Show I I THE 7 a ra 9 3 BROWN MOUSE u l I n 81 Uy HERBERT L LC RU QUICK QUICK I 7 Copyright ht by Th The Th Bobbs Bobb Merrill Bobbs-Merrill Company y r JIM I IRWIN SPEECH I sl SYNOPSIS Jennie Jennie Woodruff refuses to marry Jim Irwin young farm hand because of of his financial condition and poor Prospects pros Pros- He lie Is intellectually above hi his station and has advanced d Ideas concerning the possibilities I of oC school teaching and farming for Cor which he Is ridiculed by many Ind In short Jim Is an nn off ox He flocks by himself and reads and has hai a 0 philosophy of oC his own But there aro latent ten powers In him unsuspected even b by himself and Opportunity comes knocking at ot Ms tits door Jim Is s nominated for teacher school as asa asa asa a Joke The Joke results In his election lIe He visits his s scholars Jennie Is nominated for county superintendent of ot schools CHAPTER VI VIi 1 5 i Jim Talks the Weather Cold Going to the rally James JIm had finished his supper and yearned reamed for a long evening In his att attic c den len with his cheap literature But as the Jig district schoolmaster he was to some some iome e. e extent tent responsible for or the protect pro- pro on of ot the school property and andelt felt elt some sense of ot duty as to I Ing ng an nn Interest In public affairs I guess Ill I'll have to go moth mother r he replied regretfully I want to see Mr Woodruff about borrowing his Babcock Babock Bab Bab- cock ock milk tester and Ill I'll go that way t I guess Ill I'll go on to the meeting kissed his mother when he went wenta f ra n habit from which he nev never r deviated devI- devI and another of those personal i p which had marked marled him as different from the other b boys bs s 's of ot the His mother urged his overcoat O i upon him In vain vain for for Jims Jim's overcoat was distinctly a bad one while his Ills best suit now worn every d day lay y as a concession to his scholastic posItion still looked passably well after after fter several weeks of ot schoolroom d fifty duty ty It seemed more moie logical to assume as- as su sume me that the weather was milder than Kan It really was on that sharp Octo Octo- bar b r evening and appear at hI his best albeit albeit rather aware of the cold Jenile Jenn Jen- Jen n ile e was at home and he was lIkel likely to see and be beI I seen of ot her Ii i You can borrow that tester said th He colonel and the cows that go go With ith It If you youcan can use em The They at t earning their keep here But v ho v io does the milk tester fit Into the I curriculum of the school A decora- decora Ion tl on a athe We want to make a few tests ests of ot the he cows In the neighborhood answered nn an- an- an yered Jim Just another of my my y fool notions All All right said the colonel Take it t along Going to the Certainly hes he's going sold s ld Jennie entering This Is Is' JD my my- meeting Jim Surely Im I'm going assented Jim And I think Ill I'll run along I wish we had room for for you ou In n. n the ther car r said the colonel But Im I'm going around b by Bronson's Bronsen's to pick up the speaker and Ill I'll have a chuck up load oad Not ot so much of a load as you thInk said Jennie Im going with lira nm The walk will do me good An Any candidate warms to her voting population just before election but Jennie Jenne had a special kindness for Jim lie Ue was no longer a farm hand hund Thet The t fact c that he e ewas was coming to be a center of of disturbance In the district and that she quite failed to understand how his eccentric behavior could be harmonized harmonized harmo harmo- with those principles of off teachIng teaching teach teach- ing fag which she had Imbibed at the state normal school In Itself lifted him nearer nearer to equality with with her A public nuisance Is really more respectable than a nonentity She gave gu Jim a thrill as she passed through the gate that he opened for h her r White moonlight on her her white furs rs suggested purity exaltation th the e essence sence of ot womanhood womanhood things things fa far r finer Crier I er In the woman of twenty-seven twenty than the glamour thrown over him by th school girl of sixteen Jim gave ga her no thrill for h he looked gaunt and angular in h his skimpy skimp read ready made made suit too short in inand n legs and sleeves and too thin for th the e season eason Yet as they walked along Jim grew upon her lie He strode on wit with h immense strides made slow to accommodate accommodate her shorter steps and embarrassing embar embar- rassing her tier b by his entire absence o of f snort effort to keep step J For or all that h he fe e lifted his Ids face to the stars and ond h he e pointed out the great open spaces i In Ine Inthe n the Abe e Milky Way wondering at their the nr r emptiness and at the fact tact that no n o telescope can find stars In them The They stopp stopped d anti and looked Jim laid d I his bis hard hand on the shoulders of lie her dr r white fur the use of political meet meet- tow logs said Mid JI Jim n when