ose above her little
yellow ear. The whole figure was so inconsistent with its present
setting that the master inwardly resolved to suggest a modification of
it to Mrs. Hoover as he, with great gravity, however, led the girl to
the seat he had prepared for her. Mr. Hoover, who had been assisting
discipline as he conscientiously believed by gazing with hushed,
reverent reminiscence on the walls, here whispered behind his large
hand that he would call for her at "four o'clock" and tiptoed out of the
schoolroom. The master, who felt that everything would depend upon
his repressing the children's exuberant curiosity and maintaining the
discipline of the school for the next few minutes, with supernatural
gravity addressed the young girl in Spanish and placed before her a
few slight elementary tasks. Perhaps the strangeness of the language,
perhaps the unwonted seriousness of the master, perhaps also the
impassibility of the young stranger herself, all contributed to arrest
the expanding smiles on little faces, to check their wandering eyes,
and hush their eager whispers. By degrees heads were again lowered
over their tasks, the scratching of pencils on slates, and the
far-off rapping of Woodpeckers again indicated the normal quiet of the
schoolroom, and the master knew he had triumphed, and the ordeal was
past.

But not as regarded himself, for although the new pupil had accepted his
instructions with childlike submissiveness, and even as it seemed to
him with childlike comprehension, he could not help noticing that
she occasionally glanced at him with a demure suggestion of some
understanding between them, or as if they were playing at master and
pupil. This naturally annoyed him and perhaps added a severer dignity to
his manner, which did not appear to be effective, however, and which
he fancied secretly amused her. Was she covertly laughing at him? Yet
against this, once or twice, as her big eyes wandered from her task over
the room, they encountered the curious gaze of the other children, and
he fancied he saw an exchange of that freemasonry of intelligence common
to children in the presence of their elders even when strangers to each
other. He looked forward to recess to see how she would get on with her
companions; he knew that this would settle her status in the school, and
perhaps elsewhere. Even her limited English vocabulary would not in any
way affect that instinctive, childlike test of superiority, but he was
su