Show fl 1 charann I 1 jennio jennie woodruff cc con n refuges to marry jim irwin young oung farm liand land bemuse because of hla him financial condition and poor prospects lie ile la is intellectually above hla his station a t L tion and has ad advance vancI ideas con cornin tile the possibilities ot of elpi export rt school boac teaming ling for lie he to la ridiculed by many II 11 more as a joke than otherwise jim lm is selected as 03 teacher of tile woodruff district school III jim in hla his now new post tion sets out to make stanch frienda rand or of liln Is pupils especially two boys boy nowton newton bronson and budd huddy simms Sl innia the tb latter tile son of a sh shiftless rIess farmer fanner colonel woodruff jennies father has hag little fulth in jims ideas of improving ru euial al educational deduc illonal methods lie nicknames ila inch him the utown mouse moue in illustration of un anecdote C CHAIT mi IV jims conduct ot of the tn school where he endeavors to tench teach the children c adren the wonders of nature and some bone of 0 the scientific methods rao thoda ol 01 of fanning is as well as book dearal ir la Is 1 chaiten V jennie woodruff la Is 0 minted for the position of county superintendent of schools the school board grows bitter in its ita opposition to jim und ilia hta innovations CHAP TEll VJ at a public meeting n jim roundly condemns the methods of I 1 teaching in tha rural schools and makes tio no ft lends thereby VIL VII A delegation ot P r 0 eminent women condemn jims mth moth 0 oda d 8 of teaching but lie he Is stoutly do dc fended bended by hla his pupils especially newton nawton cronson bronson VIII jim has christmas dinner di imer at colonel and lt its t enina to him jennie begins to do soma om t hink ng concerning ning his ability and his pros c r n R IX in the evening jim as acil as lie knows how courts jen alo c without however making much progress though she ts is quickly losing tier poor opinion of him CITA X jentile jennie elected county superintendent of schools receives no 0 o many complaints froin people of the district concerning jims jim a methods of 0 teaching that she finds herself compelled formal formally I 1 y tu to ask asit for hla his resignation after ell ehe has loft left jim la s visited by colonus WO woodruff druff who strongly urges him to refuse to lu resign anu and offers to back him jim agrees to stick for a while at least CHAPTER XI at A meeting of tho the school board which had been gathered to set 90 jim I 1 is 5 confronted confront td cd b by 1 jennie I wil who 0 tip upholds 11 liaro 1 m lie conducts r an ex am amin atlon ot of ills his pupils at the meeting to that ho he Is neg cc tina their book learning by the Int introduction of other subjects which lie ho considers of importance the splendid snowing mado by the children converts many who had doubted to hla his views ife he FIA usell up tip a great deal ot of time in studying farm dinn conditions tic ile luid lind induced the bivs to test the lie cows of tile district for butterfat fal yield ile he was studying the matter roetter of a modera co opera tive rie creamery tie IN hoped to open olion to the boys and girls the wonders of the lie universe un heise which are touched by bi the work on the farm ile iii hoped to make good find contented f farmers iri nerg of them thein able to get tile most out cut of ti the le soll soil to sell whit abey produced to the bast addan fage find and at tile samo iline to keep up the fertility or of the soil itself and I 1 ho be hoped to tench teach tile girasin girl sin in such it a NN that they alp be good find and contented fan far wives ivas abil an I 1 tay a ll 11 Inter pLed con conner bonner thiet we wc can rest our case right light here if vint lint ilia limit I 1 dont dollt know what 1 1 jentile jennie turned to jim now non mr air irwin sald said she die while you jou have been following out the thee ale very cry inter esting find original methods want ft lint bave boti done ta in uit the way ny of teaching the ahinga called for by b the course of study fill willing sald id jim to stand or fall on an all examination of these dill i dren if aitio pip very ver lext textbooks books we tto are accused of neglect in g jentile hea tilly at jim for a nil full minute I 1 flow many liti plis of tile the woodruff 1 school lire are herat slie she asked all rise I 1 A mass of the nud lenee in the midst of which sat jennies father rose tit at why said eald jennie 1 I 1 should say we fiat a quorum anyhow I 1 well have school liere here and sir mr irwin please remember that hint you state that stand or fall on the mastery by these pupils of the textbooks they axe are i supposed to bave neglected j 11 ot tile lie mastery tery of tile text said jim but their ability to do the work tile the t is s to tit them for well fula fold jentile jennie 1 I dont know but mats inar t ill hut sald mrs airs peterson Pc terson we dout dont trant u ant our children brought up to be farmers finners suppose we move to town where does doea lie culture come in the Clite ngn papers had n news item which covered the alie of the alie examinations ami nations but the gront great sensation of the woodruff district ia lay y in the sunday feature attire curried by one of them it had h picture of jim iraln and one of jennie