The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1922-02-03

lie HHu Stdilcu. EcEHdpS Tile Ldldl
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 it's 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"
EYES," the irritated teacher said, as
Ramsey's failing voice continued husk-
lily to insist upon this point. II think
you are!" And her nerves were lit
tie soothed by the shout of laughter
from the schools was never difficult
for teachers to be witty. $50 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 YO-
GUMS. Her laughter was precocious;
it was that Of a 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 go 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
Abraham Lincoln, even when Dora
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; 1t meant government by
everybody, and therefore Ramsey had
as much to do with it as anybody else
had. Beyond 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 1t 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 fact that her shoulder blades
ceased to insist Upon notoriety; you
couldn't tell where they were at all,
any more.
A contemplate thing happened.
Wesley Bender was well known to be
the most untitdy boy in the class, and
had never shown any remorse for his
reputation or made the slightest effort
either to improve or to dispute it. He
was content: 1t failed to lower his
standing with his fellows or to inn
press them unfavorably. In fact, he
xx,hn ho of oi
a slight distinction. 1t helped him to
become better known, and boys liked
to be seen with him. But one day,
there was a Encouragement of the
seating in the schoOlroom: Wesley
Bender was given adesk 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 it, anyhow.
This was at the bottom of the fight
between Ramsey Milholland and Wes-
ley Bender, and the diplomatic ex-
changes Immediately preceding HOSTILE
ties were charmingly frank and I'M
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.
"Ole dirty Wes!" they hoarsely bel
lowed and squawked, in their chang
ing voices. washes his ears !" :.
washes his neck!" ;. Dora Yocum
told his mama to turn the hose on
himw
Wesley broke from them and backed
away. swinging his strapped books in
a dangerous. circle. "You keep off !"
he warned them. II got as much
right to my pers'nal appearance as
anybedyw
This richly fed their humor, and
they rioted round him, keeping outside
the swinging books at the end Of the
stran "Pers'nal apDearance'w