The San Francisco call., 1904-11-06
CHAPTER V.
4 Finger in the Pie.


there So many things happened since
ihen that I don't know just where 10
begin 10 tel you about EN-. But I'll
begin with our school teacher an the
Wy things has been goin' At school
You know we had q gil teacher last
IAN cn 18th the boys went an they
got So they liked her pretty wei. This
winter Ne got a man teacher, couldn't
have a girl cause the school has al
ways been 50 tough. Why, ev'ry win
ter tll this one for a long time the
teachers been carried out an that al
ways broke UP the school An
pose II II hadn't been for me the
school would have been busted up the
same way this winter. But il wasn't.
] made Up my mind that our boys had
lost enough schoOlin' just through the
meanness Of some Of the big boys an
since they have only seven months in
the year, take il all in all, there's no
use OF their lOsin' any Of IT. An then
IL ain Z very good for the boys an girls.
even II they don't have nothin' 70 do
with the carryin' out, just TO see things
smashed UP the way they usually do.
/ know / don't want Jimmie an
Frankie 10 see any more OF that kind o
rumpuses- They're just old enough
now 50 they're likely 10 get the notion
inr0 their heads that any property.
Just cause il don't belong 10 any one
bein' wrong. an 1 don't intend they'll
see any of that sort OF thing. They're
pretty Willin' TO stay at home nights.
utw Jimmie has his room just the way
he wants il an they have plenty TO
read An IL they stay IN nights. then
school is about the only place for EN-
10 learn devilment an there's no need
of EN- lesrnin' IL there. 1 told Jim
right at the start that our boys was
goin 10 stay al home nights unless we
went out together. It's just as much
fun for the young folks If they an
their folks goes together II only they're
used 10 IL an it's lots better for their
bringin' I'd
As soon as school started, began
askin' the boys about the teacher. I
wanted 70 know what kind Of a man
be was. Il makes lots OF difference
how the boys has TO be treated at home
II you know how they're treated at
school An * pays for the folks 10
know the teachers they get for their
youngsters A real good man can do
more harm in a school with his gCody
g0ody ways, II the folks at home don't
know how 70 work against him, than a
common ord d'nary man, bad as he may
be, that's real Wide-awake, an UP 10
al the young ones meanness, than any
e your good, meek. hslf-asleep kind,
that don't know how 10 handle the
boys an LLLLkS LQE- Ee al as SOOQ as
ne is The boys VIII get more real
meanness from tryin' 10 get ahead Of.
an gettin' ahead Of, this kind, than
they'll ketch from one OF the other
kind.
An il pays 70 know the teachers for
other reasons Maybe the teacher will
get in a fix some time an just need
somebody that is on the outside loolxin'
on, 70 tel him a thing or two, an II
don't never hurt 3 young man to have
somebody older 70 give him word or
two OF advice. OF course, the advice
has got 10 be give 70 him in a nice
little capsule OF hattery or a sugar
coated pill, like other bitter medicines
IS give IN nowadays.
Wen. all I could find out was that
the teacher was one Of those young
men who was savin' up money 10 go
10 school on, goin' 70 be a doctor. an
schOol-teachin' was the only Job he was
strong enough to do an the quickest
way 70 save UP money. He wasn't
very big, an he wasn't the kind OF a
man thai can bluf out a crowd Of
great big husky country boys. so I
kind G. feared for him He lived over
10 the cOunty-sest, an couldn't get
home al all except when some farmer
from our way was gOin' in on a Satur-
day. I pumped the boys ev'ry night.
an tried TO piece together all I could
hear. / couldn't make much out. an
SC I made up my mind I'd see the fell
low. On Saturday Jim was goin' TO
town TO the county-seat, so told
Jimmie Friday mOrnin' TO tell the
teacher that, II he wanted to go, he
should come over 10 our house an stay
all night an go IN with Jim the next
day. reckoned I could get pretty well
acquainted with him in one evenin', an
then I wanted our boys TO get to know
I frlrr hod m
board al our house. but there's such
thing as KNOWN the teacher too well,
ar I didn't want our boys 10 DO that,
50 said I couldn't board him, an be-
sides I didn't want the Job OF boardin'
another an putin UP a separate din
ner ev'ry day. This havin' the teacher
around may be all right, but it amt
just the same as bein' alone, an the
boys get TO KNOWN him too well, an
he knows them. an they feel that he
knows al about when their pa
thrashes en- That's other folks boys
where the teacher boards. not ours,
cause ours hain't needed IL since Jim
an me was married. An II kind O
hurts a boys pride 10 have his ma pet
him when the teacher is around, an
yet he ought 10 have q certain amount
of pettin'. So I didn't want him as a
regular boarder. but 1 knew I could
get 70 know him pretty well in one
ehellls an i thought after one week
Of school he'd be about ready to let
out, specially when II was the first
time he'd ever been away from home
-On Friday afternoon, Jim was out
10 the field huskin' corn II was the
first week in December, but il was
pretty fairly warm, an he didn't have
much left 10 do Got most OF il done
IN the warm weather in October, but
rains come on, so he had some left
went out 10 take him some hot cookies
right out Of the oven. He does ike 'em
SO vel, an there he was, all alone, half
mile away from the house, an il
wasn't the warmest work, huskin' that
frozen corn. either. No, don't usually
bake Friday afternoons, but I hadn't
noticed that the cookie jar was empty
til after noon that day. an the boys
always look kind o as II they was
cheated II they don't find plenty of
fresh cookies in the Jar when they
visit 1t when they think I don't know.
An I don't see no use Of disappointin'
en- They'll have disappointments
enough IN this world later on, without
their havin' too many now an I afr't