you and I 1 cat can an i stand here and ond think our way ou out t even tien beyond the limits t Of bf f our Terse Terser A wonderful Journey said sold she no not t quite understanding his mood but bu t while we roam beyond the Milky Wa Way y e c e getting an any votes for me to for yr r superintendent Jim said nothing He lIe was quite quit e r re established on the earth Dont Dint you want me to be elected t Jim r 1 Jm seemed to ponder this for tor some som e Ume N-Ume Ume a a a period of ot taking the matter matte r wader advisement which caused Jennie e to drop his arm and busy herself with her skirts Yes Yes said Jim at last of fO course I do I Not Nothing more was said until they reached the schoolhouse door Well said Jennie rather Indig nanU I Im glad there here are pl plenty nty of ot voters who are more moro enthusiastic about me than you seem to be bet I IMore IMore More Interesting to to a a keen observer than the speeches were were the unusual things in the tho room Itself On the blackboards WI with h problems In arithmetic arith meth were calculations as as' to the tho feeding feedIng feed feed- Ing value of ot various rations for live livestock livestock livestock stock records of t laying hens lens and computation computation computation com com- as to the excess of value in eggs produced produced d over th the cost of feed Pinned to the wall ivere were vere market reports re ro- ports Ion on all sorts of ot farm farm products and especially numerous we-re we were the statistics statistics statistics sta sta- on the prices of ot cream and but but- ter There were files flies of farm papers piled about and racks of agricultural bulletins In one corner of the room was a typewriting machine and In another a sewing machine Parts of ot otan an old telephone yere were scattered scattered about about on the teachers teacher's desk A model of ot a stood on a shelf done In cardboard card card- board Instead of the usua usual collection of ot text books in in IIi the desk there were hectograph hec hec- hectograph to graph copies of ot exercises s lessons arithmetical tables and essa essays s son on various matters relating to agrIculture agriculture agriculture ture all of which were accounted for forby forby forby by two or ors three handmade nude h hectographs I graphs a graphs a very fair sort of ot printing plant plant lying lying on a table trible The members of the school board were there looking on these evidences I of innovation inno with wonder and more or less disfavor Things were derly The textbooks text recently adopted adopt adopt- ed by the board against some popular protest had e evidently dently been pitched neck and crop lOUt gout of the s school hool bythe bythe by bythe the man whom man whom Bonner had termed a dub I It was a sort of contempt forthe for forthe the powers that be Colonel Woodruff was in the chair After the speechifying was over and the stereotyped though rather cal Ica Ical appeal had been made mode for voters t I i c C cr z- z Frank Merriwell and Dick of ot the one party to cast the straight ticket and for those of the other fac fag faction faction tion to scratch the colonel rose to adjourn the meeting Newton Bronson safely concealed behind taller people called out Jim Irwin 1 speech I 1 There was a giggle a slight sensation sensation sensation sensa sensa- tion and many voices joined in the call for the new schoolmaster Colo Colonel el Woodruff felt the m of ot Ignoring the demand Probably he h e relied upon Jims Jim's discretion and expected expected expected ex ex- a declination Jim arose seedy and lank and the voices ceased save for another suppressed suppressed suppressed sup sup- pressed titter I a dont don't know said Jim whether r this call upon me is a Joke or not I If It f it Is it isn't a practical one for I cant can't t talk I 1 dont don't care much about parties s sor or politics I dont don't know wh whether ther I Ia Im I'm Ima m a Democrat a Republican or a Pop Pop- This caused a real sensation Th The nerve ner of the fellow 1 Really It mus must mustin t in Justice be said Jim was losin losing g himself In a desire to tell his true tru e feelings He forgot all about Jennie e and her candidacy candIdacy about about everything g except his real true feelings This proves that he was no politician I dont don't see sec much In fa this count county Y campaign that Interests interests me he wen went wenton t on and on-and and Jennie Woodruff reddened while her seasoned father covered his s mouth with his hand to conceal a smile The Time politicians come out int into 0 the farming c districts every cry campaign campal and and get us hayseeds for tor anything t the they Y want They always alwa's have ha got gat us Ys They've got us again 1 I They give glue u us s clodhoppers the rice glad hand a cheap ap p cigar and a cheaper smile after atter el electIon election elec elec- eCu eC- eC tion icon and that's all I 1 know it yo you OU u all know it they know it I 1 dont don't t blame them so very much The trouble Is we dont