22 DOGGED 7ACK.

little voice was scarcely ever heard in its wonted
peals of laughter. Rarely, too, would she take her
eyes off her brother, and she followed him about
like a faithful but unhappy little dog.
 Now Mr. Gilbert, although he did not appear to
 the children to do so, noticed all this, and it grieved.
 him very much.
 Sometimes, when mention was made even in the
 most indirect way to Jack's departure, Polly's eyes
 would fill with tears and settle themselves on her
 father's face with an appealing look of dumb misery
 which went straight to his heart. But of the three,
 Mr. Gilbert himself was the most unhappy, for unless
 in a case of necessity he was the last man to willingly
 grieve either of his children. At present, however,
 it was only of Polly he thought, for Jack carefully
 concealed his feelings from his father.
 In his presence the boy always wore a dogged
look, and spoke in a hard, defiant way, so that Mr.
Gilbert had no idea how much he was fretting at
the thought of leaving home.
 The knowledge of this came to him in rather a
curious way. Mr. Gilbert had taken Jack from the
daily school which he had attended for the last three
years, saying that he would not waste his money,
nor the master's time, on a boy who would not learn;