`` No , dear , it is not the same , and never can be . I think an own mother would have been a great deal to you . But as that can not be , you must try to let me fill her place . I fear I have not done all I ought , or you would not want to leave me , '' she added , sorrowfully . `` Yes , you have ! '' cried Dan , eagerly . `` I do n't want to go , and I wo n't go , if I can help it ; but every now and then I feel as if I must burst out somehow . I want to run straight ahead somewhere , to smash something , or pitch into somebody . Do n't know why , but I do , and that 's all about it . '' Dan laughed as he spoke , but he meant what he said , for he knit his black brows , and brought down his fist on the ledge with such force , that Mrs. Jo 's thimble flew off into the grass . He brought it back , and as she took it she held the big , brown hand a minute , saying , with a look that showed the words cost her something , `` Well , Dan , run if you must , but do n't run very far ; and come back to me soon , for I want you very much . '' He was rather taken aback by this unexpected permission to play truant , and somehow it seemed to lessen his desire to go . He did not understand why , but Mrs. Jo did , and , knowing the natural perversity of the human mind , counted on it to help her now . She felt instinctively that the more the boy was restrained the more he would fret against it ; but leave him free , and the mere sense of liberty would content him , joined to the knowledge that his presence was dear to those whom he loved best . It was a little experiment , but it succeeded , for Dan stood silent a moment , unconsciously picking the fan to pieces and turning the matter over in his mind . He felt that she appealed to his heart and his honor , and owned that he understood it by saying presently , with a mixture of regret and resolution in his face , `` I wo n't go yet awhile , and I 'll give you fair warning before I bolt . That 's fair , is n't it ? '' `` Yes , we will let it stand so . Now , I want to see if I ca n't find some way for you to work off your steam better than running about the place like a mad dog , spoiling my fans , or fighting with the boys . What can we invent ? ''
and while XXXXX tried to repair the mischief he had done , Mrs. Jo racked her brain for some new device to keep her truant safe until he had learned to love his lessons better .
Dan Jo experiment fans fist force heart minute perversity something