The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-03

much trouble over that hateful old Brown
| even if he was the handsOmest man she hac
| ever seen. But she'd be even with him
She'd give him trouble enough nowi Ii be
wouldn't like her, she'd make him hate hel
before the week was over! And with this
| laudable determination in her mind. she
| reached her home. The next morning
! Lily sauntered into school fifteen minutes
late. Ned Brown hesitated as she walked
to her seat. 1t was her first of
| fence, and he was inclined to overlook
| it; but on second thought he decided
| not TO, and as she took off her wraps be
| said:
Miss Lily, fifteen minutes late. Three
dement's, unless a reasonable excuse"
No excuse" replied Lily, with a saucy
toss of her head, and she began to rustic the
leaves of her book.
Mr. Brown shut his mouth firmly, and en-
| tered the marks. Lily continued to make
80 much noise over her book that she at
| tracted the attention of the school
Mr.. Brown stood it few minutes and
| then said:
Hiss Lily, please make less noise. You
disturb the school,"
Lily shrugged her shoulders. and, closing
the book with slap, tossed it across the
desk. The scholars Uttered, but, beyond a
slight flush, Mr.. Brown did not notice 1t.
Twenty minutes now passed without inter
ruptiCn, when suddenly loud whispering
.
towards her. Mr.. Brown found her talking
earnestly to her neighbOr.
'Eliss Lily, said he, sternly, Item marks
for whispering"
Twenty, if you please" said she, coolly,
continuing her talk.
Mr. Browns brow grew black. Things
were becoming 5erious and they must be
stopped.
Hiss Elmer" said he. very quietly, 81
regret that your conduct has forced upon
mo the painful duty of making an example
of young lady, but my rules must be
obeyel. You remain fifteen minutes after
school closes"
'Thank you" she replied, and having
finished her conversation she turned lazlly
to her books.
Tho day wore to its close at last. Lily
gave 10 more trouble. and with a heavy
heart Mr.. Brown dismissed school. One by
one the pupils filed by him, and when Llly's
place came she was in it. He was aston
ished, for hehad not expected an overt act
of diSObedience. He put out his hand to
stop her.
''Miss Elmer you forget. requested you
to remain after school"
GO, no! remember perfectly; but, I'M
fortunately, have a more attractive en-
gagement, and must decline"
And with the saucieSt, brightest smile she
swep5 past him, leaving him in a maze of
indignant bewildernent.
The last child left. and he closed the
door; but instead OF preparing to follow
them as usual, he began to pace the floor
with quick, firm steps. What his thoughts
were ne alone knew, bnt from his brow they
were not pleasant, for it was closely knit
and thunder black. At last he stopped his
walk. and bursting into harsh laugh, said
aloud:
Well, it is ended now, for of course she
Will never come again" And then he ar
4. i LII
The next day was cold and frosty; the
first real breath of winter Mr.. Brown
was at his desk. calm as ever. Lily'S seat
was vacant. He expected it, but never
tbeleSS he heaved sigh of relief. But his
comfort was shOrt-lived. Half an hour
later, III walked the lady, as rosy and de-
fiaPt as the night before. Mr. Brown was
at that moment trying to explain to five
year-old urchin the difference between
B and d, and, except by a tighter
clutch of the book, that the boy did
not notice, he gave no sign of see
ing her enter. She went to her seat, and
opened her books with considerable noise.
Still no notice from the teacher; and at
length her class was called, and she took
her place in it. Her time came to recite.
but, instead of asking her questions, Mr.
Brown quietly said:
"MiSS Elmer recites no lessons till she
apologies for her disobedience. of yester-
=
passed on to the next.
The blood rushed in torrents to Lily's
face, and the room seemed TO be dancing a
jig to the bells that rung in her ears. SIZE
felt wild impulse to do something desper-
ate, bat before she could control or exc cute
the desire, the class was dismissed, and she
found herself back in her seat. A small
inkStand stood on her desk. She seized it
at once, and, half unconsciously, began
beating a loud tattoo. Mr.. Brown stopped
his work and looked at her. For the first
time in the affair his temper got beyond
him, and with eyes that flashed equally with
hers, he said, in loud voice:
'!Miss Elmer, stop that this instant. l
your
The words had scarcely left his lips, when F!
the inkstand whiZzed past his head and
struck the wall behind him, where it broke |
into twenty pieces, leaving rivers of ink |
to the floor There was a MOI
ment of breathless silence, and then Mr.. |
Brown, with scathing sarcasm, said:
Il advise a little more practice, Miss FL |
mer, before you try that again. But | |
will take the will for the deed. and pre- |
serve this piece OF the inkstand as a me- |
ments of your lady-like conduct"
He picked up bit of the glass and then |
in a kinder voice, to the school: |
Children, school will be dismissed for |
the day. Go quietly and remember what |
l said about the mile pond"
He opened the door and they filed out, |
Lily among them. with head erect and |
eyes giittering, but deadly paller on her |
cheeks The mile pond he spoke of lay by |
the roadside, short distance from the |
When firmly frozen it was
a splendid skating pond, and in high favor |
with all the young folks. But at this time |
it was covered with thin ice, and being
quite deep was far from safe. Mr.. Brown |
had called some venturesome children of
in, fhn ~.
cause of his warning. The children all in
tended to obey, and only stopped
to take a look, but only those |
who have tasted the pleasure of clear,
smooth skating pond, can understand the
in that look 1t had frozen all
day. The ice was thicker, and looked
strong. Tho temptation was too much and |
some OF the boys ventured on. 1t scarcely |
CT acked, and they were soon followed by |
Others, till nearly all the boys were on the !
ice.
On leaving school. Lily had tried to get
away from the other girls, and walk off by
herself. She succeeded with all but Amelia |
but in spite of all she could do. |
she kept by her pouring spiteful words of
i'll her ears. When thew reached !
the pond, Lily stopped, hoping still to get |
rid of her companion, but Amelia kept |
close, and said:
st looks as if it would bear, and believe !
it will"
Ia an instant Mr. Browns warning flashed !
through Lily's mind, and the old spirit was
up.
I'm going to try it, anyway" said she,
going TO the bank
''Ohm cried Amelia, catching her, |
''Don'ti Remember what Mr. Brown !
saidrr
'Mr. Brownr" half screamed Lily. |
who cares for hint That's the very rea-
son I'm going" And throwing off
Ameiia's hand, she stepped on the ice.
1t bore her light weight without a crack;
and after few steps she turned with a
smile of triumph TO look at Amelia, and
saw the tall form of the teacher standing
on the shore. At this sight all prudence
left her, and with a wave OF her hand she
So 10 ~ 81