don't ask them to do anything better I want vv ant a new kind of rural school but I 1 dont don't see an any prospect no matter how this election goes for tor any change In them We in the Woodruff district die dis will have to work out our own salvation Our OUT political ring never do anything but the old things They dont don't w want nt to and they haven't sense enough to Io do O It if they did That's all and all and I 1 dont dont don't suppose I should ll have ve said as much ns as I have haye I There was stark silence for a moI moment mo mo- I ment meat when hen he sat Bat down clown and then as many cheers for Jim as for tor the principal prin principal cipal speaker of the eyen evening ng cheers mingled with titters and catcalls Jim felt as If It f he ha had made an ass of ot him him- self And as he lie walked out of ot thedoor the thedoor thedoor door the future county superintendent superintend superIntend- ent passed by him In high displeasure and walked home with someone else Jim found the weather much colder than it had been while coming He lie really y needed an Eskimos f fur r suit CHAPTER VII New Wine and O Old d Bottles In the little strip of forest which divIded divided di dl- vided the sown from the th-e sown so sown wandered wandered wandered wan wan- dered two boys bos in earnest converse They seemed to be Boy Trappers and from froni their loads back of t traps steel-traps one of ot them might have been Frank Merriwell and the other Shot Dead Dick The boy r resembled Frank l was Raymond SImms The Theother Theother other whose p overalls were fringed who wore wore a cartridge belt about his person and carried hatchet revolver and a n long knife with a a. a deerfoot handle and who so studiously looked like Shot Dead Dick was our old friend of the road gang Newton Bron Bron- Bronson son Newton put down his load and sat upon a stump to rest Raymond SImms was dimly conscious conscious conscious con con- of a change In Newton the da day when they met and helped select se sL lect Colonel Woodruffs Woodruff's next years year's seed corn Newtons Newton's mother had a n mothers mother's confidence that Newton was now a good boy bOJ who had been led ledI astray by other boys but had hafl re re- re I formed Jim Irwin had a distinct feeling of optimism Newton had I II quit toba tobacco co and beer casually stating stat stat- stating I ing to Jim that he was in training Since Jim had shown sho his ability tb administer administer ad ad- minister a knockout to that angry chauffeur he seemed to this hobbledehoy hobbledehoy hobble hobble- peculiarly a proper person for athletic confidences v Ne Newtons Newton's tons ton's mind seemed gradually filling up with new Interests Jim Jim attributed attributed at at- much of this to the the clear mountain atmosphere which surrounded surround surround- ed Raymond Simms the Ignorant barbarian barbarian barbarian bar bar- barian driven out of his native hills by a n feud Raymond was of the theop open ri spaces and refused to hear fetid feUd things that seemed out of ot place In themAs them As the reason for Newtons Newton's Improvement improvement improve Improve- ment meat In manner of living Raymond out of ot his own experience have haye had no hesitation in naming the school and the schoolmaster I wouldn't go 0 back on a friend said Newton seated on the stump with wwi his traps on the ground at his feet the way way youre you're going back on me You got no call to talk replied the mountain boy I back on you jou ou 1 We Ve was goin to trap all winter asseverated Newton and next winter winter win win- ter we were goin up in the the Ue northwoods northwoods north northwoods woods together You Jou know said Raymond somber somberly ly that we cant run any trap line and do we got to do to hep Mr Jim Newton sat mute as one having no rejoinder Mr Jim went on Raymond needs all the hep every kid in this settlement settlement settle settle- settlement ment kin give him Hes He's the best friend I ever had Im I'm a pore boy an he teaches me how to do things that will make me something Darn Dam it all aliI l said Newton You know said Raymond that you'd oud think small of ot me if It Id I'd Id desert Mr Jim Irwin Well then replied Newton seizing seiz- seiz seiz selz ing his traps and throwing them across his sho shoulder lder come on with the traps and shut up I l What'll we do dowhen when the school board gets gets Jennie Jenni W Woodruff to revoke his certificate and make him quit hey eveh do that said Ray flay mond Id set in the schoolhouse do with my rifle and shoot anybody that'd come to Mr Jim the school Not In n this country said Newton This aint a gun country But it orto be lie either lt ler a n. Justice kentry kentry kentry ken- ken try or a gun entry kentry replied the mountain boy It stands to reason it must be one r the Newton No It dont don't neither neither eald said Newton dogmatically Why should they Mr Ir Jim oaten the school inquired Raymond Ant Aint he us right this thin man Jim Irwin needs to be lined up TO BE CONTINUED |