The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-11-20

EeA lace. uiu 4Aiu " uOWu Oh tiiS Otoh.
The teacher came and stood beside her,
aud asked her what the matter was.
Jane only shook her head and wept.
fare you sick.:' asked the teacher,
bending low over her.
mo, ma sam, sobbed Jane. She would
not say another word, and the teacher
went back to her desk and called a class.
"Jane." she said presently. in a clear,
authoritative voice, You may go out
and get a pail of water"
The teacher meant it very kindly; it
was considered quite a privilege to get n
pail of water, and then pass it around in
a tin dipper; she thought it would serve
to distract James mind from her grief,
whatever it might be.
But it was dreadful for poor Jane to
pull herself up to her full height and
crawl slowly down the aisle, with her
arms crooked in a pink ring around her
face, aud all the school looking. She
stumbled over It %protruding nail. and
everybody Uttered, and the teacher called
out, ''Hushya sharply.
Jane went out with the water pail, but
instead of filling it from the pump near
the school house she sat it down on the
platform and fled desperately down the
road to a little bridge over a brook.
Her mind was made up, she would
not go back to school, she had never
been so miserable in her life, and the
misery was all the greater because she
was ashamed of it and ashamed to con-
fess it. She did not want to tell even
her mother hat she minded somuch be-
cause she was tall; she crouched low
down in the bushes and wept.
Presently she heard a quick patter Of
bare feet On the bridge, then a break in
the bushes.
''Hallo.' called a hesitating voice.
Jane made no sound.
"Ho, you needn't play you amt there"
said the voice. Il see you come in here.
/ was looking out of the window. l
raised my hand when teacher asked
where you was, and she sent me out here
to fetch the water, and to tell you to
come in.
Jane looked up and saw a boys face
peering down at her from the top of the
bank, his brown cheeks flushing, his red
lips parting in a bashful laugh.
Il amt eve going back to school,
Robbie" said Jane with a sob. All the
old childish c~omradeship seemed to come
back to her, she had not seen much of
him for a year or two; she had played
more with girls.
81 don't care, you're the prettiest girl
in school anyhow" said Robert in a
shamefaced way.
s.Why, Robert Carnes! I amt"
"Yes, you are"
"Oh, Robbie-maybe l shall be-taller
than | am now"
81 don't care if you are, you'll always
be the prettiest. Come along"
II amt going back to school,"
Teacher won't like it"
II can't help it,"
.'Oh, come along"
81 won't The girls pink face turned
up toward him like a pink flower from
the bushes. There was a look i'll it that
the boy knew well. He knew that when
his old playmate said II WON'T in that
tone, she didn't.
Robert seated himself on the bank and
began to whistle. Jane looked at him;
she could see his slender shoulders in his
little homemade blue and white shirt,
and his handsome face gazing ahead alb
stractedly as he whistled.
why don't you go back to SCHOOL,
she asked hesitatingly.
''Oh, | amt going back if you amt"
'.Why not, I'd like to know
"'Cause | amt. Say, Mary Eta has
got her head down on her desk crying
cause you don't come in, and / seen
Maria passing along some crab apples to
put III your desk"
Jane said nothing. Robert whistled
again.
Jane waited a minute. "Well, I'll
come" said she. You go ahead and
get the water"
There was a leap of bare feet over the
bridge, and Jane came sout from the
swarm of flower butterflies, with unde-
fined conviction that brought comfort in
her childish heart. that however tall she
grew, although she might outgrow all
her dresses. she would never outgrow