Annie began to cry. Rodolphus called out to her in a rough voice to go along to school. So she began to walk slowly along, drawing the cart wearily after her. On her way home from school that day, when she came to the place in the road where Rodolphus had left her in the morning, she found him waiting there for her. She was coming without the cart. Rodolphus asked her what she had done with it. She said that she had left it at school. The teacher had told her that it was too heavy for her to draw, and had put it in a corner, to wait till Rodolphus came. Rodolphus then told Annie to sit down upon a stone by the side of the road till he came back, and then began to run toward the school-house. In a short time he came back bringing the cart. He put Annie into it and went toward home. Annie asked him where he had been all the day--but he did not answer. He seemed discontented and uneasy, and preserved a moody silence all the way home, except that once he turned and charged Annie not to tell his mother or Ellen that he had not been at school that day. When he reached home, he left the cart at the door, and stepping into the entry he began to call out aloud, "Mother! Mother!" Ellen came to the door and said in a gentle voice, "Mother can't come now, Rolfy; she is busy." "But I want to see her a minute," said he. "Mother! Mother!" A moment afterward his mother appeared at her bedroom window. "What do you want, Rolfy?" said she. Rodolphus said nothing, but stood still, pointing to the cart, with a triumphant air. "What?" said his mother. "See!" said Rodolphus. "What is it?" said she. "The cart," said Rodolphus, "all safe." "Well," said his mother, "what then?" "Why, you said," replied Rodolphus, "that if I took it to school, it would come to some damage." "Well, it _might_ have come to some damage," said she, "you know. And you ought not to have taken it." So saying his mother went away from the window. * * * * * Rodolphus was, in fact, a source of continual trial and trouble to his mother, though she did not know one half of his evil deeds. He concealed them from her very easily, for she never made a careful inquiry into his conduct when he was out of her sight. He played truant continually, going off to play with idle boys. He fell into bad company, and formed many evil habits. He was continually getting into mischief among the neighbors. They complained of him sometimes, to his mother, but this did no good. Generally, she would not believe any thing that they said against him, and whenever any of his evil deeds were fully proved to her, she made so many excuses for him, and looked upon his misconduct with so indulgent a view, that she exercised no restraint upon him whatever.