The St. Johns herald., 1922-07-13
CHAPTER II.-continued.

Sometimes, too, there were moments of relaxation in her class, when she would stop the lesson and tell the children about Germany: What beau tiful, good country it was, so trim and orderly, with such pleasant customs, and all the people sensible, energetic and healthy. There was "Music'' again in the German class, which was an- other alleviatiOn; though it was the same old "Star Spangled Banner" over again. Ramsey was tired of the song and tired of My Country Iris of Thee"; ;I they were bOres, but it was amusing to sing them in German. In German they sounded "sort O funny" so he didn't mind this bit of the days work.
 Half an hour later there arrived his supreme trial of this particular morn- ing. Arithmetic then being the order of business before the house, he was sent alone to the blackboard, supposed ly to make lucid the proper reply to a fatal conundrum in decimals, and under the glare and focus of the whole room he breathed heavily and itched everywhere; his brain at once became sheer hash. He consumed as much time as possible in getting the terms of the problem stated in chalk then, affecting to be critical of his own handiwOrk, erased what he had done and carefully wrote it again. After that he erased half of 1t, slowly re- fFonGd GoTTrnc nd cy%o hoO to see whether perspective improved their appearance. Again he lifted the eraser.
 Ramsey Milhollandl"
 "Ma'amF'
 "Put down that eraserI"
 "Yes'm. I just thought"
 Sharply bidden to get forward with his task, ne explained in feeble voice that he had first to tie a shOestring and stopped to do so, but was not per mitted. Miss Ridgely tried to stimu- late him with hints and suggestion; found him, so far as decimals went, mere protoplasm, and, wondering how so helpless thing could live, sum- mOned to the board little Dora Yocum, the star of the class, whereupon Ram sey moved toward his seat.
 "Stand still, RamseyI You stay right where you are and try to learn something from the way Dora does 1t"
 The class giggled, and Ramsey stood, but learned nothing. His conspicuous ness was unendurable, because all of his schOolmates naturally found more entertainment in watching him than in following the performance of the capable Dora.
 Instructed to watch every figure chaIked up by the mathematical won- der, his eyes, grown sOdden, were un- able to remove themselves from the part in her hair at the back of her head. where two little braids began their separate careers to end in a cou- pIe of blue-and-red-checke bits of rib bon. one upon each of her thin shoul- der blades. His sensations clogged his intellect; he suffered from unsought notoriety, and hated Dora YOcum 1; most of all he hated her busy little shoulder blades.
 He had to be "kept in' after school 1; and when he was allowed to go home he averted his eyes as he went by the house where Dora lived. She was out In the yard, eating doughnut, and be knew it; but he had passed the age when 1t is just as permissible to throw a rock at a girl as at a boy; and stif1ing his normal inclinatsons, he walked sturdily on, though he indulged himself so far as to engage in a mur- mured conversation with one of the familiar spirits dwelling somewhere within him. ''Pfa P said Ramsey to kfmself-or himself to Ramsey, since t is difficult to say which was which. SPfai Thinks she's smart, don't she?'
 We'll, guess she does, but she Rfn'tI" q hate her, don't you?"
 "You bet your life hate her 1" 'sTeachar's Pet. that's what call her r