“Yes, Velma is the girl who did it. She starred the night of the program. Her friends are determined to show her off elsewhere. No doubt she wanted to add to her glory by keeping her scheme out of my fingers. I have a notion to say to her that she might better have talked the matter over with me.” Then good sense ruled her and what she actually said was: “Why, Velma, I heard just lately that some of your friends are planning to have you out at Beecham Springs to give a program of music. What a fine thing that is! It comes Friday night, I believe; that makes it safe for your studies, so it’s going to turn out well. Your father and mother are going with you, I suppose? Well, then, that will be fine.” CASE 96 (HIGH SCHOOL) [Sidenote: Bluffing on Scholarship] “I just want to say in closing that there is some doubt about two of the boys getting to play on the football team next week—their grades are very low, and in fact as matters stand now they would be shut out.”—(Superintendent’s announcement in the assembly room.) “He’s bluffing. If our team doesn’t win he’ll be cut up as bad as any of us.”—(First pupil.) “His voice was weak when he made that speech. He won’t carry out his threat.”—(Second pupil.) “If, after all our team has done, he pulls Tom and the Giant off the team, he’s a goner and he knows it. He might as well save all this talk.”—(Third pupil.) “Just lie low, my boy. We’ve got him fixed. He’ll jump a hundred feet in the air, if he falls into our trap. Every man of us is out if one drops out, no more games this year. No, he doesn’t know. But it’ll get to him.”—(Member of the football team.) “I thought I’d best tell you so you could be prepared for it. The boys have it all made up that they’ll strike and call all the games off if you keep any one or more of them from playing. They may be bluffin’ you; but I rather think not, for they don’t believe they can beat Upper Kensington unless they can have the boys they want to play on the team. Do as you think best.”—(Citizen.) “Seems as though things are going a little crooked some way. I wonder where I blundered. I didn’t expect to set them going this way. Why don’t they get to their books; they might know I’m going to do the square thing by them. Probably I’ll have to ease up their minds some way.”—(Worried superintendent.) CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT