Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-11-09

MS elueI DrOtnPr, rising with family COu-
cern Ghd ROWING openly upon Johnny {;
,"lts Jest his foolslluess he oughter be
licked Finding himself unexpectedly
on ms leet, and apparently ut the end of n
long sreech, he colored also, and then said
hufrledly, Jimmy SnyGer-he seed suth-
cd hero.
Every eye, including The masters, was
! turned on Jimmy snyder Bus that youth
| tul observer, Instantly diving his head
| aud shoulders into his desk, remained
there RurClng as If under water. Two or
| three nearest him endcaVored with some
Struggling to bring him to On Ineligible
| surface again. The master waited patient
| ~. Johnny tl!Eee took advantage OF the
diversion to begin again in q nigh key,
'llge Ii n got thN,' aud subsidized
Come, jimmy said the master, with
| y touch OF peremtUriness. Thus adiured,
Jimmy 6uYder came mp glowingly, aud
! Dristliug With full stops and exclamation
| points seed . black bar comm outer
D1vess woods, he said excl edly: '.NiQh
to me ez you oe. y big Ell boss, Ii
suarlin' N suappiu' like gosh KEN
along het--clump torords me. ReckOned
| he'd -kccr me Diiu't sHCer m worth p
cent. l ne8ved rock "a him-l did now
! an defiance OF nurmurs Of deraiye COM
mcnD-'n ne slid. III he'd ken up iurder
| 10 hey mp With my slate aud swotted him
over the snout-bet your boots -
The master here thought lit to interfere.
and gtavely point out chat the habit Of
striking bears as large "a Il horse with Il
| school sitte was equally dangerous to ne
| slate (Which was also the property Of TuO-
lumne county and to the striker, and that
! the verb 10 sWot," aud the noun suhstan.
| tive "snootn were likewise indefensble,
and not to be tolerated. Thus admOnished
Jimmy Snyder, albeit mistaken in his
faith in his own courage, sat down.
4 slight pause ensued. The youthful
! RI gee. ia king uONAntHVe OF if ODpup1 in a
/ higher KEY "Tige lthn--but the mas
ter's attention was here diverted by the
searching eyes of Octavla Dean. a girl of
II, who, after the fashion of her sex, pre-
! TERED personal recognition of her pre-
sence before she spoke. Succeeding in
catching his eye she threw back her long
! hair from her shoulders with an easy hab
itual gesture, rose, and, with u faint &C
cessinn OF color. said
"Cressy McNinstry came home from
Sacramento. Mrs, McKinstry told moth
er she's comm back here to school"
The master looked up with an alacrity
| perhaps Inconsistent with his cynical aus
terity. Seeing the young girl curiously
watching him with Al eXnectant smile, he
regretted it. Greasy McKinstry, who was
| Is years Old had been one of the pupils he
had found az the school when he first came.
| But as he had also found that she was
there IN the extraordinary attitude of be-
| ing engaged" to one Seth Davis, a fellow
! pupil Of 10, and as most of the courtshlp
| was carried on freely and unceremOnioEs-
/ ly during school hours with the full per
mission of the masters predecessor, the
master had been obliged to point out to
the parents Of the devoted compile the EN-.
barrassing effects OF this association on
! the discipline of the school. The result
| had been the withdrawal of the lovers,
and possibly the good will of the parents.
The return Of the young lady was cOnse-
| queOtly a matter of some significance.
| Had the masters protest been acCedted,
or had the engagement Itself been broken
off : Either was not improbable His
momentary loss of attention was Johnny
FllSee's great gain.
"Tige," said Johnny, with sudden and
| alarming distlnctpesa 18th got thlX
puuths-mothly yaller."
III the laugh which followed this long
| withheld announcement of an increase in
the family of Johnny's yellow and disrep-
utable setter "Tiger," who usually &C
| companied him to school and hOwled out
side, the master joined with marked dis
tinctness. Then he said with equally
! marked severity, "books :" The little
! lcrco was ended and school began.
| 1t continued for two hours with short
signs, corrugations of small foreheads,
! the nplainng cries and scratchlngs of
! slate pencils over states, and other signs
! of minor anguish among the more youth
full of the flock, aud with more or less
=
unconscious soliloquy among the older
| pupils The master moved slowly up and
| down the aisle with word of encourage
ment or explanation here and there, stop
ping, with his hands behind him, to gaze
| abstraCtedly out of the windows, to the
wondering envy of the little ones. a
faint hum as of invisible insects, gradual
! ly pervaded the school the more persist
ent droning Of large bee had become
dangerously soporific. The hot breath of
the pines without had invaded tbs doors
and windows: the warped shingles and
weather boarding at times creaked and
snapped under the rays Of the vertical and
unclouded. sun. A gentle perspiration
broke out like mild epidemic il the in
FAINT class little curls became damp, brief
lashes limp, round eyes moist and small
eytiids heavy. The master himself start.
ed and awoke out Of perilous dream of
other eyes and hair to collect himself Sc
verely For the irresoLute, half embar-
raised, half ley figure of n man had
halted doUbtingly before the porch and
open door. Luckily the children, who
were facing the master, with their backs
to the entrance did not see il.
Yet the figure was neither alarming nor
unfamiliar. The master at once recOc
nized it rs Ben Dabney, otherwise known
as ~ nclp Ben" good humored but not
over bright miner, who occupied small
cabin on an unambitions claim in the ont
skirts OF Indian Spriug. His aVunculHr
tile was evidently only an iroulcal tribute
his aniab bic iuconpeteucy and heavy
good nature, for he was still a young man,
with no family ties, and by reason Of his
singular shyneSs not even Il visitor in the
few taruilie4 Of the nei4hnOrhOUG. As the
master looked up ne mad an irritating re-
collection that Beu had been already
haunting him Tor the last two days, alter
nately appearing anl disappearing in bis
path to and from school rs more thGu
I usugllV reserved and hpShful rho-t This