"Indeed it is. Especially with all the foreign children in the class. I'll have to tell Billy that. He's doing fine in his law but his father's broken-hearted over his giving up farming."
"I'll bet he goes back to it. He's a born farmer," said Lydia.
Late in March the valedictorian and salutatorian of the class were chosen. The custom was for the teachers to select the ten names that had stood highest for scholarship during the entire four years and to submit these to the pupils of the class, who by popular vote elected from these the valedictorian and the salutatorian.
To her joy and surprise Lydia's was one of the ten names. So were
Olga's and Kent's.
"Olga and Kent will get it," Lydia told Amos and Lizzie. "I'm going to vote for them myself. All the boys are crazy about Olga and all the girls are crazy about Kent."
The day on which the election took place was cold and rainy. Amos plodding home for supper was astonished to see Lydia flying toward him through the mud a full quarter of a mile from home.
"Daddy, they elected me valedictorian! They did! They did!"
Amos dropped his dinner pail. "You don't mean it! How did it happen!
I never thought of such a thing." He was as excited as Lydia.
She picked up his pail and clung to his arm as they started home.
"I don't know how it happened. They just all seemed to take it for
granted. No one was surprised but me. Olga got four votes and Mamie
Aldrich ten and I got sixty-six! Daddy! And Mamie wasn't cross but
Olga was. Oh, isn't it wonderful!"