becca had always done well
at school. She said Rebecca was grand at figures. She said Miss Fanny
had thrown her religion at Rebecca, and had called her a Pharisee.

Miss Fanny asked Rebecca's mamma to sit down on the bench. It would soon
be recess.

Sadie's mamma and Rebecca's mamma looked at each other coldly.

The door opened. Sally got red. Sally looked frightened. It was Sally's
mamma. The flower in her bonnet shook when she talked. She said Sally
had refused to go to church for fear of Miss Fanny. And because Sally
had been made to do her religious duty she was being threatened with
failure----

Miss Fanny interrupted Sally's mamma to say there was the bench, if she
cared to sit down. At recess Miss Fanny would be at leisure.

Mr. Bryan threw open the door. Mary Agatha grew pink as Mr. Bryan waved
in a slender lady with trailing silken skirts and reproachful eyes. It
was Mary Agatha's mamma. She said that even with the note, threatening
Mary Agatha with failure, she could not have believed it true; that Miss
Fanny disliked Mary Agatha because of the seat to herself; that Miss
Fanny had classed Mary Agatha with Turks and Infidels--but since Mr.
Bryan had just admitted downstairs that he had had to caution Miss Fanny
about this matter of religion----

Miss Fanny looked at Mr. Bryan. Then she rang the bell. It was not yet
recess-time; but since Miss Fanny rang the bell, the Fifth Reader Class
filed out wonderingly. Miss Fanny, looking at Mr. Bryan, had a queer
smile in her eyes. Yet it was not as though Miss Fanny's smile was
laughter.

But, after all, Sadie and Mary Agatha and Sally and Rebecca did try at
Examination. Miss Fanny, it seemed, insisted they should. A teacher
from the Grammar School came and examined the class.

Later, one went back to find out. There was red ink written across the
reports of Sadie and Sally and Mary Agatha and Rebecca. It said
"Failure."

Emmy Lou breathed. There was no red ink on her report. Emmy Lou had
passed for the Grammar School.

Down-stairs Mary Agatha said her papa would see to it because she had
failed. Her papa furnished pokers and shovels for the schools, and her
papa would call on the Board.

Mary Agatha's Papa did see to it, and the papas of Sadie and Sally and
Rebecca supported him. They called it religious persecution; and they
wanted Miss Fanny removed.

Emmy Lou heard about it at home. It was vacation.

Uncle Charlie owned a newspaper. It was for Miss