lovingly. The young gentlemen teachers "showed off" with small

scoldings and other little displays of authority and fine attention to

discipline--and most of the teachers, of both sexes, found business up

at the library, by the pulpit; and it was business that frequently had

to be done over again two or three times (with much seeming vexation).

The little girls "showed off" in various ways, and the little boys

showed off" with such diligence that the air was thick with paper wads

and the murmur of scufflings. And above it all the great man sat and

beamed a majestic judicial smile upon all the house, and warmed himself

in the sun of his own grandeur--for he was "showing off," too.

There was only one thing wanting to make Mr. Walters' ecstasy

complete, and that was a chance to deliver a Bible-prize and exhibit a

prodigy. Several pupils had a few yellow tickets, but none had enough

--he had been around among the star pupils inquiring. He would have given

worlds, now, to have that German lad back again with a sound mind.

And now at this moment, when hope was dead, Tom Sawyer came forward

with nine yellow tickets, nine red tickets, and ten blue ones, and

demanded a Bible. This was a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Walters

was not expecting an application from this source for the next ten

years. But there was no getting around it--here were the certified

checks, and they were good for their face. Tom was therefore elevated

to a place with the Judge and the other elect, and the great news was

announced from headquarters. It was the most stunning surprise of the

decade, and so profound was the sensation that it lifted the new hero

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer