La Junta tribune., 1908-02-15

There was no doubt that Farmer
watkins was the richest man at Rot.
kmsOn's Corners. and there was no
Soubt that his nineteen -year-old daurh.
Ter WAS the best looking and best edu.
rated girl for hve miles around. In
tne way that was saying much. FOR the
Atber farmers were poor aud the other
kris rather plain and uneducated. but
Sn another Way II amounted TO very
little to an outsider. The schooImus,er
WAS an outsider. He had come from
b distance Of fifty miles TO teach the
winter term at the Corners. II. was
young man OF twenty three. slim and
pale faced. and the big boys" who
were TO attend the term smiled and
chuckled at sight Of him. There were
half n dozen who "reckoned' ,hey
could stand him on his head IL he go,
too fresh.
II was Farmer Watkins who engaged
the young man. lie was president of
the school board. aud what he said
went. u was his daughter Jennie
who .lectl~d him In this She was his
only chlIL and he was widower. and
what shqpnpid also Went There were
also doaen other applicants. and she
threw her influence for Walter Crane
for very curious reason He was the
only one among the applicants who
had the manners OF gentleman and
the only one who appeared To her 10
be her superior In education The
school didn't require aud had never
had n gentleman for n teacher. II did
not require and had never had an edu.
Gated man.
The pupils We're rough and igno-
rant lot. attending when they pleased
and doing about as they pleased.
Sometimes the farmers sons OF eight
cen. strong ms horses and rough us
bears. had broken up the school after
four weeks: sometimes they had let 1t
continue on until spring Sometimes
the 'big girls had rushed the master
and rolled him In u snowdrift and shat
tered his dignity. and sometimes they
had been conte,t to turn the school
room into u Sc wing bee and laugh at
him as he protested.
And now they were going TO try q
new teacher. and Jennie Watkins had
plans TO max. him trouble from the
very start. She had no particular dis
like. but she vented to see him taken
down a peg-se,c pegs. He had too
much assurance too much confidence
IN himself. Why. IT the examination
OF candidates at her fathers house.
when Mr.. Crane had bgen asked what
ocean surrounded Switzerland he had
smiled and replied none Mt all. when
she knew as well as could be that 1t
was the Atlantic. She didn't say any
thing then, but she saved II mp for
some future time She had always
spelled the word ''dissipated'' with one
So but he went right AT 1t and spelled
1t with two. and even produced spell
ing book to show that lie was right.
She had always answered that the
Rocky mountains We're IN Kansas. and
when ne moved them farther west her
cheeks got red and she put a rod In
pickle for him. That young man was
pretending that he knew altogether too
much. He was even condescendins
little to her father. aud he wasn't pay
ing half enough attention to her
Mr.. Crane secured board at the house
of farmers widow and opened his
begin ut . n. m Heretofore II had be-
gun at almost any hour to suit the
scholars. He made this announcement
without consulting Farmer Watkins
and without Farmer Watkins consult
ing his daughter. This was another
sign OF hts independence.
He insisted on having dry instead of
green wood for the big box stove. and
he insisted on repairs to the stove to
carry the smoke away. There was no
blackboard. and he made and painted
one Some of the benches were broken.
and he asked that they he repaired
There were some panes of glass need
ed in the windows. lock on the door
and a new tin water pail. and before
school actually opened the teacher was
being looked upon as living curiosity.
He had gone through the neighbor-
hood and made brief call at every
house to ascertain how many scholars
he would have and TO form their ac-
quaintance In advance. Ills call dlo
not last longer at the Watkins house
than elsewhere. He was gentlemaniy,
uneInbarrassed and a ready talker. ana
Jennie had just begun 10 wonder II
she wouldn't like him after all when
he picked up some poetry she had been
writing and had left where he was GER
tain to see II and criticised her rhymes
and the spelling of three or four diirer-
ent words. He did worse. He sug-
gested that she attend school. and. fan
ing In that. he would assist her OF an
evening now and then. The girl re-
strained herself from killing him oil
the spot but she said TO herself ina.
his career would be brief and fun OF
tribulation. She went to her father
for sympathy. but after she had stated
her case her surprise was unbounded