McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1885-04-23
WITH JUNE ROSES.

The blue sky smiled down lovingly
and brightly as only June skies car
seem; birds twittered and sang in the
treetops or hoped about on the car.
pet of green in search of food for their
young; breezes seemed whispering
among the leaves stories of the flow.
cry meadows over which they had
come, while the scholars in the little
brown school house which nestled in
the grove like a brown robin in her
leat-curtained nest looked out of the
windows and wondered if noon would
never come.
81 say, Jim," whispered one tow
head to another, ''see that snowbank
up there?" pointing to pile of white
fluffy clouds. "Now if Is the little
angel. I'd have game of SNOWFALL. -"
Nav We wouldn't nather,'' sail
Jim, shying q paper wad at the red
headed girl opposite him. Eyer ma
don't low We to play in snow, honey"
'.Oh, what whopper!'' exclaimed
the first speaker.
mo such thing remarked Jim,
preparing paper for another charge.
''Ye know We didn't play a game last
WINTER
''Well, an what'f 1 didn't; guess 1
had the whoopin' cough last winter
an ma said her brother'd died cause
he'd caught cold wen he had the
whoopin' cough, and it went to his
lungs an killed him. An" ssCrack-
ey," interrupted Jim. '.She nearly
caught me that time. II say, let's
study our spellin' lesson. I'll just
shoot this one more, an then we'll
study" But that one more was the
one too many. 1t hit the ill-natured
fellow in the corner on his freckIed
nose, and he promptly reported on
James, who was thereupon assigned
standing room by the teachers desk.
The first tOwhead left to himself di-
vided his time between the window
near him and the clock, which to him
did not appear to move at all. please,
ma'am," said he at length, as though
he had just made startling discovery,
''please, teacher, the clock stopped"
NO" said the teacher. with smile
of sympathy, Il guess the clock is all
right. But you have stopped study
ing, Billy" Towhead manfully wink
ed the tears away and dropped his
spelling book out of the window.
Teacher, may get my book?" he
said. mo, Billy, this makes the
third time you have dropped your
book this week. You may study with
JOHNNY JONES'" said the poor, tired
teacher, striving to speak kindly.
''But something will tear my book up
and can't have no more till next
term, pap said.''
''What is there out there to disturb
your book?''
''O,' said towhead, after a short
pause, ''toads N things" then added
more excitedly, amidst the laugh that
greeted this ominous list of destroy
ers: ''Oh, there's Tom Woodson's
dog, now, m he just hates books"
''Keep your seat" said the teacher
quietly; 81 will get the book for you.
Then you must stand on the floor, so
as not to be tempted to drop it
again"
Towhead looked rather blank, bnt
managed to get him drink while she
was gone for the book. Thus the
forenoon dragged ''its weary length
along" The scholars restless and
idle, and the teacher almost too weary
and sad to blame them for it. But at
last the clock struck twelve, school
was dismissed for the noon hour, and
the scholars went shouting and jump
ing away to open their lunch baskets
on the cool, green grass beneath the
trees, and lave their faces in the brook
that flowed near by. The teacher was
left alone. The sad meaning of that
word thrilled her as she turned the
leaves of her registrar, to give Teddy
Mulligan credit for his noon head
mark in the spelling class. Then she
turned to the lunch which the far
mer's wife with whom she boarded
had "put up" for her. Tie lunch was
dainty, and nicely arranged, as her
landlady had paid more than usual
care to its preparation, remembering
that this was the little teachers birth
day, and that it was sad day, too,
for the girl who had on this day, six
years before, turned from the grave
of her mother, her last relative, SO far
as she knew, homeless and alone, to
find dwelling place among strangers,
and earn her living by teaching
school. Yet tempting as the sugared
berries, with cream, and the faky
rolls upon which the cook quite prided
herself would have been at happier
time, the teacher turned from them
with sigh to-day, and catching up
bunch of roses that one of the
little girls had that morning brought
and placed upon the teachers desk,
she buried her face in their bright
depths and burst into passion of
weeping. Round a little home far
away the roses had clustered thick
and various IN the happy sum-
mers of years that were gone. Little
did the school girl think as she gather
ed that bunch of roses and as a gift
of love Iaid it upon the teachers desk
that morning of the many sweet and
precious memories it would bring
about that teachers heart. But as
the roses, crushed by the pressure of
her face, threw round her their fra
GRANGE the teachers thoughts sped
hack through the years dividing to
the home of her childhood and youth.
On such another June day rs this, the