overed the meaning of
the word swain.

"Isn't it no sort of animal at all?" he asked indignantly.

"Well, I'm not going to be in it, then," he said when he heard that it
was not.

The next morning Evangeline Fish began to canvass for votes
methodically. Evangeline Fish was very fair, and was dressed always in
that shade of blue that shrieks aloud to the heavens and puts the
skies to shame. She was considered the beauty of the form.

"I'll give you two bull's eyes if you'll vote for me," she said to
William.

"_Two!_" said William with scorn.

"Six," she bargained.

"All right," he said, "you can give me six bull's eyes if you want.
There's nothing to stop you givin' me six bull's eyes if you want, is
there? Not that I know of."

"But you'll have to promise to put down my name on the paper if I give
you six bull's eyes," she said suspiciously.

"All right," said William. "I can easy promise that."

Whereupon she handed over the six bull's eyes. William returned one as
being under regulation size, and waited frowning till she replaced it
by a larger one.

"Now, you've promised," said Evangeline Fish. "They'll make you ill
an' die if you break your promise on them."

William kept his promise with true political address. He wrote "E.
Fish--I _don't_ think!" on his voting paper and his vote was
disqualified. But Evangeline Fish was elected May Queen by an
overwhelming majority. She was, after all, the beauty of the form and
she always wore blue. And now she was to be May Queen. Her prestige
was established for ever. "Little angel," murmured the elder girls.
The small boys fought for her favours. William began to dislike her
intensely. Her voice, and her smile, and her ringlets, and her blue
dress began to jar upon his nerves. And when anything began to jar on
William's nerves something always happened.

It was not till about a week later that he noticed Bettine Franklin.
Bettine was small and dark. There was nothing "angelic" about her.
William had noticed her vaguely in school before and had hardly looked
upon her as a distinct personality. But one recreation in the
playground he stood leaning against the wall by himself, scowling at
Evangeline Fish. She was surrounded by a crowd of admirers, and was
prattling to them artlessly in her angelic voice.

"I'm going to be dressed in white muslin with a blue sash. Blue suits
me, you know. I'm so fair." She tossed back a ringlet. "One of you
will have to hold m