence, gazing pensively down upon his wistful, scraggly, little old dog, Duke.  But something else, surpassing, he would remember of that hour, for, in the side street, close by, a pink skirt flickered from behind a shade tree to the shelter of the fence, there was a gleam of amber curls, and Penrod started, as something like a tiny white wing fluttered by his head, and there came to his ears the sound of a light laugh and of light footsteps departing, the laughter tremulous, the footsteps fleet.