“And if I give Mr. Dryburg a dollar bill, how much change shall I have?” asked Miss Mason, switching from multiplication to subtraction so quickly that the startled Bobby lost his count.
“Well?” urged the teacher. “What are you doing with your hands, Robert? Bring them out where I can see them. Now then, how much change is coming to me?”
Bobby was hopelessly bewildered now, and he had forgotten the cost of both percale and braid. 69 He managed to stutter, “I––I––don’t know,” and sat down thankfully.
Tim Roon scraped his feet noisily, intending to annoy Bobby, but unfortunately he drew the attention of Miss Mason to himself.
“Stand up, Tim,” she commanded sharply. “How much change should I have from that dollar bill?”
“Don’t know,” muttered Tim.
“How much did the braid cost?” demanded Miss Mason.
“I’ve forgotten,” said Tim.
“You mean you didn’t listen,” retorted Miss Mason. “Sit down. If this class can’t do any better with a simple test like this, I’m afraid you’ll make a poor showing with your cards this month. Marion Green, perhaps you can tell me how much change I should have?”
Marion Green was a little girl ordinarily very good in arithmetic. But she was frightened now and plainly showed it. She wouldn’t even get out of her seat and try to answer.