Chapter 4

"Headmaster Martin, thank you for seeing me on such short notice," Peter said as he greeted the Headmaster.

"What can I do for you Mr. Franklin?" asked Martin after shaking Peter's hand.

"Well to be specific; the stripes on my son's butt isn't what I was expecting on his first day at Stanton," Peter replied bluntly.

"I did warn him that if I heard of his getting in trouble he wouldn't be sitting comfortably for some time," Martin explained calmly.

"I understand that and have no real problem of you taking him to task for his misbehavior… I just wasn't expecting him to be caned, and to such an extent that he can't sit comfortably to do any of his homework," Peter replied.

The headmaster nodded and said, "Okay I will abide with your wishes and for any future punishment that he might receive by my hand, I promise not to use a cane on him. Now you do understand that this doesn't mean that I won't use another form of corporal punishment on him if I hear where he has misbehaved or has been punished any two of his classes."

Peter nodded, "I understand. At home he is subject to my wife's wooden spoon or my belt if he misbehaves too badly, and I must tell you that El has a mighty swing when it comes to Neal acting recklessly," Peter added with a smile. The two men stood up and shook hands as if sealing the agreement of how Neal was to be punished in the future.

On the way back to his car Peter casually walked about the campus admiring the landscape; or at least he hoped that if anyone saw him they would think that. After a few minutes Peter got into his car and drove away. He had seen nothing suspicious on the grounds, which meant if the printing press was anywhere it had to be hidden within the college walls. Neal was going to have to search it out and he hoped he would be able to do so without the end result of being on the receiving end of a strap or paddle of the headmaster.

Wednesday morning went by quickly for Neal. He was able to sit a bit more comfortably, even though he was careful not to move around too much so not to awaken the pain from the canning. He sat quietly and did is work, replying only when he was directed to by his teachers. When he entered his Art History class he was smacked on his backside by his teacher.

"That's just a reminder to behave in class today or I won't hesitate to give you six more licks," Gerald Martin said menacingly.

Neal fought hard not to let on how much that lick hurt and only nodded before taking his seat at the back of the room prepared to be bored for the next hour.

What he wasn't expecting was to be picked on as the teacher asked him question after question about the history of the Renaissance; trying his best to catch Neal at not being prepared. Neal surprised him by answering each question correctly and spoiling Martin's attempt at getting him into trouble. Neal felt victorious as he left and walked into his favorite class hoping to learn something that will give them a clue on their forgery case.

"Neal, take a seat. We have a guest from the FBI on how to spot forgeries coming in and I want everyone to pay special attention to all he says. After he leaves we will have a discussion on an upcoming assignment," Mr. Nichols said.

Neal slid into his seat and started to panic. If this was an agent that didn't know he was undercover, he could blow his cover. He kept his eyes down afraid to make eye contact with anyone. He heard steps and the door closing.

"Agent Jones is it?" greeted the teacher and Neal sat up knowing that his cover was safe since Agent Jones was one of Peter's junior agents.

"Mr. Nichols," Jones exchanged the greeting. "The bureau is more than happy to do all they can to help stop forgeries. We have solved several cases dealing with forgeries but mainly with paintings."

"Agent Jones, we are having a study on all types of forgeries and I thought that my students would be interested to have an agent from the FBI tell us about them. After all, we do learn from copying the masters; it is only when they are sold in their stead that they can get into trouble," Nichols explained. "Can you tell us of some of your more interesting solved cases?"

Jones smiled as his eyes made contact with Neal and launched into the story of a case nicknamed "James Bonds" much to enjoyment of the class and teacher, with the exception of Neal. Agent Jones stayed for the majority of the class telling of old forgery cases and showing them actual forged currency; a counterfeit fifty dollar bill; urging them to compare the counterfeit with a real fifty dollar bill, and Neal caught a glance between two students.

After Jones left, Nichols announced, "For your assignment I want you to forge something and then bring the forgery along with the real item you used as a model, so your class and I can grade you on how well you did. The ones that can do it with the fewer errors will get high marks… so do your best. The assignment will be due a week from today." After that class was dismissed and Neal gathered his books to leave, he saw the two students that had exchanged glances during Jones' lecture, talking among themselves outside the classroom.