Pretty soon Mrs.Preston entered the room, and sat down, to await the arrival of Oscar's father to tea.

She at once introduced the topic which was uppermost in her mind, by the inquiry: "Oscar, what is the trouble between you and Willie Davenport ?" "Why," replied Oscar, "he 's been telling stories about me." "Do you mean false stories ?" "Yes--no--not exactly false, but it was n't true, neither." "It must have been a singular story, to have been either false nor true.

And as it appears there was but one story, I should like to know what it was." "He told Ralph I had to stand up and look at a blackboard an hour." "Was that false ?" "Yes," said Oscar, for in replying to his mother, of late, he had usually omitted the "ma'am" (madam) which no well-bred boy will fail to place after the yes or no addressed to a mother; "yes, it was a lie, for I need n't have stood there five minutes, if I had n't wanted to." "Did you stand before the blackboard because you wanted to, or was it intended as a punishment for not attending to your lesson!" "Why, I suppose it was meant for a punishment, but the master told me I might go to my seat, whenever I wanted to study." "Then," said Mrs.Preston, "after all your quibbling, I don't see that Willie told any falsehood.

And, in fact, I don't believe he had any idea of injuring you, when he told Ralph of the affair.

He only spoke of it as a little matter of news.