n't like to," said Jack. "She wouldn't want to take the trouble."

But the next morning Christopher Columbus managed to creep over to the
Lanhams:

"Cousin Sukey," he said, coaxingly, "I wish you'd do something for me. I
want to ask a favor of you."

[Illustration: "COUSIN SUKEY," SAID LITTLE COLUMBUS, "I WANT TO ASK A
FAVOR OF YOU."]

"What is it, Columbus?" said Sue. "Anything you ask shall be given, to
the half of my kingdom!" and she struck an attitude, as Isabella of
Castile, addressing the great Columbus, with the dust-brush for a
sceptre, and the towel, which she had pinned about her head, for a
crown.

"You are so funny," he said, with a faint smile. "But I wish you'd be
sober a minute."

"Haven't had but one cup of coffee this morning. But what do you want?"

"Jack----"

"Oh, yes, it's always Jack with you. But that's right--Jack deserves
it."

"Jack can't do his sums, and he won't ask you to help him."

"And so he got you to ask?"

"No, he didn't. He wouldn't let me, if he knew. He thinks a young lady
like you wouldn't want to take the trouble to help him."

"Do you tell that stupid Jack, that if he doesn't want to offend me so
that I'll never, never forgive him, he is to bring his slate and pencil
over here after supper this evening. And you'll come, too, with your
geography. Yours truly, Susan Lanham, Professor of Mathematics and
Natural Science in the Greenbank Independent and Miscellaneous Academy.
Do you hear?"

"All right." And Columbus, smiling faintly, went off to tell Jack the
good news. That evening Susan had, besides her own brother and two
sisters, two pupils who learned more arithmetic than they would have
gotten in the same time from Mr. Ball, though she did keep them laughing
at her drollery. The next evening, little Joanna Merwin joined the
party, and Professor Susan felt quite proud of her "academy," as she
called it.

Bob Holliday caught the infection, and went to studying at home. As he
was not so far advanced as Jack, he contented himself with asking Jack's
help when he was in trouble. At length, he had a difficulty that Jack
could not solve.

"Why don't you take that to the professor?" asked Jack. "I'll ask her to
show you."

"I dursn't," said Bob, with a frightened look.

"Nonsense!" said Jack.

That evening, when the lessons were ended, Jack said:

"Professor Susan, there was a story in the old First Reader we had in
the first school that I went to, about a dog