“Who is to be the teacher this winter?” asked Mrs. Taylor, at the breakfast table, turning to her husband.
“It is a nephew of Deacon Slocum. I believe his name is Slocum.”
“Do you know anything of him?”
“No; I only know that the Deacon actively interested himself to get him the appointment. Most of the parents would have preferred Dexter Fairbanks. He has experience, and is known to be an excellent teacher.”
“How came the deacon to carry his point?”
“By asking his nephew’s appointment as a special favor. I only hope he will prove a good teacher.”{115}
Julius listened to this conversation with attention. He felt that he was personally interested in the matter. He hoped the new teacher would be a good one, for he really wished to learn. If I should say, however, that this was all that our hero had in view, I should convey a false idea. He expected to have a good time, and meant to get what enjoyment he could as well as profit. By this time he was pretty well acquainted with the boys who, like himself, were to attend the school, and no longer felt like a stranger.
One thing I must add. When we first made acquaintance with Julius, in the streets of New York, he was meager and rather undersized. Want and privation had checked his growth, as was natural. But since he had found a home in the West, he had lived generously, enjoyed pure air, and a sufficiency of out-of-door exercise, and these combined had wrought a surprising change in his appearance. He had grown three inches in height; his form had expanded; the pale, unhealthy hue of his cheek had given place to a healthy bloom, and his strength had considerably increased. This change was very gratifying to Julius. Like most boys of his age he wanted to be tall and strong; in the city he had been rather ashamed of his puny appearance; but this had disappeared, and he now felt able to cope with most boys of his age.{116}
Some minutes before nine a group of boys assembled in front of the schoolhouse.
“Have you seen the new teacher?” asked Julius, addressing John Sandford.