woodruff ir the latter authentic then tic and the former gleaned from the morgue and apparently the lie por trait of n lumberjack lumber jack jaick there was also avery a acry freo reg treat mell t b by y the aar to orlist of mr is carrying a r fine 00 with tho the intention of shooting up the school board in case casa tho decision went figal list the schoolmaster when it became known said tho the news story that the schoolmaster had bet hla film job on tho the proficiency of 0 his bla school in studios studies supposed and alleged to have boon been studiously neglected tho the excitement rose rosa to forer fever heat heal local sports bet freely on the result the odds being eight to five on general proficiency against the tha field the field was jim irwin and hla his school and tho the way those choso rural kids row rose in their might ir and ate up the textbooks was simply scandalous when waon tho the aoa over and the tha dear dead and wounded cared for tho the school board and tho the county superintendent were forced to admit that they wished the average iTe raga school could do as well under a test tho the local mr dooley Is cornelius bonner a member of tho the board when asked for a statement of his views alter the county superintendent had do aided that her old sweetheart sweat henrt was to te bo be allowed the tha priceless boon of earning forty dollars a month during the tha remainder of hla his contract mr bonner said aside allda from being licked were all right but well yet SA this guy yet dont fall down and bergit that I 1 the examinations taud to show allow said mr donner bonner when asked for his bit opinion on the result that hat in or r ader to larn anything you ashud 80 methin ilse but well git this guy att yrtl 11 jim 1 said colonel woodruff rm BB they rode home together tin im just bo be ginning to understand what youre driving at and I 1 like betas being d a wild eyed reformer more and more CHAPTER XH at the th Far farmans mars institute every town iowa county has its farmerie Fan ners institute usually it li in held in the county sent seat and Is a gathering of farmers for tho the purpose of listening to improving discussions and addresses both instructive and entertaining the woodruff district was interested in tho the institute however because of the fact that a rural school exhibit was waa como coma and tell Us about the thee things one of 0 its features that year and that colonel woodruff had secured on in urgent invitation to the school to take part in it such exhibits are now so BO common that it to Is not worth while for us to describe it but then the sight might of a class of children testing and weighing Ing milk examining grains for viability and foul seeds planning crop rotations judging grains and live lire stock mock was so now new in that county as to be the real sensation of the institute awu persons were h n joad good deal out cm barra saed by the th success of the exhibit one was the county superintendent who was waa constantly in receipt of undeserved und served compliments upon her wisdom in fostering really practical work in the schools acho ola the other w aras jim invin who wua was becom becoming litz famous and who felt he had fiad done nothing to 0 o deserve fame professor WIt bers an extension lecturer from ameo took jim to dinner at al the best hotel in the town tor for the purpose of talking over with him the needa of the rural schools youve got to come down to our farmers week next neit yeigi yer and tell us about these things thing said he h to jim cant youl you jims brain reeled lie ile go to a gathering of real educators educator and tell his crude notions notion st I 1 ilow flow could lie he get the money for his eapen res but tie he had that gameness gaiu eness which goes with supreme confidence in the thing dealt witt with ill come said lie be thank you said the ames amea roan man theres a small honorarium honor ariu n attached you know jim was staggered lie ile tried to remember what an honorarium la Is was lie he obliged to pay tin on honorarium for the chance to spent before tie lie college gathering well hod hed saye save money and pay it IL 1 I ill try fry to trice care anre of life j lie hon bon or arlum raid bold he 70 7 ni 0 ic come the professor laughed it was tho the first joke the gangling innovator had perpetrated it wont bother you to take care of it said he but if youre youra not too extravagant trava gant it will pay your expenses and give you a few dollars over jim breathed more freely an honorarium was paid to the person receiving the honor then what a relief relied I 1 all right he exclaimed ril ill bo be glad to come I 1 lets consider that settled said tho the professor and now I 1 must be going back to the opera house my talk on soil ii conics next I 1 tell you tha winter wheat crop has haa boon been H dut but jim was wa not able to think much 0 of tho the winter wheat problem as they went back to the tha auditorium ile iia was worth tho the appreciation of a college professor trained to think ou on the very matters mattera jim had beon so long mulling over in isolation and blindness I 1 calesta slinda thought she saw something shining anil saint like about the th e comely face fa co of her he r t ea c b e r as he came to her at her post tit 1 the room la in