Mr. Curtis G. Marks was the principal of the High School which Agnes attended.
“What was Mr. Marks doing over in your room, Tess?” Agnes asked curiously.
“Visiting. Our teacher asked him to ‘take the class.’ You know, visiting teachers always are so nosey,” added Tess with more frankness than good taste.
“Better not let Ruth hear you use that expression, child,” laughed Agnes. “But what about being observant—or unobservant?”
“He told us,” Tess went on to say, “to watch closely, and then asked for somebody to give him a number. So somebody said thirty-two.”
“Yes?”
“And Mr. Marks went to the board and wrote twenty-three on it. Of course, none of us said anything. Then Mr. Marks asked for another number and somebody gave him ninety-four. Then he wrote forty-nine on the board, and nobody said a word.”
“Why didn’t you?” asked Agnes in wonder. “Did you think he was teaching you some new game?”
“I—I guess we were too polite. You see, he was a visitor. And he said right out loud to our teacher: ‘You see, they do not observe. Is it dense stupidity, or just inattention?’ That’s just what he said,” added Tess, her eyes flashing.
“Oh!” murmured Dot. “Didn’t he know how to write the number right?”