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Show Sylvia of the Minute By HELEN R. MARTIN Copyright tT Dodd. Mead & Co. CHAPTER V Continued 12 Meely decided that for at least a few weeks she could breathe freely, and feel comparatively secure from the danger of a visit. And that very morning. Just after recess time, as the children were trooping In from the playground, he walked In on her. "Oh, dear, you here again!" she openly lamented as he, without offering offer-ing her his hand, bowed rather curtly and drew forth a platform chair not. however, seating himself while she stood, a courtesy to which she had, for so many months, been a stranger, that It thrilled her, to her amusement, I almost as much as St. Croix' "manners" "man-ners" had thrilled Nettie the night before. be-fore. "I'm here," he grimly stated, standing stand-ing behind his chair and folding his arms with a resolute. Napoleonic air that made her heart sink, "to hear you teach geography !" "Here I stand so help me Cawd '." she mocked at his determined mien. "Martin Luther!" "And I don't leave this schoolroom until I have heard you !" "Oil, gee!" she sighed. He set his lips and stared straight ahead of him. "I've had this school on my conscience con-science since you yourself admitted that you can't teach. We can't let these children .suffer from your excuse ex-cuse me incompetence. Will you call a geography class, Miss Schwenck-ton Schwenck-ton ?" Did he or did he not hesitate over her name? She could not feel sure. " "But why this passionate interest In geography?" she complained. "Aren't you longing to see me teach spelling? I'll call a spelling class " "Ocography. If you please." "I suppose," she said accusingly, "you just want to expose me as not knowing any geography of the I'ni'e.l States! Well, If you call that chivalrous chival-rous " "I'm not here to he chivalrous, but to hear you teach." "Why won't spelling do?" "I prefer geography." "Just because I jokingly pretended to think tiiere were forty-seven states Instead of fifty-seven! and told you that when I was a mere child, I thought the Mississippi river ran east and west !" "Exactly." "Well," she said renVctivcly, "well. Mr. Creighton, before I take your request re-quest Into consideration, will you tell me what is the extent of your power over my job? Can you take it from me?" "I can advise your school board to take It, from you. But," he hastily added, "of course I don't want to! I'd hate like the dickens Again he pulled himself up. "I should greatly dislike." he said primly, "10 resort to such stringent measures." "That's better sounds more professional," profes-sional," she encouraged bini. "Be professional or die !" The children of the school were all seated now rigidly upright In the presence of that magnate, the county superintendent and Meely could no ' longer dally with the situation; sli. must decide what to do. She might repeat the successful geography lesson she had already gien that morning morn-ing on Italy t hough a deliberate repetition of the whole performance would he so astonishing lo the children chil-dren as to be eniharrasing to their teacher! for Venice, she had given them the songs of Ihe gondoliers, and Impersonations of Portia and Shylock : for Naples, street beggars and coral workers; for Koine, impersonallons of Caesar and Mark Antony with tales of gladiators Interspersed; for Florence. Flor-ence. Impersonal ions of Savonarola and the Medici. Much more than the school had been able to digest nt one dose, but she had enjoyed It, feeling how cleverly she was doing It ah. there was the rub! She did It too cleverly, too professionally. She could not risk offering It to Marvin Creighton. Creigh-ton. Well. then, nothing left but to try to give a geography lesson In ihe pro-sai., pro-sai., uninteresting way she had seen It done In a school she had .Isp mI, where the teacher, for a weary half hour, had had Ihe children lolling glibly what stales enclosed other slates. What had Ihe teacher called thai n certain word she had used? "I'll bore this man so he'll keep away from here for the rest or his life!" she determined. ".ehllla." she addressed the bright-est bright-est girl of the class that she summoned sum-moned lo stand before Ihe desk, while she and the superintendent now sai behind II, "enclose Ihe slale of Pennsylvania." Penn-sylvania." .ebillii looked blank. "What's that I in lo do?" "Enclose Pennsylvania," repeateil Meely cotilldetilly. .ehllla still looked unenlightened -even dazed. "I wouldn't know how lo. I don't know right how you mean -enclose II !" Meely saw she had gotten the wrong word. "I mean -surround II ; tell what stales. If any. surround It -or what bodies of water, or whatever does enclose, surround or circumscribe circum-scribe It !" she explained desperately. "Ach, do voa mean, Miss Schweuck-ton, Schweuck-ton, I'm to bound Pennsylvania?'' "That's the word yes, bind It." A snort from the county superintendent superin-tendent was a signal for the amazed school and they broke Into a roar of laughter that revealed to the embarrassed embar-rassed teacher how seriously she had erred. Her face flushed crimson. She hated this monster sitting on her platform plat-form laughing till the desk shook! She rapped for order. The school became quiet. "Proceed," she said to Zehilla coldly. "Pennsyl-wania Is bounded on the nort h " When Zehilla had finished, Meely took as long a time as possible In drilling her to pronounce the letter V by catching her lower lip between her teeth. She prolonged this drilling to the point of absurdity, for if she called on any other pupil of this class to bound a state, she herself would have to keep her eyes glued to the map to see that they got it right. With Zehilla Zook that had not been necessary, neces-sary, for Zehilla could he depended upon to answer correctly. She always knew her lessons witli depressing thoroughness. So It was not until the poor girl became restive and resentful resent-ful under her prolonged drilling that the teacher desisted. "Bind Connecticut. Hiram," she at hist proceeded most reluctantly. "Connecticut is hounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the east by Bhode Island" "Oh, come, an Island can't bind anything. any-thing. What is an Island, Hiram?" she asked, very pleased at Hiram's blunder, for here she could be sure of her ground; she did at least know the forms of land and water! "But Bhode Island." said Hiram, gazing at her almost In horror, "ain't no island " Her linger on the map. she could see for herself, now. that It wasn't and turning hot and cold with consternation, con-sternation, she yet tried to save herself. her-self. "Very good. Hiram I was trying try-ing to catch you up! (if course we all know how it came to be called nn island? Zehilla?" But Zehilla. her stand-by, failed her there she did not know! "I'll ask the class." said .Meely hastily, has-tily, "to look that up for next lesson." She fin red she was not succeeding In her plot to "Lore" the superintendent. superintend-ent. S!,e saw, in a quick side glance, that he looked anything but bored. Indeed, he seemed to be etiioing himself. him-self. Probably he'd stay the rest ,,f the day! oh. how she hated and despised de-spised him' Conceited pedagogue! Af:er a few more states had been bound (her eyes and finger fastened Ihe while lo the map) she heaved a sigh of relief and dismissed the class to their seats. "Now you've had your heart's desire de-sire and have heard ui'1 teach geography. geogra-phy. What fur; her." she inquired wilh dignity, "can I do for you?" "I lcae it to you." he bowed, making mak-ing no moe whatever to go. She decided to call up a readme class. There w ere no serious pit falls for her in American literature. That Is. If she could manage to resist the temptation to act out the reading lesson. les-son. In case It happened to he a "piece" (as the pupils would say) that lured her to n dramatic execution of It ! She settled that danger by ordering Ihe class to turn to n speech of Theodore Theo-dore l!ooseell's. And too late she realized her mistake. The speech abounded In political allusions which none but a native American would understand. If only no one asked nnv questions! They so seldom did manifest mani-fest curiosity about anything but. It would he Just like Ihe peiMusity of fate to Inspire one of them to slum-olT slum-olT before the superintendent A hand was raised -the youngest little girl In (he class. "Please. Miss Schwcncklon, what does (1. A. K. mean':" Meely beamed wilh pleasure, for this was a question she could, as lack would have It, answer with convinc ing Intelligence. She rejoiced little Becky had been moved to ,v "The G. A. R. is a society 0f Z h can women," she blithely replied, 'a Granddaughters of the American pi olution, whose ancestors came ' the Mayflower." r' , "Well," said Meely Idly, M stood with the superintendent belli!! her desk at the end of the morni . session, "I suppose that awful c, science of yours will force yon tow vise the school board to discharge for 'incompetence'!" ' They were practically alone no, those of the pupils who did D0,',' home for the noon meal bavin-out bavin-out of doors to eat their luncheon "'" Mr. Creighton shook his head. ', I can't be expected always to act ,.-' interestedly for the good of mZ I'm only human, after all and vols vo-ls the only schoolroom I've ever r't. ited that hasn't bored me to d'sr Whenever I'm dull and need a riot "cf fun. I can just drop in here and you teach geography! No, I a-', rise to such heights of altruism a recommend your dismissal! It's ing too much! I'm only hu " "Well, believe me," she retor.ed resentfully, re-sentfully, "you'll not get a cfcar.s j sit 'round here making fun of tr I'll resign !" She turned away fc tily but siie was too good an act--; not to know that she was not aj enough to look haughty Impressive'v and suddenly, without warning ci found herself crying. Desperately & fought to control herse!', more cor:-fled cor:-fled at such a childish display tin she could possibly feel over pertrit excusable ignorance of a vast p;:i-work p;:i-work quilt of states, or of the fj distinctions dis-tinctions between American alptite leal symbols P. A. R.'s and G.A.E.';: Useless Information anyway! But the strain of the niorr.!:; L! b. en too much for her and she oi: not stop crying. Her breath car? i little gasping sobs, her shoifes heaved, she fumbled for her hiLf-2-chief and not finding it. she jeriri open a desk drawer, dragged o:: 1 towel and buried her face in it. "oh. hut my child! you poor ti Mr. Creigl.'.on un profession i'.iy si'. very remorsefully exclaimed. "I cih: want to hurt your feelings! ideas.-he begged in distress, lie; a reassuring nan J on her arm "fo. come. d"n't cry! You're net c '.' : ' be thrown out of your school ;:: ' swi ar I won't laugh at you any-.::" She wipe ! her n-se and be: :3 w iiii a corner i f the towel. "! i !-' tor rolgn!" she said d '!of:i y. "-' you'll he lying awake nigh: t'. !:.';.:: of ail the education those chii :a ;: missing ju-t because you wr-e tv weak to whhstand a girl's tears!" "Well." he said ruefa!!y. i- :-' gently, "yen have got roe tip I you know ! How you ever p! a K tow n Normal school iliploa.a on -' know led. e of fnitod Sha'.os ct-'.-phy " She showed signs of w; :: again, so he hastily veered o:T "!. right, let's never mention ?' -T again ! I do admit that the 1 h 4 your schoo are more alert ar. ! awake than any children ia : ' county ! There, iht'sti't that c" you ?" She smiled d.i-r.lingiy th-::-':; tears. "Oh. but then I'm a ':' " as a teacher! since the wli.ee ; pose of teaching children must h brighten up their wits, not lo states and names into them! ': '" what I pour Into them, hut '' lead them to give out '." "Ah. yes. but there's a let ''! essary drudgery In (encliir.; can't be sidestepped, my child: really must be done. So If .v,,; '' ' good and get down to harvl r here " "But Indeed 1 do ! These t! -N do. yet do not leave the liigl er r tors of Ihe spirit undone. I 'k -' you," He looked skeptical, but -1 '. did not feel it safe to pursue ' f'. Jecl, her bright eyes looking t'v ' to shed tears again. "I'm keeping you from eali''-! lunch," he suddenly said. rv:H'l Inclautly for his liat and cent (TO 1' K (VXTISl'KI1 I ? |