“And we had a splendid teacher at the last,” sighed Eve. “But when I first went to it—oh! the boys acted so horrid, and the girls gabbled so. It wasn’t a school. My mother said it was ‘a bear garden!’
“You see, there were some dreadfully bad big boys went to the school, off and on. The Four Corners isn’t so far away, you know. Hebe Pocock—Laura will remember him?”
“I guess so!” cried Laura.
“Well, he was one of the big boys in school when I first came here. We had a new teacher—we were always having ‘new’ teachers. Sometimes there would be as many as four in one term. If they were girls they broke down and cried and gave it up; and if they were young men they were either beaten or driven out of the neighborhood.
“But I can remember this particular young man pretty well, little as I was,” laughed Eve. “He wasn’t very big, but he didn’t look puny, although he wore glasses. But when he opened school he took off the glasses and put them in his desk. He was real mild mannered, and he had a nice smile, and the big girls liked him. But Hebe and the other big boys said they were going to run him off right quick!”
“And did they?” asked Jess, interested.
“Well, I’ll tell you. He was taking the names of all us children, and he got along all right till he came to Hebe. Hebron was the ring leader. He always gave the sign for trouble. When the master asked his name Hebe leaned back in his seat, put his feet up on the desk, and looked cross-eyed at the new teacher. Of course, all the little follows thought it was funny—and some of the girls, too, I guess.
“‘Please tell me your name,’ said the master, without seeming to notice Hebe’s impudence.
“‘Wal,’ drawled Hebe, ‘sometimes they call me Bob, and sometimes Pete, and sometimes they call me too late for dinner. But don’t you call me nothin’, Mister!’
“The teacher listened until he got through,” said Eve, her eyes flashing at the remembrance of the scene, “and then he doubled his fist and struck Hebe a blow between the eyes that half stunned him. Hebe was the bigger, but that teacher was awfully strong and smart. He grabbed Hebe by the collar and hauled him headlong over the desks and seats, stood him up before the big desk with a slam, and roared at him: