Opossum poses them and declines in O-pot-esse by any manner of means of o-potting-di-do-dum, was quite oppositum-oppotitu, in fact, quite contrairy." Richard, with the gravity of a victim, heard this sally of schoolboy wit, which threw Ethel back on the sofa in fits of laughing, and declaring that the Opossum declined, not that he was declined; but, in the midst of the disturbance thus created, Tom stepped up to her, and whispered, "Do tell me, Ethel!" "Indeed I shan't," said she.

"Why don't you say fairly if you don't know ?" He was obliged to confess his ignorance, and Richard made him conjugate the whole verb opponor from beginning to end, in which he wanted a good deal of help.
Ethel could not help saying, "How did you find out the meaning of that word, Tom, if you didn't look out the verb ?" "I--don't know," drawled Tom, in the voice, half sullen, half piteous, which he always assumed when out of sorts.
"It is very odd," she said decidedly; but Richard took no notice, and proceeded to the other lessons, which went off tolerably well, except the arithmetic, where there was some great misunderstanding, into which Ethel did not enter for some time.

When she did attend, she perceived that Tom had brought a right answer, without understanding the working of the sum, and that Richard was putting him through it.

She began to be worked into a state of dismay and indignation at Tom's behaviour, and Richard's calm indifference, which made her almost forget 'Jane Sparks', and long to be alone with Richard; but all the world kept coming into the room, and going out, and she could not say what was in her mind till after dinner, when, seeing Richard go up into Margaret's room, she ran after him, and entering it, surprised Margaret, by not beginning on her books, but saying at once, "Ritchie, I wanted to speak to you about Tom.
I am sure he shuffled about those lessons." "I am afraid he does," said Richard, much concerned.
"What, do you mean that it is often so ?" "Much too often," said Richard; "but I have never been able to detect him; he is very sharp, and has some underhand way of preparing his lessons that I cannot make out." "Did you know it, Margaret ?" said Ethel, astonished not to see her sister looked shocked as well as sorry.
"Yes," said Margaret, "Ritchie and I have often talked it over, and tried to think what was to be done." "Dear me! why don't you tell papa?
It is such a terrible thing!" "So it is," said Margaret, "but we have nothing positive or tangible to accuse Tom of; we don't know what he does, and have never caught him out." "I am sure he must have found out the meaning of that oppositum in some wrong way--if he had looked it out, he would only have found opposite.
Nothing but opponor could have shown him the rendering which he made." "That's like what I have said almost every day," said Richard, "but there we are--I can't get any further." "Perhaps he guesses by the context," said Margaret.
"It would be impossible to do so always," said both the Latin scholars at once.
"Well, I can't think how you can take it so quietly," said Ethel.

"I would have told papa the first moment, and put a stop to it.