Year: 1869




thou lowest, third person he loves,
drawled the head boy in the class.
The 1ext, little girl, took it ur
promptly. "Plural-First person we
love, second person you love, third
person they love-"


"And we all love-"


The interruption came in whisper,
loud enough to be heard all over the
room, causing the older boys to smile
and giggle, and the teacher, Miss
Olive Burnett, looked up quickly,
glancing along the row of large schol-
airs on the back seat-young men and
women-for this was country school,
and III the winter. She had come to
look for trouble from that quarter
Every day some fresh aggravation,
some new infringement of the rules
and offence against the discipline made
it hard work for her, girl of eighteen,
to maintain her authority over those
forty turbulent spirits, constantly in
cited to insubordination by the exam
pie of their acknowledged leader,
Scott Goldrick.


He sat there, ut the further end of
the bench, quite in the corner, good
looking young man of twenty, with
curly chestnut hair, aud mutinous
curve of the lip, with head bent now
over his slate, and fingers busy in fig
uring out some difficult problem in al
zebra. But Miss Burnett was not de-
eeived by the apparently studious mir.
And there was an undertone of reso-
lutte determination in her voice as she
said, looking quietly over the forty
faces before her:


'tThese Interruptions must come to
an end at once. There is u point
where forbearance ceases to- be vir-
tue, and | think it has been passed.
Ieyy rule of the school. The penalty
of the next interruption of this kind
will be twelve strokes OF the ruler, +"
carelessly balancing the slip of cherry
wood on her fingers.


The clear, bright face IN the corner
was lifted for a moment the dark,
hazel eye looked steadily into Miss
Burnett's blue eyes only "a moment,
the space of "A breath then the hand
went on again with that endless maze
lof figures, and Miss Burnett went on
with her work.


Hard work it was, especially lard
work to-day. All day long the vivid
scarlet had burned in her cheeks, max
ing her passing lovely, while her tenn
pies throbbed with pain, and one of
the children, feeling her feyered touch,
wondered what made Miss Burnett's
hand so hot" She must not give up,
though. There was too much depend
lag on her for that. A helpless moth
er and too little sisters, hardly more
than babies yet, all dependent for the
bread they ate upon the overworked
young teacher. Truly failure here
would be her disaster :


But she must not fail Would those
lintcrminable lessons never be finished?
She wanted to go home and rest.


Two hours of tolerable order and
quiet and the days work was ended,
when in the midst of the last recita-
ton, came again that interrupting
whisper plainly heard all over the
room.


For IN instant Olive Burnott's heart
failed her. Could she muster courage
enough to fcrTule Scott Goldrick, the
oldest scholar III the SCHOOL,
man grown? The thought came once
that it was unmanly IN him to try her
so. But right or wrong, her word was
passed and must be kept her author
ity was assailed and must be maintain
ed now or lost altogether. To falter
now was to give up all. So, calling
up all her nerve, though her head
throbbed dizzily, she closed her book
quietly; dismissed the class and faced
the school as she said, slowly:


"The scholar who whispered that
last time will please step forward"


There was dead silence for an in
slant then Scott Goldrick left his
seat and walked up to where the young
teacher stood. No boyish mischief in
his manner now no mocking defer
ence no shade of defiance, but in
stead, quiet manliness that was a
: great deal harder to meet than any
bravado would have been.


"You can understand, Mr.. Goldrick,
that this is not pleasant duty to me, /"
her voice steady, but lower than usual
SO low that some who were listening
did not catch the words at all. "You
can understand that it is not pleasant
! for me to do this, but my rule must be
respected"


. For an answer he bowed and held
out his hand. They were counted out
faithfully-twelve strokes-no more,
no less. Did he know how every one
: hurt her? Perhaps he did, for his
3 eyes were on her face all the while,
3 and when the last one was given, he
!. walked back to his seat, little gravel
: than before, but that was ALL And
: the rest of the scholars opened eyes oi
= amazement. They had expected high
e words and open defiance at the least
0 This new gentleness was not fear they
t new that well. Fear and Scott Gold
G ricks name never went together. If i
t was voluntary submission to discipline
: why, they might as well all yield too


Miss Burnett heard him talking tc
some of the older scholars outside the
n door after the roll was called anC
: school was dismissed. "Whatl Re
!. sist woman? You'll never see me
Y do that. Besides, deserved the fer
! ruling for breaking the rules. didn'
mean to interrupt the last time
though. I'm going away tomorrow
q to my uncle's counting housein c..
s Then the door closed, and Miss Bur