The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1924-01-09

resentation of The Knave Unmasked'
every morning."
at was more like a caucus than I've
ever seen it, daddy" said Jennie. land
less like a school,"
Don't you think" said Doctor
Brathwayt, that 1t was less like a
school because It was more like life?
1t was life. If l am not mistaken, his
tory of this community was making | n
that schoolrooAn as we entered"
you're perfectly right, Doctor"
said the colonel. "Jim's got too big for
the district, and so we're going to en-
large the district, and the schoolhouse,
and the teaching force, and the means
of educational grace generally. That's
as sure as can be-after what took
place this morning."
Hes. rather a wonderful person,
to be found in such a position" said
Professor Gray, cor would be in any
region | have visited
Hes a native product" said the
colonel, but a wonder all the same.
He's a Brown Mouse, sou know"
"A-a-Y- Doctor Brathwayt was
plainly astonished. And so the colonel
was allowed to tell again the story
of the Darbishire brown mice, and why
he called Jim Irwin one. Doctor
Brathwayt said it was an interesting
Mendelian explanation of the appear
ance of such a character as Jim. And
If you are right, Colonel, you'll lose
him n of these days. You can't ex-
pect to retain a Caesar, q Napoleon,
or a Lincoln in a rural school, can
your"
II don't know about that" said the
colonel. 1.-THE great opportunity for
such a Brown Mouse may be in this
very school, right now. He'd have as
big an army right here as Socrates
ever had. The Brown Mouse is the
only judge of his W proper place."
81 think" said Mrs. Brathwayt, as
they motored back to the school, that
your country schoolmaster is rather
terrible. The way he crushed that Mr..
Carmichael was positively merciless.
Did he know how cruel he wasp
Il think not" said Jennie. st was
the truth that crushed Mr.. Car
michael"
But that vote of thanks said Mrs.
Brathwayt. surely that was the bit
terest irony"
81 wonder If it was" said Jennie.
mo, l am sure it wasn't. He wanted
to leave the children thinking as well
as possible of their victim, and es-
pecially of Mr.. Bonner; and there was
really something in Mr.. Carmichaels
talk which could be praised. I have
known Jim Irwin since we were both
children, and | feel sure that If he had
had any idea hat his treatment of
this man had been unnecessarily cruel,
it would have given him a lot of PAIN
my DEAR" said Mrs. Brathwayt,
II think you are to be congratulated
for having known for a long time a
genius"
THANK you" said Jennie. And Mrs.
Brathwayt gave her a glance which
brought to her cheek another blush
but of a different sort from the one
provoked by the uproar in tbe Wood
ruff school.
There could be no doubt now that
Jim was thoroughly wonderful-nor
that she, the county superintendent,
was quite as thoroughly a little fool.
She to be put in authority over him
,LItWas-dhlah absurd forLaugbter For:
tunately, she hadn't hindered him
much-but who was to be thanked for
that? Was it owing t. any wisdom of
hers? Well, she had decided in his
favor, in those first proceedings to re-
woke his certificate. Perhaps that was
as good a thing to remember as was
to be found in the record.