The Meeker herald., 1893-03-18
W'LBSTER'S VALENTINE.

'iii4S wash Ike w eDsters rs
rule he was ono of the most trust
worthy boys in the school Why such
IL terrible temptation should have over
ttken him that day and been yielded to-
perhaps his own conscience can tell,
nv sure l cannot. OF course 1 can
guess that he may have been grow
ing careless; may have thought that of
course he would be good boy, and
1 may have been asked for special help
| mat morning, and in that way have let
Satan get the advantage Of him; or 1t
! may have been in some other way-I
don't know. But l know this. Into
shc quiet of that February morning,
.hcu all the scholars We're bending
over their books, there came sudden
ouzzlng sound from Webster's corner
The teacher had been much tried with
whispers and had made. Il short time
before, Il pretty severe threat having
| 10 do with the next one who whis-
perei. 1t looked as Nough Webster
4 was that one.
4 The teacher was surprised and
| EIievel. lie was one of her favorites.
| Websrer. did you whisper just now"
| she asked and Webster said PROMPTLY
aGd distinctly, NO, ma'am."
Up to that moment he had had the
:, sympathy of every girl and boy in the
\ room; but along with that distinct
I No, ma'ani,' came, almost In that
| same breath. n subducd murmur of
! OH from the class mnt,s. You
! know how they make that long-drawn-
| out uuler-touc which expresses aston
. Col, "a,
| approval?
Mamie Howell. who was Webster's
very special friend, looked down on
her slate and said not n word, but her
checks grew scarlet, and a mist very
| Ike tears came into her eyes. At re-
| cess. instead of going out to play. she
slt down by herself on the teachers
| platform In front of the large window.
and by turns watched the snow birds
outside. or, with her finger in her his
tory TO keep the place, looked Mt moth
ing i'll particular, and thought her sor
| rowful thoughts. She was so disap-
| pointed in Webster. Who would have
supposed that he could tell lie? She
knew he had whispered; she had even
| heard what he had said.
Poor Webster, he knew it too, and
| his heart was even heavier Mt this
minute than NAMES, He, too, was
alone out in the great hall. leaning
! against one of the high window seats,
his finger also keeping the place in
| history. but his mind too busy over
his down fall TO have room for more
ancient history.
What an extraordinary thing that
| he, Webster Briggs should have said
/ what was not true! Nothing dreadful
| had happened in consequence. The
| teacher had looked relieved rather
than otherwise Mt his answer, and had
asked no more questions. But, then,
/ Webster knew. and he knew that
/ Mamie Howell knew. and for the mat
ter Of that, all the girls and boys on
the west side knew that it was he
, WHO had whispered. What was TO be
done?
/ What was done was certainly very
! disngrceable. Not II boy or girl
spoke to Webster during that long re
Z cess The girls gathered In groups and
/ talked about MIN. aud the boys voted
/ with one consent that he wns "muit,'
| and let him alone. Mamie neither
/ talked about him nor to MIN, but she
cried once or twice, and her eyes We're
I red.
1t mny he surprising. shut none of
| these things helped Webster. When
i
{ knife. and Clay answered only by n
7 low whistle. Wcbs;cr's face grew scar
let. and he muttered that for his part
he didn't think it was any worse to
whisper than 1t was to whistle, ard
that IL Miss Parkhnst hadn't been
Ont Of the room Il minute Clay
/ wouldn't have dared to whistle.
! Then Clay answered that that might
all be true. but IL Miss Parkhurst
asked him when she came back wheth-
or he whistled he should certainly say
yes.
E NJ that moment Miss Parlihurst re-
turned but as 1t was an hour when
Z the scholars had Il right to ask each
( other questions in low tones about
/ whatever they need to know. She did
not inquire as TO what had been 60
ing on while she was gone.
! The disagreeable day was over at
last, and Webster went home feeling
cross and fierce. What business had
/ the scholars to treat him so? He had
not meant to tell lie. He had meant
to say in the next second that 1t was
n mistake. that he did not think what
he was saying when he said that NO,
ma'am" lie would have done it, too,
| before recess, If they hadn't acted so
| mcan.
| Nnnt business WIS IL ol tlltlls.
/ Webster WAS not on the road to hap
pincss.
1t was n busy evening to several OF
his schoolmates. Clay Peterson and
his small friend, Hugh Borland. spent
the evening together. Hugh was the
school artist. Small as he was, he
could make very comical pictures. and
had a dangerous talent for sketching
likcnesses. 1t lad dawned upon both
of these boys that the next day would
be Valentines day. and they had de-
cidcd to send Webster Briggs valen-
tine So Hugh made Il very ridiculous
picture of him, with n very large
mouth out of which was issuing very
large NO. ma'am!'' and Clay added
doggcrcl in rhyme beginning:
"This is the boy NIL shaver and shorn,
Who sat In the school room one winter
And created n sigh
And made Mamie cry,
Ard made all the scholars say. on! why
VIII cool little boy tell Il lIef'
| There were four verses all equally
poetic and helpful. What blessed
ihing II was that other valentines were
being written that evening. 1t was
Helen Borland. Hugh's sister, who