the name and signature of the
teacher-elect. This he calmly filled out, and passed over to the
president, pointing to the dotted line. Mr. Bronson would have signed his
own death-warrant at that moment, not to mention a perfectly legal
document, and signed with Peterson and Bonner looking on stonily. The
secretary signed and shoved the contract over to Jim Irwin.

"Sign there," he said.

Jim looked it over, saw the other signatures, and felt an impulse to dodge
the whole thing. He could not feel that the action of the board was
serious. He thought of the platform he had laid down for himself, and was
daunted. He thought of the days in the open field, and of the untroubled
evenings with his books, and he shrank from the work. Then he thought of
Jennie Woodruff's "Humph!"--and he signed!

"Move we adjourn," said Peterson.

"No 'bjection 't's so ordered!" said Mr. Bronson.

The secretary and Jim went out, while the directors waited.

"What the Billy--" began Bonner, and finished lamely! "What for did you
vote for the dub, Ez?"

"I voted for him," replied Bronson, "because he fought for my boy this
afternoon. I didn't want it stuck into him too hard. I wanted him to have
_one_ vote."

"An' I wanted him to have wan vote, too," said Bonner. "I thought mesilf
the only dang fool on the board--an' he made a spache that airned wan
vote--but f'r the love of hivin, that dub f'r a teacher! What come over
you, Haakon--you voted f'r him, too!"

"Ay vanted him to have one wote, too," said Peterson.

And in this wise, Jim became the teacher in the Woodruff District--all on
account of Jennie Woodruff's "Humph!"

CHAPTER III

WHAT IS A BROWN MOUSE

Immediately upon the accidental election of Jim Irwin to the position of
teacher of the Woodruff school, he developed habits somewhat like a
ghost's or a bandit's. That is, he walked of nights and on rainy days.

On fine days, he worked in Colonel Woodruff's fields as of yore. Had he
been appointed to a position attached to a salary of fifty thousand
dollars a year, he might have spent six months on a preliminary vacation
in learning something about his new duties. But Jim's salary was to be
three hundred and sixty dollars for nine months' work in the Woodruff
school, and he was to find himself--and his mother. Therefore, he had to
indulge in his loose habits of night walking and roaming about after hours
only, or on holidays and in foul weather.

The Simms family, b