Cheraw chronicle. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, 1922-01-26

away this sole mans dutter it is NOSE
true true l have marry dur the very
headan frun tuv my Tending hath this
extent no more rude am / in speech
in speech-rude am / In speech-in
speech-in speech-in speech"
He had stalled. Perhaps the fatal
truth of that phrase, and some sense
of its applicability to the occasion had
interfered with the mechanism which
he had set in operation to get rid OF
the recitation" for him. At all events.
the machine had to run off its job all
at once, or it wouldn't run at all. He
gulped audibly. "Rude rude rude am
I-rude am in speech-in speech-in
speech. Rude am In speech"
Yes" the irritated teacher said, as
Ramseys failing voice continued husk-
lily to insist upon this point. II think
you arew And her nerves were lit
tie soothed by the shout of laughter
from the school-it was never difficult
for teachers to be witty. "Go sit down,
Ramsey, and do it after school"
His ears roaring, the unfortunate
went to his seat and, among all the hi
lariOuS faces, one stood Out-Dora lo-
Gums. Her laughter was precOcious;
it was that of confirmed superior, in
sufferably adult-she was laughing at
him as a grown person laughs at
child COnspicuously and unmistaka-
bly,, there was something indulgent in
her amusement. He choked. He
didn't care for George Washington, or
Paul Revere or the teacher, or the
President of the United States, or
Shakespeare, or any of 'em. They
could all 90 to the dickens with Dora
Yocum. They were all lot of smart
les anyway and he hated the whole
stew of 'em!
There was one, however, whom he
somehow couldn't manage to hate.
even though this one officially seemed
to be as intimately associated with
Dora Yocum and superiority as the
others were. Ramsey couldn't hate
was chosen to. deliver the Gettysburg
Address," on the twelfth of February.
Lincoln had said Government of the
people, by the people, for the people"
and that didn't mean government by
the teacher and the Teachers Pet and
Paul Revere and Shakespeare and
suchlike; it meant government by
everybody, and therefore Ramsey had
as much to do with it as anybody else
had. Beyond a doubt, Dora and the
teacher thought Lincoln belonged to
them and their crowd of exclusives;
they seemed to think they owned the
whole United States; but Ramsey was
sure they were mistaken about Abra-
ham Lincoln.
He felt that it was just like this lit
tie YOcum snippet to assume such
thing, and it made him sicker than
ever to look at her.
Then. one day, he noticed that her
eye-winkerS were Stickin' out farther
and farther.
His discovery irritated him the
more. Next thing. this ole Teachers
Pet would do she'd get TO thinkin' she
was pretty! If that happened, well,
nobody could stand her! The long
lashes made her eyes shadowy, and it
was a fact that her shoulder blades
ceased to insist upon nOtoriety; yQr
couldn't tell where they were a. all,
any more. AZ
A contemplate thinGt happened.
Wesley Bender was wei known to be
the most untitdy boy . the class, and
had never shown Fay remorse for his
reputation or maLe the slightest effort
either to impr| e or to dispute it. He
was content, it failed to lower his
standing With his fellows or to i'm
press then unfavorably. In fact, he
was tp .,ted as one who has attained
a Slis:nt distinction. 1t helped him to
come better known, and boys liked
ITO he seen with him. But one day,
there was rearrangement OF the
seating In the schOOlroom: Wesley
Bender was given desk next in front
of Dora YOcum's; and within week
the whole room knew that Wesley had
begun voluntarily to wash his neck
the back of ii. anyhow.
This was at the bottom of the fight
between Ramsey Milholland and Wes-
ley Bender, and the diplomatic eX-
changes Immediately preceding hostlli-
ties were charmingly frank and un-
hypocritical, although quite as mixed
up and off-the-iSSue as If they had
been prepared by professional foreign
office men. Ramsey and Fred Mitchell
and four other boys waylaid young
Bender on the street after school, in
tending jocoSities rather than violence
but the victim proved sensitive. You
take your ole hands off o me-" he
said fiercely. as they began to push
him about among them.
"Qle dirty Wes!" they hoarsely bel
lowed and Squawked, in their chang
ing voices. washes his ears" &.
: Washes his neck :" E. Dora YOcum
told his mama to turn the hose on
him.
Wesley broke from them and 'H"kCd
away, swinging his strapped h, < in
dangerous circle. "You keep of :"
he warned them. 81 got as much
right to my pers'nal appearance as
/ anybody"
| This richly fed their humor, and