The Somerset reporter., 1905-06-29

IL satisfied. In due course Of tim. Dea-
con Watrous and B.l Still, eame -
mike the accustomed visit. LYda WAS
fully prepared for tins occasion aud ia.
vitcd them to question the rlass TIM
knew but a few questions To ask. and
Is they had paid many elst, to tlp
school the pupils knew the au- wer- BY
heart. Then Lydia asked them to sing
stirring war SONG and = hymn BIZ,
LITTLE girl spoke Il piece. carefully re.
bear,od beforehand. IAe two members
went away enthusiastic OSrr lhe neW
teacher and told Wight he had better
60 and see for himself
And he did. appearing suddenly aud
unexpectedly near tie elose OF an In.
dian summer afternoon Lydiu's ex-
preston of dismay caused "a utter of
appreciation among the older boys In
stead of a reprimaud size gaIe them an
imploring look that could lot BIZ with
stood, and order reignrd al once. I.y-
dia felt that the visitor lad noted thu
look aud interpreted II a IA confession
Of inability to govern.
Just rs she was about to call upaa
the school for SONG little Bob Hanks
let loose i mouse he had carefully con.
fined In his book bag Excitement pre-
vailed among the girls aud delight
among the boys. Had Lydia known
that she WAS to lose her position She
would still have done As She did now.
jumped up on her chair.
Hugh caught the mouse. threw it out
Of the window. elected Bob and his
book bag and in stentorian tone re
stored order Lydia came down from
her chair and IN her confusion called
upon the arithmetic class to come for
ward. She wished that Lige Jenkins
had remained at home that day Arith-
mete was not his forte. She planned
adroitly to omit him. but the visitor in
stantly detected the omission and
bounced upon the unfortunate lad.
"Lige," he asked, "how many times
does Q 90 in PIP
To Lydia's dsmay Lige promptly
stepped TO the blackboard and com
menced a solution via long division
finally putting down for an an
swer
TRY again, Ltge," urged Wight
cheerfully.
Iige then substituted the figure 4
for .
you've got another guess coming,
Lige"
The boy looked bewildered. and Ly-
dia desperately came to his rescue.
itr. .ho
asked iuSinuaHngly.
Lige looked at her aXiOuSlY.
why. yes" he replied slowly, 'it
will but its dern'd tight squeeze"
Then came that delightful uneon-
strained burst of laughter that Lydia
had heard once before from Hugh
Wight The school joined with him
The teacher looked at the clock and
thankfully observed it was time for
dismissal. She stood at the door until
the last scholar had vanished Then
she came back to the platform. where
Wight still sat and Lige fingered
Say observed the lad earnestly.
"t'ain't her fault. never did know
nuthin' about 'rithmetic nohow. She's
the best teacher we ever had"
This touch of sympathy from the
little champion was too much for Ly-
dia. Her self control slipped, and her
head went down on the desk
"Lige" said Wight gently. you did
better than | expected There are lots
of things in life more desirable than a
knowledge of The science OF numbers
Take this dime and 20 down TO the
Corners and see what it will buy"
Tie boy Sped happily away Lydia
raised her head \ little CLEAN Of an
ger and defiance flashed through the
tears
You can send and get Il man teach
er as soon as you want to | am glad
l am not a man
so am |, Lydia" he said heartily.
with such eameStness of voice and
eyes that tl4 slender hand Of the
schoolteacher Went up In n pathetic
little way to her eyes.
Il am your quorum you Know" he
said whimsically. but with the new
Softness still in his voice. and l didn't
come to inspect the school nor the
scholars. but 10 take the tea cher driv-
ing. viii she 90"
her hands came quickly down from
her eyes, whose dimness was melting
away in IL glow II pleasure
Yes" she replied, Il will go"