Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 66, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 March 1919 — THE SCHOOLMA’AM [ARTICLE]

THE SCHOOLMA’AM

By ETHEL M. FARMER.

Mi~n P».~nnks stood on the threrh'dd — of the little village school vigorously ringing the rusty old bell. Many schoolma’ams had stood on that same threshold ringing that same rusty bell but somehow this one seemed . different from the rest. And somehow the clanging of the bell seemed clearer than ever. * -*■ The ringing of the bell ceased, the long line of children passed Into the building and the schoolhouse door was. closed. It was very evident that the long days in the little school were not ones of drudgery. The teacher, who was little more than a girl herself, was dearly loved by all the children. —As she began the day’s work no one would have surmised that in her heart there was trouble. ■ “It really did seein strange about Ed. It could not be true. Dick was mistaken. He—” „ A suppressed giggle interrupted her wandering thoughts. With great dignity she asked a very modest little girl, who proudly wore two tight braids down her back, the cause of the disturbance. “Excuse me, please,” the girl spoke timidly, “but we had this lesson two days ago.” “Excuse me, too,” was all she said, as she reassigned the lesson. The clock carefully ticked away the minutes and the gradually crept along their daily journey. Then a ruler fell on the floor with a sounding thud! A little red-headed fellow in the front sbat was working very industriously, with his desk covered with papers and opened books, but the telltale ruler lay in the aisle beside him. “Jimmy!” “Er, yes’m, Miss Brooks; did you mean me?” And lie struggled desperately to return her look with innoceney. “Pick it up!” she said slowly, fore- _ ing back a smile. 7 With great surprise he leaned over and picked up the gffending article and placed it thoughtfully iu his desk. All went well for a while after the ruler was safely deposited out of sight until Jimmy suddenly thought of the lovely, big cud of guin he had stuck under his desk. “How good it would taste!” he thought, hut he knew how stern “she” was on chewing in school —he had tried it before. He studied the clock with a sigh, for there were 15 minutes more ! At last he could stand it no longer, and the gum was suddenly and slyly transferred from the desk to his mouth. “How good it was!” And he gave it a few good chews. “Jimmy!” came in low tones from the other side of the room. “Er, yes’m,” he replied, jumping to his feet, “I’ll take—” -—-—- “Put it in the basket and crawl in tinder my desk.- Stay there until the bell rings.”

At.last the closing bell rang and the children filed out of the building, but Miss Brooks did not notice that Jimmy did not appear. With a sigh she sat down at her desk and drew out part of a newspaper clipping which - told of the engagement of Lieut. Edward Smith to a beautiful ■“society belle.” All of the article was not there, but Dick had assured her that it was true and - that Etr'TuuTnot treated her fair. Just then Dick himself entered the room. “Where shall we go this evening?” he asked cheerfully. “Are you sure this is true about Ed?” she asked him again. “How can you doubt it? Forget about him and we will have a good time together.” She shook her head. “I guess I will not go tonight. Somehow I do not believe that ik true about Win.” * Suddenly Jimmy opened his eyes. Who said Ed? Why, Ed was his special friend and was coming home from the army this very day l ———— —- He scrambled out from under the desk, rubbing his eyes. “Why, I’ve been asleep and I promised Ed right after school.” “Ed?” she asked in surprise, after overcoming the shock of the unexpected third party. The boy’s face 'fell. “It was to be a surprise to you,” he stammered. Just then Dick picked up his whip, which he had laid on a chair, and disappeared through the door, for he had suddenly spied a tall soldier hastening up the road with one. arm carried stiffly in.a sling. He had just barely left when the soldier entered. “Ruth!” ' She looked with surprise and joy at she newcomer. „ A few minutes later she passed her worn clipping to Ed slowly. His face clouded as he read, but it Immediately cleared when he realized its significance, and the cause of the strange disappearance of his old rival whom he had just caught a glimpse of down the road. X “This is another Ed Smith, who lives in town,” he assured her. “I know him. Don't worry about me”, No more explanations werg necessary and Miss Brooks’ “problem’’ was settled very satisfactorily. At a signal from Ed, Jimmy scampered from the building, but' he saw what happened later when he gleefully climbed up on the roof and peeked in at the cracked window. \ (Copyright, “1913, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) '