The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-01-25

Inc metn0u gave SredG OLeHSo W Gilo
Kaidger boys, and they played a sly,
but outrageous. prank to bring him to
confusion. For a week they pretended
to have great respect for him, some of
them even pretending to become soon
verified" They SO deceived the poor
man, who was certainly well-meaning,
if not very shrewd, that he went about
openly rejoicing over the good work he
had wrought upon them.
But his eyes must have been painfully
opened two mornings later. when, after
coolly Informing him that this thing
was played out" the young rufians
seized him, and carrying him into the
woods, bound him fast to the top of a
young birch tree, which they had bent
down by main strength, and then let it
go.
The poor man was hurled upward
and left dangling fifteen feet from the
ground; and it was two or three hours
before his distressed shouts brought him
assistance. Legal punishment was
to say the threat was not acted upon.
There was no more school that winter.
Assign ''To Let" was nailed by the boys
on the front door of the school house,
and each one of the brutal clique made
it a point to smash a pain of glass every
time he went past. As a result, the
''temple of SCIENCE at Kaidger Hill was
soon in a deplorable conditioH.
The following autumn a young land
surveyor named Ammi Bray came into
the township to "run" certain lots of
wild land. The people liked his appear
ance. He wa3 rather above medium
height and muscular; but his most dis
tinguishing feature was his eyes, which
were very ~noticeably blue, and had q
habit of dwelling with unusual steadi-
ness upon any person with whom he
was speaking. When he had been at
the Hill few weeks, the ~school-agent
asked him one day whether he had ever
taught school.
Never" replied Ammi Bray.
"Wal, L don't keer ef yer Eve did"
exclaimed the agent; 81 want yo tn
take our scule this winter"
'sBut, my dear man," replied Mr..
Bray, sit would not be, from all &C
counts, a good place for an amateur.
mathematics, and once knew a little
grammer and geography, I do not feel
qualified to teach"
81 dunno's l keer eff We don't know b
from a bulls foot" exclaimed the per-
picked agent. "What l want is a man
that ken whop them COMPOUNDED boys!
Thar neyer'll be no scule here till
they're whopped and cowed. An
b'lieve you're the man to do it. But
tell We what! they're a parcel O. ny
annysr' he added, almost doubtfully.
II dunno, sometimes, as the man walks
as ken whop umr'
Ammi BRAY took a day to think of it;
and then he told the gratifed agent
that he would take the school. This
was in November. The winter term be-
gan on the first Monday in December.
Thus we find the young surveyor on
his way to the log school-house that
Monday morning, 'tjust rounding the
turn by the alders," as Nat Durfee said,
and the Kaidger boys waiting to ''s'lute
him."
And the moment he showed his face
in the doorway they saluted him! From
a dozen lusty throats was poured forth
a chorus of raspy winnings and hoarse
brays- as a personal insult to his pc
Cuiihk 1i1l VI DS"v.
But Ammi walked in quite coolly, and
seemed not at all disturbed. He paid
no attention to the brayings. but took
possession of the masters desk, and
presently called the school to order,
bidding them all choose and take their
seats for the term. But his steady blue
eye was so assertive of his authority,
that somehow the riotous Kaidgers
were a little disturbed themselves.
Something, perhaps, in the muscular
cas- with which the new master tossed
the great ''fore-sticks'' ssand back-logs''
into the broad fire place, served to hold
them in check that day. Then, too, his
manner of giving and hearing lessons
was off-hand and manly. For
once they felt hesitation in beginning the
"war' and for the next four days follow
ing their first mutinous salute, they
we're impelled to behave quite well. But
it would never do to let him rule them a
whole week; their reputation as the
champion master holsters in the country
was at stake.
The eighth of December was one Of
those bitterly cold days which sometimes
dawn on Northern New England at this
season. A cold wave had come down
over night. That morning the Their.
mometer stood fourteen degrees below
zero, and the wind blew piercingly
keen.
1t was a cold walk to the school-house:
and on his arrival there, Master Ammi
found matters in anything ave a pleas.
ing or satisfactory condition. Appar-
emily the chimney had refused its or.
binary function. There was no draught.
The room was full of smoke, and the
children stood shivering and coughing
about the fire plaee.
The five large boys above mentioned
were sitting on the forward benches,
pretending to study; but something in
their manner caused the master to feel
that mischief was intended.
s'This is a bad fire for so cold a morn.
ing he remarked. "Who laid it?''
"Jote Yatesrn exclaimed Sally Briggs,
spitefully, land it seems to be stuffed up.
But it can't be that anything's in the
chimney" she added, sarcastically, ''for
l see Jote on the roof looking into it as
come along to school,"
Something in the chimney" repeated
the master ~innocently. What can it
be?"
He saw the trap at once, but for rea,
sons of his own he choosed to walk into
it, and stepping forward he got partly
down on his knees, with his back to the
boys, and essayed to look up the broad
hue.
This was the very thing the Kaidgers
were lying in wait for. With a shout
they all sprang upon him, pulled him
backward on the floor, and then began
dragging him through the door and
along the covered way opening into the
log wood-shed, or ''trap."
Somewhat to their surprise the master
did not offer much resistance. "Don't
be so rough with me, boys" he said. in
what they thought a rather queer tone.
In a moment more they had him in the
wood-house just where they wanted
him. they thought-but just where he
wanted them, really.
No sooner were they all inside than
the athletic, but hitherto passive, Ammi
RraU s1HIanlv turnad tho toblo, -,