easantly when she
first visited the school were yet pupils; but they were much more
friendly with the girl from Greensboro than at first. They might have
been a wee bit jealous of her, however; for Nelson Haley would never
treat them other than as a teacher should treat his scholars, whereas he
paid marked attention to Janice whenever he was in her society.

Once he had asked permission to call upon her; but Janice had only
laughed and told him that her aunt would be pleased to have him come, of
course. She was not at all sure that she liked Mr. Nelson Haley well
enough to allow him to confine his attentions to her! Young as she was,
Janice had serious ideas about such matters.

However, she was glad to have him to talk to again on this occasion.

"I've never had a chance to tell you how proud of you I was when they
told me what you did at the town meeting," Janice whispered, as they sat
side by side in the party wagon.

Nelson grinned at her cheerfully. "The old Elder scarcely speaks to me,"
he said. "He's even forgotten that I can turn a Latin phrase as they
used to when he went to the university."

"Oh, that is too bad! But don't you feel that you did right?"

"I'll tell you better when it comes time to engage a teacher for next
year."

"Oh, dear! Maybe they'll put in a new school committee at the July
school meeting. They ought to."

"The Elder and his comrades in crime have been in office for eight or
ten years, I understand. They are fairly glued there, and it will take a
good deal to oust them. You see, they have nothing to do with the
building of the new school."

"But if that school is finished and ready for occupancy next fall, you
ought to be at the head of it. It won't be fair to put you out," Janice
said, with gravity.

"We'll hope for the best," and Nelson Haley laughed as usual. "But if I
lose my job and have to beg my bread from door to door, I hope you will
remember, Janice, that I told you so."

"You are perfectly ridiculous," declared the girl. "Aren't you ever
serious two minutes at a time?"

"Pooh! what's the good of being 'solemncholly'? Take things as they
come--that's _my_ motto."

Still, Janice believed that the young man was really becoming more
deeply interested in the Poketown school and its problems that he was
willing to admit, even to her. She had heard that the Middletown
architect who was planning the school had consulted Nelson Haley
several times upon important points,