Cy Whittaker's Place

ed for the schoolhouse at a quarter to nine. Only a sense of shame kept Captain Cy from walking to school with her. He spent a miserable forenoon. They were quite the longest three h

ver the gate and looking eagerly i

home. She was in a hig

she cried. "What DO you think? I

, yes, yes! Have

her, that's

in was as

Phoebe Dawes? You don

nd said good morning, and was I all right again and was my dress really as bad as it looked to be? I told her that Georgianna t

" inquired Captain Cy when they

said she was surprised that a man who had made his money out of hi

et along with the y

t memories of the "fun" they had under Miss Seabury's easy-going rule, attempted to repeat their performances of the pre

was Bennie Edwards, and he's most thirteen. Miss Seabury, they said, couldn't do anything with him, but teacher said '

as she had faced the Cahoon cow, and the results were just as satisfactory. She was strict, but she was impartial, and Alicia Atkins found, to her great surprise, that the daughter of a congressm

el Myrick boasted loudly of his good judgment in voting for her. But Tad Simpson and Darius

he wanted could talk French language and play music and all kinds of accomplishments. Phoebe-not findin' any fault with her, you understand-don't know no more about music than a hen; my wife says she

on was divided concerning her. Bailey and Mr. Tidditt liked h

he'd known some real moral Universalists in his time, or some such unreligious foolishness. And I said I wondered he didn't get a new tail coat; the one he preached in Sundays was old as the hills and so outgrown it wouldn't scurcely button acrost him. 'A man bein' paid nine hundred

pendent, and he liked independence. He met her once or twice on the street, but she merely bowed and pass

onsidered her, but quick to learn. She was not a saint, however, and occasionally misbehaved in school and was punished for it. One aftern

clerk. "Well, you'll have to wait quite a spe

o write fifty lines o

was highl

cried. "She

new you'd be mad, though I s'pose folks that didn't know her's

resy, according to t

g ones 'round here then-Humph! And she's kept after school! Well, now; I won't have it! There's

ke a fuss about this. She's a smart child, Bos'n is;

t in the minds of the captain and the "Board." It made a good excuse for the systematic pr

right off and see Phoebe and settle this thing? You've got a rig

Cy, carried away by his firm belief that Bos'n was a pa

me on! That poor little thing

ouse Bailey's courage began to fail. Miss Dawes was a boarder at his ho

o death. And she's so little and meek, you know. If I should lose my temper and rare up I might s

white feathers" and "backsliders" had no eff

fellers!" he ca

her know that there's on

of the steps

ctmen and she might be frightened if she see me pouncin' down on her. 'Tain't as if I was just a common man. I'll go and set along

f! Besides, 'twas you chaps put me up to it. You ain't goin' to pull out of the race

of anything. He had all sorts of arguments to ba

through, and I'm goin' to do it. Only," he muttered, as he entered the downstairs

pened the door in re

Whittaker," she sai

and himself and one little girl, who, seated at a desk, was writing bu

indicating the visitor's chair. "Wh

dropped his hat on the floor, crossed his legs, uncrossed them, and then observed that it was pretty summery w

full, now that cranb'ryin'

pretty

rst rate with the

es

captain cleared his throat, set his teeth, and, without looking at his

Bos'n-I mean Emily there-is livin' at my house an

ady s

red as much from what you

things on that occasion. Capta

of the care, I will say. Wan't even a fair sample, maybe. I try to do my best with the

ad to h

you did for Bos'n and me that Sunday, and

bout it. I imagine there is somethin

een kept after school. I didn't believe it, of

teacher finished t

said. "It is. I told her to

ou know, but I just wanted to explain about Bos'n-Emmie, I mean. She ain't a common child; she's got too much

g enough to me. I haven

nd if she can't do quite so much writin'. I'd rather she wouldn't; she might bust a blood vessel or somethi

ad risen to her feet with a det

said the capta

glad that you called. I've been rather expecting

it you heard-if you d

bout Emily. I have heard that you allow her to do as she plea

ikely yarn as that? I ain't the kind to spoil anybody.

d he was. Miss Phoe

nowing what gossip amounts to. I like Emily; she's a pretty good little girl and well behaved, as children go. But this you must understand. She can't be spoiled here. She whispered this afternoon, twice.

that-that young rip of a Ben Edwards

s room. And, so long as Emily behaves herself, she shall be treated accor

d, same as his dad was a fore him! And E

cholar, but there are others just

her children as brilliant as Bos'n! Captain

"Well! for a teacher

that you, Cap'n Whittaker, are the one directly responsible for my bein

ver thought of

e got it, I shall try to fill it without regard to one person more than another. Emily s

hat, swallowed hard, and stepped across the th

mmand of a ship did you allow outsiders

ted to reply very much, but somehow he couldn

d been in South America, same as I have, and see

in spite of an app

this is Massachusetts. And-we

. Just before the door closed behind hi

g at the end of the yard. Its me

d Asaph. "Did you let her understand w

s'n?" asked

eward at a gait which caused plump little Bailey to puff in his efforts to ke

gate, "I guess she knows her place now; hey, Cy? I cal'lat

ley. "I hope not, 'cause she might have you took up just

en, banging the gate behind him, he s

oom, seated in his favorite rocker and moodily staring at nothing in par

Cyrus," she said. "Teacher said

ptain

tting her arms around his neck,

you wanted to. Don't talk that way or

bad, too. I was b

oung one in school I used to whis- . . . Hum! Well, anyhow

tly for a time.

, don't you

question? Yes, I like her about as wel

I like her e

r the way she treated y

the other girls and boys when they're naugh

' you with that Bennie Edwards-th

n't make

o. I hea

him and then hid her

out her," she whisp

uttered. "It's just as I expected. She's st

bout you because I didn't like to hear you talk

u W

n't come when they're bad. And I kep

med o

dded vig

nded so right, and what you said didn'

some few minutes, but he held the little girl very

pell ago. To tell you the honest Lord's truth, I've been ashamed of myself ever since I come out of that schoolhouse door. When that teacher woman sprung that on me about my fo'mast hands

nodded

any more, will

won't, anyhow. You ha

'll like

in stampe

tsy a way for me. No, sir! I don't like her and I WON'T like her. No, sir-ee, never! She-she ain't