"Would yez be willin' ter bother wid us too?"
"It would be no bother. I'd be glad to help you."
There was no doubting her sincerity.
In a few moments, the men were seated around the dining table, each with pencil and paper, and a lesson in penmanship had begun.
"Gosh!" said Jimmie. "Ef that don't look like the rail fences back in Indianny!"
As he said this, he held up to view the very best he could do after repeated efforts. He laughed uproariously at himself, the others joining from pure sympathy, for Jimmie's laugh was contagious.
But Mike worked as though entered for a race. He seemed to need an astonishing amount of the teacher's attention, especially after she commended his work.
"Schoolma'am," he called out, beckoning to her with his dirty hand, "would yez be showin' me the nixt?"
She bent over him, naming principles, explaining slant and spacing, as she made a group of letters.