"That, one would think, was enough hardship for one year. But worse things were to happen to her.
"Yesterday—and this story is a terrible confession for a State Board official to make—yesterday the State Board gave her the wrong papers. The principal told us about her,—I suppose he meant us to mark her as easily as we could. But the examiner who distributed the sub-Junior papers thought that the principal had said she was a sub-Junior, and the examiner who distributed the Junior papers thought she was a Junior, and so both gave her papers, and she—"
Gertrude Manley felt suddenly a head against her shoulder.
"Why, Sarah!" she whispered, and saw only a bit of scarlet cheek.
"And she," the Chairman went on, "being accustomed to having extra work, said nothing and sawed wood, with this result." He unfolded again the paper in his hand.
"She passed the Arithmetic, Physiology, and Spelling which she was expected to pass, with good marks. She did not take the sub-Junior Political Geography, but she passed the Junior Physical Geography and the Junior Latin and the Junior History with good marks. In these branches I believe she did the extra work during the winter. In the Junior Grammar, which includes the sub-Junior Grammar, she just made passing mark. We tried to persuade ourselves that she hadn't really passed, but she was too much for us. Even when a fern and some steps were thrust before her to be drawn, she did not falter but drew them. The Civil Government paper she did not attempt, which surprised us greatly. It was very inconsiderate of the teacher of Civil Government not to give her extra lessons too. I think Dr. Ellis should speak to him about it. And now, what shall we do with this girl?"
Not one of the gasping students offered a suggestion.
"Well, there are several possibilities," went on the Chairman. "We can say that inasmuch as she hasn't passed her sub-Junior Geography, she hasn't passed at all and will have to take the year over. But that doesn't seem fair. Or we can say that she is a Junior in spite of the Geography. The only objection to that is that she will grow very lazy next year with nothing new to study but Civil Government. Not all of us approve of that. Then there is one other plan. We can make her a Middler, with the provision that she makes up the Civil Government some time within the next two years. It is unprecedented, but it can be done. What does the school think of this plan?"
The pupils looked about in complete mystification. Was it all true, or was it only a story? Then a few of them began to guess whom the Chairman meant. One of them was Edward Ellis.
"I think she should be made a Middler," he said.