which the tha school exhibit was held bold calista was in charge of the little children whose work was to bo be demonstrated that day and was lu in a state of exaltation to which tier her starved being had hitherto been si stranger engar perhaps there was something similar in her ber condition of happiness to that of jim sh she too was doing something outside the sordid ufa of the simms cabin she year yearned tied over the tha children in her caro and would have haro been glad to die for them and besides was wa not newton bronson in charge of the corn exhibit and r R member of the corn judging team to tho the eyes 0 ot tha town girls who passed about among the tha exhibits she was waa poorly dressed but it if they could have soen seen tho the cloth clothes es she bid worn on that evening when jim irwin first chilled st at their cabin they could perhaps have bay understood the sense of well being and happiness happl neM in On listas soul at the feeling of her drew dreas and the boughten cloak she alit and any of them oren eno without knowledge of till this might have understood calls callo tas taa joy at tho tha know lIge that newton Bron sons eyes were wera on her ber from tits MB station by the bl big pillar hello callista I 1 said jim allow are byoir enjoying W it oh I 1 said calesta Call sta and drew a long long aroath alim ahm enjoying right much mr jim any of the homo folks coming in to seer seo yea tea seh answered calesta Call sta all the school board have stopped by this morning jim looked about him there they th ey were now over in a corner with their heads together ue ile went toward them his face still beaming with that radi anco which had abono chono me BO plainly to the eyes of calesta but they saw flaw in it only agrin a grin of exultation over lila his defeat efthem of them at the hearing before jennie woodruff when jim had drawn so close as almost to cull call for the th extended hand he felt the repulsion of their attitudes and sheered off on some pretended errand to a dark corner across the room they resumed their talk and as I 1 was sayin 11 went on bonner 1 I want to get this guy jim irwin an bela the cause of tits ills gittin the school id like to be on the bourd board to kick him oil but it if you yon f fellers el would like to have hare some one else I 1 wont run and if the right foller feller Is ill line up what friends I 1 got for him you got no friend can git gil as many as an you can said peterson Pet Breon 1 I I 1 tank you better ron what say ex Es naked asked bunner bonner suits bulls me all right mild bronse Dron Bon 1 I guess wo wi three have had our fight out and understand ench each other 1 I dont like the way colonel woodrun woodruff acts sold said bonner ile he rounded up that gang of kids that hat shot us all to pieces at that hearing her bat 1 I 1 tank not replied peterson Pc terson 1 I tank he was interested in how tencle runn managed aged it well said bonner tie tie seems to lot of interest in this exhibition her bere I 1 think wed better watch the colonel that decision of we was crooked vell veil said haakon Pet oraon itala of crookedness wit feanle woodruff dont get wery fur wit me oil oh I 1 dont mean anything bad haakon 1 replied bonner but it an all right decision dodt ton I 1 think ashes stuck on the gny the ile caucus broke tip cp after making elare that the alir numbers of the school board would be As a semri 1 in maintaining a hostile front to JIM irwin and his tenure of office it looked rather like a foregone conclusion in a little district wherein there were scarcely twenty five flirt votes rotes alie three members embers til of the board with their immediate friends and dependents could muster two or three ballots each and who was there to oppose them CHAPTER XIII the th colonel colon takes tak the th field jim stood aport and alano with his bis thoughts after his bis rebuff by the caucusing bemb 11 s of the school board 1 I dont si al said a voice over against the cooking exhibit what there Is in this to set people talking buttonholes Buttonhole sl I 1 Coc cookies kiest I 1 hunt hi it was sirs bonner who had clearly come coma to scoff with her was mrs dronson bronson whose attitude wits that of a person torn between conflicting influences fluen ces her fler hubband had indicated to the crafty boncer and the subtle peterson that he be was still lo 10 loyal al to the school board but while consorting with the censorious mrs bonner she evinced restiveness ahen yah the school rn and d its ife wo work r k was couta condemned fia uee was not her nowton newton in charge of a part of title show was waa he ha not an aa open and do nani champion of jim irwin and a constant anil and enthusiastic attendant upon not only hla his classes but a variety of evening and saturday affairs and had not nowton newton become a better boy a wonderfully better boy mrs airs Uron Bron sons heart was filled with resentment that she also could not be ba enrolled among jim erwins irwins supporters sup portera and when sirs mrs bonner sheered at the th buttonholes and cookies mrs dronson bronson knowing hw how the little fingers had puzzled themselves over the one and young faces had become floury and rod red over the other lured flared up a little and I 1 dont see said she anything to laugh ut at id like ilka to |