The San Francisco call., 1904-11-06

but the teacher told EN- II they came
late they'd have TO take seats farther
front, cause the back seats was taken
by them who had been there right
along. They wasn't ready to do their
mean tricks the first day, so they took
seats farther front. but they tried their
best to stir things up all week.
Luckily 1t rained one or two days an
they never pretended to go to school
except in nice weather, so the teacher
didn't have them to bother him all the
time. They tried TO lead the other boys
around like they used to, but they all
nad so much to think about with their
club plans. an showin' each other their
badges, an givin' the grip. that they
didn't have no time to bother with
these big DULLES
"On Friday night we laid out the
work for the club for the winter The
teacher an / had kind o. taken that in
hand, an each OF the boys, or some
times two together, had somethin' to
work up. Bill Jones an one of the
other biggest boys had a list of all the
birds they saw in the school district in
December; another two had to make a
list of all the trees in a little grove
near the schoolhouse, an so on. An
the teacher told 'em that he'd met a
friend in the county-seat the Saturday
before, an that this man was goin' to
s'prise the club with somethin' If they
kept runnin' in good order for a month,
an did good work
"On Sunday afternoon we had a big
storm, so we had our field meetin' in
doors, an most of the boys was there.
"On Monday the big boys who wasn't
members of the club tried to stir up
the club members, but they couldn't
make any headway at that, an they
didn't have nerve enough to carry out
the teacher alone, an they wasn't sure
the boys wouldn't help the teacher in
stead Of workin' against him, so they
wasn't very good-natured an handled
some of the little fellows pretty rough
on the way home that night.
"On Tuesday night both OF our boys
come home lookin' as If they had been
run through a thrashin' machine, an
when they got over their excitement so
they could tell about 1t, this is what we
heard:
AT recess that afternoon, when some
of the club boys was off in one corner
talkin' about club plans, an showin'
their badges, an tryin' the grips, just
to keep EN- in mind. one Of the big
boys that had just come to school
walked over to the crowd of club boys,
an pickin' out the littlest one, that
happened to be frankie. he began goin'
through his pockets, an after findin'
the eagle cent, he put it in his pocket
Z
afraid of nothin' that walks, an while
L don't believe in boys fightin', I'm glad
he amt. So frankie, just as the fell
Ter stepped out the door, run an
jumped up on his back Che wouldn't
have caught him that way If he could
have got him any other), an down they
both went, the thirteen-year- older an
that big hulkin' seventeen-year-o in
one pile Jimmie heard frankie yell
for him, an come a-runnin'. an one OF
the other big boys, not club members,
come, too, an then all the club boys
come, an one other outsider, an they
had 1t hot an heavy there for a while.
The teacher tried to stop 'em, but there
wasn't any stoppin' till those three big
day, was so completely licked that they
sneaked off home. givin' Frankies
badge first, though, an they never even
came back for their books.
THAT fight made the folks, or some
of 'em, at least, kind o. down on the
club, but all the boys came to meetin'
just the same, though they wasn't a
very good-lookin' lot, with their black
eyes, an scratched faces, an all they
could talk about was that fight, an I
knew If the club didn't hold together
another day that the teacher wouldn't
be carried out that winter
But the club did hold together. an
when. after we'd been runnin' Just a
month, the teachers friend from town
came out an give talk on birds. with
magic-lantern pictures, all in our big
kitchen. the boys was the proudest lot
of youngsters An the next week when
the county paper come out an pub
ljshed "A List of Birds Observed in
School District No 6. Town OF West
Grove, during the monh of December,
by Mr.. William Jones and Mr.. Henry
Williams you couldn't touch those
boys with ten-foot pole, unless you
hannened to he in the clrrh ,rc,r1rxaIf