The next moment the silence was shattered by a round of hoarse shouts. The election was won by Ransom Turner. The people from “up yonder” had turned the balance.
As for Florence, it was too much for her overwrought nerves. Dashing away into a thicket, she threw herself flat upon the ground to give vent to violent sobs.
A half hour later the two young teachers, each hurrying toward the other, met half way between the whipsawed house and the school.
“Oh, Florence! I’ve found it!” Marion exclaimed.
And Florence at the same instant cried, “Marion, we won! We won!”
Throwing themselves into each others arms, they laughed and cried together. After that they sat side by side on a log and calmly told their stories.
To Florence, the thrilling climax of the election had been a revelation. Bud Wax had provided the great surprise. Won over by who knows what course of reasoning, he had taken the side of his teachers. Having seen Florence entering the forbidden gateway, he had followed as her protector. While playing this role, he had broken his arm. He had spent the past few days convincing those strange people “up yonder” that it was their duty to come down to the mouth of the creek and vote in the school election. Convinced by his argument, and Florence’s watchful care over Hallie, they had consented to come.
“And just when we thought all was lost,” Florence exclaimed, “here they came, everyone of them, to vote for Ransom Turner.
“And now,” she hurried on, “they’ve decided that the folks at the mouth of the creek are not such bad neighbors after all. They’re going to send their children down to our school.”
“Oh, Florence!” Marion clasped her hands in an ecstasy of joy. “It’s going to be such a school! A real new school building with two rooms, new seats and stoves and everything!”