"Wipe them clean,--by the way, you must have a good penwiper,--and then put them together in a particular place in your desk. When you have thus used one bunch, tie them up and lay the bunch on my desk to be mended, and then you can go on using the other bunch. This will give me opportunity to choose a convenient time to mend the first bunch again. When I have mended them, I will tie them up and lay them on your desk again. Thus you will always have a supply of pens, and I shall never be interrupted to mend one. This will be a great deal more convenient, both for you and for me." "Only it will use up a great many more pens," replied Marco. "No," said Forester; "not at all. We shall have more in use at one time, it is true, but the whole bunch may last as long as if we had only one cut at a time." "We shall begin to study," continued Forester, "at nine o'clock, and leave off at twelve. That will give you half an hour to run about and play before dinner." "And a recess?" said Marco,--"I ought to have a recess." "Why, there's a difficulty about a recess," said Forester. "I shall have it on my mind every day, to tell you when it is time for the recess, and when it is time to come in." "O no," replied Marco, "I can find out when it is time for the recess. Let it be always at ten o'clock, and I can look at the watch." Marco referred to a watch belonging to Forester's father, which was kept hung up over the mantel-piece in their little study. "I think it probable you would find out when it was time for the recess to _begin_," said Forester, "but you would not be so careful about the end of it. You would get engaged in play, and would forget how the time was passing, and I should have to go out and call you in." "Couldn't you have a little bell?" said Marco. "But I don't wish to have any thing of that kind to do," said Forester, "I am going to instruct you half an hour every morning, beginning at nine o'clock, and I want to have it all so arranged, that after that, I shall be left entirely to myself, so that I can go on with my studies, as well as you with yours. If we can do this successfully, then, when noon comes, I shall feel that I have done my morning's work well, and you and I can go off in the afternoon on all sorts of expeditions. But if I have to spend the whole morning in attending to you, then I must stay at home and attend to my own studies in the afternoon." "Well," said Marco, "I think I can find out when to come in."