Year: 1871

b1 1DEN 1Nh-AcO4A


John Ranger walked along on his way
home from school one pleasant winter af'
ternoon, feeling rather out of sorts. The
reason of the uncomfortable feeling in his
mind was this: That morning, the boys
had proposed building snow tort on the
hill near the school house. For some
days the weather had been very "moder-
ate," as people in the country express it,
and the snow had become of just the right
consistency to roll into balls, and thus ia
cilitate the building of a snow fort in cap
ital style. John had fallen In with the
plan very eagerly. He loved sport Of that
kind as we'll as any boy in school. When
he played he threw all his energies into
the sport, and was consequently leader
in all the amusements incident to school
life. And am glad to say that he studied
in very much the same way as be played ;
he made no half work about it, but got his
lessons thoroughly and well. Probably
his relish for play gave him keen appe-
that those boys who play best study best.
Not those boys who play most, however,
for some boys think of nothing but play.


As the plan was proposed in the morn
ing, that they might have time to build the
fort in the hour given them at noon to eat
their dinners, the boys had agreed to eat
their lunch during the forenoon recess,
and devote the entire hour to work on the
fort, and complete it, if possible, before af-
ternoon school hours began, that it might
be ready for use next day. Nearly all the
large boys had hard lesson in arithmetic
that forenoon. The teacher had told them
that three of the hardest problems must
be worked out on their states and brought
for inspection at recitation time. If not
correctly done, time must be taken from
the hours incoming to study on them. The
bows thought of the snow fort to be built,
and applied themselves diligently to their
lessons. John took his slate and worked
away busily Before recitation came he
had conquered all difficulties, and had the
knotty problems written down tor the
teachers inspection.


Recitation came He took his slate and
started tor the class which was forming on
The floor. He had got nearly to his place
when he saw that the examples he had
written down so carefully were gone.
Rubbed out entirely. He stared at the
blank slate, with look Of complete be-
uildcrment He hau taken unusual pains
with them. When he looked last they
We're certainly there. Now they were
gone. But who had rubbed them out
Some one must have done so. He could
not remember that any one had come to
his seat, and yet some person had found
and taken the opportunity to blot the re-
suit of his morning 8 labor.


II had the examples on my slate, sir"
he said to the teacher "They are gone.
Some one has rubbed them Out"


"Who rubbed them out>" a:ked the
teacher, in his sharp, stern way.


Il don't know, sir" answered John.


"Are you sure you had them worked
out correctly p asked the teacher.


EYES, sir" answered John, flushing up
at the doubt implied by the teachers tone
and question,


"Very well; as you are unable to pro.
duce them, and can a cuse no one OF
having rubbed them out, you may stay III
at noon and work on them"


John was too proud to say word in
protest, unjust as he felt it to be. So he
took his seat in silence, resolved to find
out, if it were possible, the author of his
misfortune, for such he considered it to
be, since it obliged him to stay away from
the furt building that was to take place at
noon. Stay away he did. 1t was time for
school to begin again before the problem
was solved and written out He could not
study much when he thought Of the sport
the boys were having Oh the hill. He
could hear their merry laughter, and
imagine how they were enjoying them
selves. He thought, wi h a bitter feeling
in his heart, that, but for some one OF
them, be might have enjoyed the sport too.
He walked home from school that night
as have said, feeling very uncomfortable.
He had missed a rare bit Of sport for one
thing; for another he had found out that
some one "owed him a grudge;" and
smother thing was-and John felt this
most kcenly, perhaps, of the three-thaa
the teacher seemed to think he had shirk-
ed his lesson, and considered his story as
an excuse to get rid of little labor.


The next day, as small boy was pass
ing his seat, John dropped his pencil.
The boy picked it up and handed it to
him. As he did so, he whispered: Joe
Evans rubbed out your problem yester-
day; saw him do it."