dle.
Rather good work, Raymond!"

"My mother has a delayed luncheon ready for the party," said Jennie to
Jim. "Please come with us--please!"

But Jim demurred. Getting off at this time of day was really out of the
question if he was to be ready to show the real work of the school in the
afternoon session.

"This has been rather extraordinary," said Jim, "but I am very glad you
were here. It shows the utility of the right sort of work in
letter-writing, language, geography and arithmetic--in learning things
about farming."

"It certainly does," said Doctor Brathwayt. "I wouldn't have missed it
under any consideration; but I'm certainly sorry for that creamery shark
and his accomplice--to be routed by the Fifth Reader grade in farming!"

The luncheon was rather a wonderful affair--and its success was
unqualified after everybody discovered that the majority of those in
attendance felt much more at home when calling it dinner. Colonel Woodruff
had fought against the regiment of the father of Professor Gray, of
Georgia, in at least one engagement, and tentative plans were laid for the
meeting of the two old veterans "some winter in the future."

"What d'ye think of our school?" asked the colonel.

"Well," said Professor Gray, "it's not fair to judge, Colonel, on what
must have been rather an extraordinary moment in the school's history. I
take it that you don't put on a representation of 'The Knave Unmasked'
every morning."

"It was more like a caucus than I've ever seen it, daddy," said Jennie,
"and less like a school."

"Don't you think," said Doctor Brathwayt, "that it was less like a school
because it was more like life? It _was_ life. If I am not mistaken,
history for this community was making in that schoolroom as we entered."

"You're perfectly right, Doctor," said the colonel. "Columbus Brown and
about a dozen others living outside the district are calling Wilbur Smythe
in counsel to perfect plans for an election to consolidate a few of these
little independent districts, for the express purpose of giving Jim Irwin
a plant that he can do something with. Jim's got too big for the district,
and so we're going to enlarge the district, and the schoolhouse, and the
teaching force, and the means of educational grace generally. That's as
sure as can be--after what took place this morning."

"He's rather a wonderful person, to be found in such a position," said
Professor Gray, "or would be in any region I have v