Stand on the form and read aloud." And so saying, she handed me the book and pointed to the place.
This was the very refinement of torture, and I draw a veil over the sad spectacle which followed.

Nor was I the only victim standing there struggling and perspiring through the long sentences, turned back whenever I made a mistake, to begin the page over again, till the end of the chapter seemed to get farther and farther away; the other boys, too, came in for part of the tragedy, for the Henniker, being now free of her book, had no occupation for her eyes but to glare at them, and no occupation for her tongue but to level bad marks and rebukes and punishments at the head of every offender.
"Reading" lasted that evening until ten o'clock, and to this day I cannot imagine how it ever came to an end even then.

I know I never got to the end.

This sad experience gave a considerable additional zest to our hopes of freedom on the following day.
Smith was not the sort of fellow to undertake what he did not mean to carry through, and I was astonished to see how carefully his plans were laid, and how precisely he had allotted to every one of us our respective duties.
Monday dawned at length, and we rose from our beds like patriots on the morning of a battle which is to decide their freedom or slavery.
I had two minutes' whisper with Smith as we went down to breakfast.
"Tell the fellows," said he, "that the signal to begin will be just when morning school is over.

The Hen goes to get ready for dinner, and Shankley and Philpot are to follow and screw her up.