The school year was progressing. Since Craig and Stephen had been punished for the incident with another child's sandwich I had had no more communication with the school and, as the boys' behaviour was also satisfactory at home I had had no need to administer a punishment for about 4 weeks. However I was to have a nasty shock one afternoon in early June. I was in my office when my secretary told me she had a Miss Brand on the line wanting to speak to me. Miss Brand was the headmistress of the boys' school and I had told her that I wanted to be made aware of any instances of misbehaviour so that I could deal with them. I told my secretary to put her through and was astonished to be told that Miss Brand needed to see me to discuss an incident involving Craig and Robert. Stephen, the middle one in terms of age, apparently was not involved. I decided to leave my office at once and proceed to the school to find out exactly what had happened.
Upon arriving at the school I was ushered into Miss Brand's little office and offered a seat. I asked what the problem was and was disturbed to be told that Craig and Robert had been involved in stealing crisps from the school tuck shop. Apparently Craig had asked the elderly lady who ran the shop to reach behind her for some sweets and, whilst she was doing so, Robert had grabbed two packets of crisps from the counter and dropped them into his school bag. It seems that no one would have noticed except that Miss Brand herself happened to be walking past at precisely the moment it happened. She had obviously taken both boys to her office and had established that this was not the first time it had happened, the boys having admitted to having done it twice before. It seems that it was, unsurprisingly, Craig's idea but that Robert had willingly complied with his elder brother's scheme. I apologised profusely to Miss Brand and assured her the two little thieves would regret their actions as soon as I got home. The boys had been told that I was to be telephoned but were not detained at school and were allowed to leave at the usual time. I had phoned Miss Nash, our housekeeper, and told her that Craig and Robert were to stand outside my study and await my arrival home as soon as they arrived home. They were not even to be allowed to change into their normal home wear of t shirts and gym shorts but were to remain in their uniform of grey shorts and white school shirt. They were to stand outside the study in total silence. Stephen, who had not been involved in this incident, was allowed to go about his normal activities.
I arrived home just after 5 and, as the boys had arrived home at around 10 past four, Craig and his younger brother had been standing outside the study for about an hour. I had deliberated on my way home from the school what punishment I should use. I had decided on a severe caning for Craig. He after all was the eldest and the instigator of the thefts. I was a little concerned, however, about caning the 6 year old. He was still some 3 months short of his seventh birthday and I was unsure how to deal with him. Eventually though I decided that, to emphasise the seriousness of the matter, Robert would have to be caned although not as severely as his brother. As soon as I saw the boys standing, as instructed, outside the study I could see both had been crying, clearly aware of their impending punishment. I went to my room and took off my jacket, tie and shoes, put them away in the cupboard and slipped into my comfortable slippers. I decided to let the boys stew a little while longer and visited the bathroom where I freshened up my face and washed my hands. This done I strode downstairs to administer some much needed discipline to two young thieves.
Both children were looking at their feet when I came down the stairs and walked towards the study door. I did not speak but opened the door to the study, grasped each child by an arm, and led them through the door. I turned to close the door and then propelled them both to stand in front of my desk. I released my grip on them and moved to the cupboard where the cane was kept. I opened the cupboard and withdrew the bamboo cane, holding it by it's curved handle. Still saying nothing I went back to my desk, placed the cane on it, and sat in my chair. I asked the boys if they had anything to say and both replied, tearfully, simply with a shake of the head. The command both boys knew was coming was next and, looking at them sternly, I ordered "Take off your shorts". Both boys complied immediately and folded their grey school shorts and placed them neatly on my desk next to the cane. They looked very vulnerable now, standing in front of the desk in tiny briefs. I decided to begin my lecture. "You have both behaved disgracefully. I will not tolerate stealing and you will be punished severely. Craig, why did you steal ?". The ten year old boy simply muttered that he didn't know and mumbled tearfully that he was sorry. "And why did you involve your brother" I went on.
"I d-don't know dad. Please d-don't cane Bobby, he only did it because I asked him t-to"
"Robert has to learn his lesson I'm afraid" I replied. "When I am punishing Robert I want you to think about what you have done and I want you to realise that Robert is being punished because of your stupidity. Is that clear". Craig nodded and sniffled that he understood and so I turned my attention to the little six year old. "Robert, do you know it's wrong to steal ?". A timid little nod and a sniff was my only answer. "Apparently you have stolen twice before today. Is that correct ?" Another timid nod and a plaintive little sniffle followed my question. "I know Craig put you up to it Robert but you should have said no. You will be given 2 strokes for each theft. That makes six all together. Bend over the chair". The little lad tearfully complied. "Craig hold onto Robert's hands so he stays down in position. I don't want to have to give him extra strokes because he moves". Craig stood in front of the chair over which his young brother was bent and grasped each of Robert's hands firmly. I moved behind Robert and pulled his briefs down to his knees and then picked up the cane from the desk. I flexed it once and then whipped the first stroke down across Robert's bottom. He squealed in pain. The second stroke was quickly followed by the third and a succession of tearful sobs. I felt sure if Craig had not been holding onto the lad's hands he would not have been able to stay in position for the full six. Although he had to learn a sharp lesson for the theft I did not want to have to administer more than the prescribed amount. I whipped the small bottom three more times, pausing between each stroke to allow the initial shock to subside a little before the next stroke. Having completed the six I told Robert to stand up and go into the corner without raising his briefs. The weeping boy shuffled to the corner and I instructed him to stand with his hands on his head.
I now turned my attention to the eldest child. "I do not expect this from you Craig and I also expect you to set an example to your brothers as you are the eldest. Teaching your brothers to steal is going to get you into serious trouble. Your punishment will have to reflect the seriousness of your crime. You will get 4 strokes for each theft plus a further 4 strokes for involving Robert. That makes 16 strokes in total. I will give you 8 today and the remaining 8 tomorrow evening. Bend over the chair." I placed the cane on my desk and lowered the boy's briefs and then picked up the cane again. With all the force I could muster I lashed the cane down across Craig's backside. A wail of pain escaped his mouth. The second blow was aimed just below the first and the third just below the second, each stroke eliciting a howl of anguish from the 10 year old boy. I continued in this way until the final stroke which I administered as a diagonal stripe across the previous seven welts that had been raised. To his credit Craig, although crying openly, stayed in place until I commanded him to rise and join his brother in the corner.
I returned to my chair and sat behind the desk to read the evening paper. The sounds of crying eventually gave way to the occasional sniffle and, finally, silence. After about 45 minutes I told the boys to go and change into their casual clothes and to go to dinner. I told Craig that the next day I expected him to change into his casual wear as soon as he returned from school and to stand at attention outside the study and wait for my return from work when I would administer the remaining eight stroke of his sentence.
There is little point in boring the reader with the details of what happened the following day. Suffice to say that Craig received the remainder of his punishment across a backside which was visibly still suffering from my attentions the previous evening. I sincerely hoped the boys had learned their lesson well. Their behaviour had improved significantly since they arrived to live with me although incidents such as this one showed me I still could not relax my regime just yet.