"Let him alone," said Halliday, thoroughly pleased, and Shotwell went on stoutly.
"The concern was started by Leggett an' his gang—excuse my careless terms, Gen'l—as the public high-school. They made it ve'y odious to ow people by throwin' it wide open to both raaces instead o' havin' a' sep'ate one faw whites. So of co'se none but dahkeys went to it, an' they jest filled it jam up."
"What did the whites do?" asked the Briton.
"Why, what could they do, seh? You know how ow people ah. That's right where the infernal outrage come in. Such as couldn't affode to go to Rosemont aw Montrose jest had to stay at home!" The speaker looked at John, who colored and bit his cigar.
"So as soon as ow crowd got control of affairs we'd a shut the thing up, on'y faw Jeff-Jack. Some Yankee missiona'y teachers come to him an' offe'd to make it a college an' spend ten thousand dollahs on it if the State would on'y go on givin' it hafe o' the three counties' annual high-school funds."
The Englishman frowned perplexedly and Proudfit put in—
"That is, three thousand a year from our three counties' share of the scrip on public lands granted Dixie by the Federal Government."
"Expressly for the support of public schools," said General Halliday, and March listened closer than the foreigner, for these facts were newest to John.
"Still," said March, "the State furnishes the main support of public education."
"No," responded Shotwell, "you're wrong there, John; we changed that. The main suppote o' the schools is left to the counties an' townships."