Now it was her intention to incite Joel Ham to administer an adequate caning to the boy, or to do herself the bare justice of soundly spanking the culprit.

She bounced into the school, angry, bare-armed, and eager for the fray, and all the children sat up and wondered.
'I've come about that boy Haddon,' said Mrs.Ben.
Joel Ham blinked his pale lashes and regarded her thoughtfully, in peaceful and good-humoured contrast with her own haste and heat.
'Have you, indeed, ma'am ?' he said softly.
'Have I, indeed! 'cried the woman, bridling again at a hint of sarcasm; 'can't you see I have ?' 'Madam, you are very obvious.' 'Am I, then! Well, look here, you; you've got to cane the hide off that boy.' 'You surprise me, Mrs.Steven.For what ?' 'For breakin' into my garden an' robbin' me.

Nice way you're teachin' these boys, ain't you?
Makin' thieves an' stealers of 'em.

Now, tell me, do you mean to thrash him ?' Joel considered the matter calmly, pinching his under lip and blinking at Mrs.Ben in a pensive, studious way.
'No, ma'am, I do not.' 'For why ?' cried the woman.
'I am not the public hangman, Mrs.Steven.' Mrs.Steven could not see the relevance of the excuse, and her anger rose again.
'Then, sir, I'll thrash him myself, now an' here.' The master sighed heavily and clambered on to his high stool, took his black bottle from his desk, and deliberately refreshed himself, oblivious apparently to the lady's threat and forgetting her presence.
'Do you hear me, Joel Ham ?' Mrs.Ben Steven beat heavily on the desk with the palm of her large hand.

'I'll whack him myself.' 'Certainly, ma'am, certainly--if you can catch him.' Dick accepted this as a kindly hint and dived under a couple of desks as Mrs.Steven rushed his place.