Page:Anna Chapin--Half a dozen boys.djvu/152

134 afterwards Bessie’s hand was laid on his shoulder.

“In a brown study, Fred?” she asked gayly.

“Yes—no—I don’t know,” was the somewhat vague response.

“What is it now?” she inquired, as she bent over the fireplace to pile up the scattered  embers.

“Nothing, only I didn’t enjoy the boys much,” said Fred candidly. “And I don’t think they enjoyed me. Do you think we shall ever have any more fun together, Miss  Bess?”

“Yes, indeed, Fred! It will take a little while to make up for the year you have lost. But be patient; the time will come, and come soon. Was it as bad as you expected?”

“I am afraid it was,” confessed Fred. “Sam was the worst of all.”

“And yet he had no idea of it,” said Bess. “He meant to say something very kind, and we ought to find out what people really mean, before we judge them. I don’t believe that, except for Rob, one of the boys would give up as much for your sake as Sam, in spite of his