Bub's howls began again. Father couldn't stand it. He made for the barn. "What's this?" said he. There stood Bub, with his jacket off, and his father, with a big, tough switch in his hand. "This?" responded Mr. Ridlet, his teeth fairly chattering in his wrath. "This? It's that this boy deserves the confoundedest whipping a boy ever had--and I'm giving it to him!" He lifted the switch, and Bub yelled before it touched him. I knew he had been hurt pretty bad. "Oh, now, neighbor," said father, putting out his hand to prevent the switch from coming down, "your boy can't have done anything so terribly bad. I've always thought a lot of your boy. Haven't you punished him about enough?" "Hasn't done anything bad, hasn't he? Oh, no! He hasn't been the one to know about his mother's fork money, and not say a word, and let the mischief be to play between two families? Take that!" Down came the switch. Poor Bub's screams made my ears ring. I would not have got that crack for twice the money in question. "There, neighbor," interposed father, taking hold of the rod. "I insist on your telling me all about Bub and the money, since I was accused of having it. Bub didn't steal it?" "No, no, no!" protested Bub. "I forgot, that's all. I took it and forgot it. That's all, Mr. Pomfrey. Father knows that's all." He took on awfully, but it was the pain. I could see he'd done no wrong. "How did you take it? Come, Bub, tell me all about it," coaxed father. "It's a pretty story," burst out Mr. Ridlet. "A boy old enough to know something takes a package of silver dollars for nails! Nails! Takes it and tosses it into the old carriage room, where it gets covered up, and never comes to sight till to-day. And our two families set together by the ears in consequence, and not speaking for half a year. Tell me a boy doing such a senseless thing as that doesn't deserve a whipping?" "But I forgot it, father," pleaded poor Bub. "Has your wife's money been found?" said father, looking real pleased. "Why, that's the best news I've heard this long while. You and your wife must be glad. I would hear Bub's story through before giving him such a whipping. Found it in the old carriage room? He put it there by mistake?" "Mistake!" roared Mr. Ridlet. "If it was by mistake, why didn't he remember it? It's a likely story! I asked him over and over again where he was that morning." "You see I clean forgot it, Mr. Pomfrey," sobbed Bub, not daring to speak to his father, "for I just ran in to see if father had got the nails I wanted, when I heard Seth outside. He'd come to get me to go out in his new boat. We had agreed to go that day. You see I asked father to get the nails for Seth to finish up the boat with; but Seth had found some. The good time I had that day just put everything else out of my mind. Then, not having anything more to do with Seth kinder mixed me up afterwards," explained Bub; "made me forget worse, I suppose."