The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-04-04
Poiint Of
Honol

Bert burst into the house with a
whoop of delight. He dashed out into
the kitchen, where his mother was
making a pie for dinner, and instantly
took possession.
want some bread and butter and some
cookies and an apple. And, say, moth
er, when you bake the pie will you
cook one in the little pie dish so |
can have it soon's it's done? And,
say, mother, can I have some Of this
gingerbread? Gee, but I'm nearly
starved"
When his wants had been partially
supplied and he was towing away
bread and butter, gingerbread, apples
and other trifles, he broke into a
mirthful chuckle.
Say. mother" he said, IF we didn't
have the foxy time at school today, l
got another guess comm. Say, gee
you'd "a died If you had been there
Honest, l thought I'd bust wide open.
I never thought fellow could have
so much fun in school.
"You see, Fred Gunkle, he's the
smartest fellow in the room, guess.
At least, he knows his lessons best
and he never seems to study none.
too. Say, and the teacher likes him,
'oause you can see her eyes twinkle
when he cuts up, and then she turns
her back minute and when she turns
around again her face is just as SOL
emn, and then she scolds him. but
Fred doesn't mind He just kind OF
stays around after school and joll1es
her. bet she like him best of any
of US, but, gee, who cares? Who wants
the teacher to like you, anyway?
"Well, this noon Fred he come back
early and there wasn't nobody in the
room when he come, and so he takes
some chalk that he gets off the black
board and he rubs chalk all over the
fronts of the fellows desks, so when
they sits down they'll get chalk on the
front of their legs. So when they
gets up, all the fellows and the girls
and everybody, for physical culture,
and begins to march around the room,
every fellow had chalk on the front
Of his knees! And Fred had some on
his, too, so the teacher wouldn't know
who done it.
Gee, I thought I'd die laughin' till
the teachers face begins to get red
and she hollers, just as mad as she
can: Haiti Gee, I guess we all
started. And everybody was scared.
Only, of course, wasn't scared, but
Nellie-she marches right in front Of
mcgee, she was scared, and so was
the other girls.
Il $50 the teacher says-and by that
time she was just as pale in her face
she says: Children she says, I in
tend to find who is the proprietor of
this outrage
"Then the teacher she begins and
she says: The girls may go to their
seats and the boys may march right
along in front of my desk So we
marched right along in front of her
desk after the girls went to their
seats and sat down, and every fellow
had to march by himself way from
the back of the room. Gee, when it
come my turn my shoes sounded like
a motorcycle or something, they made
such awful racket
EVERY time boy came and stood
in front CT her desk she'd ask him:
Did you have anything to do with this
putting chalk on the desks? And then
when the fellow says. No., she says.
do you know who did it?' And then
the fellow would say No. because, Of
course, We didn't none Of us know, be-
cause we didn't see Fred do it.
$50 it come Fred's turn after awhile
and he was the very last fellow. And
so when Fred come along he didn't
wait for the teacher to say a word to
him. He just started right in and he
says, Miss Smith, he says, I know
who done it, but I don't feel like I'd
better tell, so please don't ask me-
., Gee, l thought me and the other
fellows would die, we was so full OF
laugh, because, of course, Fred want
ed the teacher to think he didn't like
to tell on some other fellow, but We
didn't dare to laugh. OF course, we
dared to, but we felt so kind of fun
ny we didn't.
miss Smith she says, We'll, Fred,
she says, If it's point of honor with
you not to TELL of course, won't
press the question: or something like
that.
Then we all went back to our seats
and she give us big long spiel about
how bad she felt because some one
in the room had told a lie, because,
you see, Fred was the only fellow that
didn't say he didn't do it, and she
said she was glad Fred hadn't told, be-
cause she hated a tale bearer, and,
and she hoped we'd all try to be good.
And, say, she never tumbled that Fred
was the one that did it. And, say,
she took up the whole recitation hour
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