ut there never
war any words passed, and no engagement."

"But," interrupted Ford hastily, "my predecessor, Mr. Martin, distinctly
told me that there was, and that it was with YOUR permission."

"That's only because you noticed suthin' the first day you looked over
the school with Martin. 'Dad,' sez Cress to me, 'that new teacher's very
peart; and he's that keen about noticin' me and Seth that I reckon you'd
better giv out that we're engaged.' 'But are you?' sez I. 'It'll come to
that in the end,' sez Cress, 'and if that yer teacher hez come here with
Northern ideas o' society, it's just ez well to let him see Injin Spring
ain't entirely in the woods about them things either.' So I agreed, and
Martin told you it was all right; Cress and Seth was an engaged couple,
and you was to take no notice. And then YOU ups and objects to the hull
thing, and allows that courtin' in school, even among engaged pupils,
ain't proper."

The master turned his eyes with some uneasiness to the face of Cressy's
father. It was heavy but impassive.

"I don't mind tellin' you, now that it's over, what happened. The
trouble with me, Mr. Ford, is--I ain't kam! and YOU air, and that's
what got me. For when I heard what you'd said, I got on that mustang and
started for the school-house to clean you out and giv' you five minutes
to leave Injin Spring. I don't know ez you remember that day. I'd
kalkilated my time so ez to ketch ye comin' out o' school, but I was too
airly. I hung around out o' sight, and then hitched my hoss to a buckeye
and peeped inter the winder to hev a good look at ye. It was very quiet
and kam. There was squirrels over the roof, yellow-jackets and bees
dronin' away, and kinder sleeping-like all around in the air, and
jay-birds twitterin' in the shingles, and they never minded me. You were
movin' up and down among them little gals and boys, liftin' up their
heads and talkin' to 'em softly and quiet like, ez if you was one of
them yourself. And they looked contented and kam. And onct--I don't
know if YOU remember it--you kem close up to the winder with your
hands behind you, and looked out so kam and quiet and so far off, ez if
everybody else outside the school was miles away from you. It kem to me
then that I'd given a heap to hev had the old woman see you thar. It kem
to me, Mr. Ford, that there wasn't any place for ME thar; and it kem
to me, too--and a little rough like--that mebbee there wasn't any place
there for MY Cres