Slowly Thomas extracted the manuscript from his trousers pocket, and smoothed out its many folds, while Betsy Dan waited nervously in the rear.
"Oh, why did they set Thomas to this ?" whispered the minister's wife, who had a profound sense of humor.

The truth was, the choice of the school had fallen upon Ranald and Margaret Aird.

Margaret was quite willing to act, but Ranald refused point-blank, and privately persuaded Thomas to accept the honor in his stead.

To this Thomas agreed, all the more readily that Margaret, whom he adored from a respectful distance, was to be his partner.

But Margaret, who would gladly have been associated with Ranald, on the suggestion that Thomas should take his place, put up her lower lip in that symbol of scorn so effective with girls, but which no boy has ever yet accomplished, and declared that indeed, and she would see that Tom Finch far enough, which plainly meant "no." Consequently they had to fall back upon Betsy Dan, who, in addition to being excessively nervous, was extremely good-natured.
And Thomas, though he would greatly have preferred Margaret as his assistant, was quite ready to accept Betsy Dan.
The interval of waiting while Thomas deliberately smoothed out the creases of the paper was exceedingly hard upon Betsy Dan, whose face grew redder each moment.