He looked at Miss Ralston with the eyes of David listening to 'Paul Revere’s Ride.'
'What do you think, ma’am,' he asked, as he got up to leave, 'my David will be a good American, no?'
'He ought to be,' said Miss Ralston, warmly, 'with such a father.'
Mr. Rudinsky did not try to hide his gratification.
'I am a citizen,' he said, unconsciously straightening. 'I took out citizen papers as soon as I came to America, four years ago.'
So they came to the middle of February, when preparations for Washington’s Birthday were well along. One day the class was singing 'America,' when Miss Ralston noticed that David stopped and stared absently at the blackboard in front of him. He did not wake out of his reverie till the singing was over, and then he raised his hand.
'Teacher,' he asked, when he had permission to speak, 'what does it mean, "Land where my fathers died"?'
Miss Ralston explained, wondering how many of her pupils cared to analyze the familiar words as David did.
A few days later, the national hymn was sung again. Miss Ralston watched David. His lips formed the words 'Land where my fathers died,' and then they stopped, set in the pout of childish trouble. His eyes fixed themselves on the teacher’s, but her smile of encouragement failed to dispel his evident perplexity.
Anxious to help him over his unaccountable difficulty, Miss Ralston detained him after school.