the boys quiet for awhile if she
chose to do so, I suppose."

"Or Miss Wilbur. Some of the boys in that class are in school, in her
ward; they say she has grand order."

Dr. Dennis' face grew stern.

"No," he said, "don't ask _her_; at least we will not put them in a way
to learn error, if we can teach them nothing good. Miss Wilbur is an
infidel. I don't know what is to be done with that class, as you say.
Poor Morris, I am afraid, will never be able to take it again; and he
was utterly discouraged with them, anyway. They get no good here that I
can see; and they certainly do infinite mischief to the rest of the
school."

"But at the same time I suppose we cannot send them away?"

"Oh, certainly not. Well, suppose you try if Miss Erskine will sit
there, and try to awe them by her dignity for awhile. And this week we
must see what can be done; she won't try it, though, I presume."

It ended in the superintendent coming toward them at last. He didn't
like to be too personal in his request, so he took the general way of
putting a question, resting in the belief that each would refuse, and
that then he could press the task on Miss Erskine.

"We are short of teachers to-day; would one of you be willing to sit
with that class at your right, and try to interest them a little? They
are a sad set; very little can be done with them, but we have to try."

I shall have to confess that both Ruth and Marion were appalled. The one
shrank as much as the other. If it had been a class in mathematics or
philosophy Marion would have been confident of her powers; but she felt
so very ignorant of the Bible. She had come in, hoping and expecting a
chance to slip into a grand Bible class, where she might learn some of
the inner truths of that glorious lesson that she had been trying to
study. But to teach it! This seemed impossible. As for Ruth, no thought
of such an experience had as yet come to her. They, therefore,
maintained a dismayed silence. Eurie was frank.

"I can't teach," she said; "I don't understand it myself. I shouldn't
have the least idea what to say to anyone about the Bible lesson." And
then they all turned and stared in a maze of surprise and perplexity at
little fair-haired Flossy.

"I would like to try," she said, simply; "I have thought about the
lesson all the week; I am not sure that I can _teach_ anything, but I
should like to talk the story over with them if they will let me."

There was nothing for it