Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1901-06-29

CO dergarten and the
Primary and the two lowest classes
in the Grammar. The other for the
seven higher classes. Miss Swinton
was the principal of the lower school
and Mr.. Sutphen the principal of the
higher. Two such popular teachers
had never been known in Abingdon,
strict and firm yet gentle and kind,
popular with everyone and univer-
sally respected. Miss Swinton always
had an adoring circle of girls, yes, and
boys, too, around her at recess-time.
To-day there was more than 49,
usual crowd-but they stood little
way back, and only the Thompson
twins leaned on her chair, one on
each side of her, and fingered her
chain and rings and looked up ador-
ingly into the kind brown eyes.
Dear Miss Swinton, was that story
you told us yesterday all true, every
bit of it?" asked Dottie.
"And is the little girl going to die
if she can't get away by the salt
water?" cried Tottie.
''And did her father die down in
Cuba ?''
''And did her mother go out to
nurse her father and catch the fever
and die. too?"
And is her auntie sick and lame
so she can't work for money, but
only get home and clothes for work.
ing for that stingy old Barker?"
Ssh! Sh! Dottie-you mustn't '-be-
gan Miss Swinton, but Dottie hurried
out her question SO quickly she had
no time to say any more.
''And is her uncle way up in the
Klondike, and-and-"
Then both chimed in together:
"And is he all the relation she's
got, and don't they know where he is
and will she die--certain sure-be-
fore they could possibly find him?'
Miss Swinton had been bobbing her
head in answer to all these questions
so fast that she looked a good deal
like a Chinese mandarin-and now
when the twins stopped to take
breath she answered.:
''Yes, yes, my dears, it is all true,
every bit of it. Dear little Sallie Man
son is so very, very weak that the
doctor says she can never get well
unless she can get away for a month
at least to the seashore and have
good, nourishing, wholesome food,
ard her poor aunt is almost distract
ed, for though the hospital people will
find her a home for a week or per-
haps two, there would be no one to
take care of her, and two weeks
would not be long enough"
Then the twins Strengthened up and
walked away without even stopping
to beg for kiss, and every one of
Miss Swintons admirers followed
them, and Miss Swinton sat there
looking after them with a queer little
half-puzzled smile.
81 wonder what bee those children
have got in their bonnets now," she
said to herself.
Meanwhile Dottie and Tottie, as
everybody called them, though their
real names were Sarah Josephine and
Amelia Ann, walked straight down to
the playground, and all the primary
scholars followed them, and they
found all the big girls and kindergar-
ten tots waiting for them in the shade
under the big elm.
"What did she say?" cried the big
gest girl.
rs it all true-every bit?" anxious
ly asked the very littlest one.
Che twins nodded solemnly and Dot
tie cried:
'And / most know that lovely Miss
Swinton is going to give up her vaca-
ton and spend the money for that
poor sick .Sallie-and she didn't ought
to, eos she's all run down anyway, my
mother says, and first thing she knows
she'll be sick herself" and Dottie
looked mournfully round on her conn
panions and gave pathetic little
sniff.
"And whatever should we do if Miss
Swinton died." dolefully mourned
Tottie.
By thistime all the kindergarten tots
and more than half of the Primaries
were in tears, and the rest were sniff
fling, and even the big girls looked red
eyed and mournful.
"And my mamma said that Fourth