Part 22 (1/2)
”Take a piece of paper, Betty, and write again the English to Latin sentences.”
Mr. Franklin indicated by a nod some paper on his desk. Betty took the list of questions, thought a moment and wrote, slowly. ”I always Have to take plenty of time on the English to Latin,” she said, ”and there is one that I wrote two ways, but I wasn't sure that either were right.
It's the one that has the accusative of place to which in it.”
Miss Heath nodded and her eyes twinkled. Whatever idea she had was turning out successfully, it seemed. But Betty was very busy with the sentences. She handed over the paper saying ”It did not take so long, because I'd thought it out before.”
”I see. Betty, why did you use _appello_ instead of _voco_ here?”
”Because it is calling in the sense of naming, as you told us in such sentences.”
”Good. Why did you use the Ablative in the second sentence?”
”Because it specifies that in respect to which”Betty got no farther because Miss Heath interrupted her.
”That is enough, Betty. Mr. Franklin, I'm satisfied, are you? The other person did not know, and the third youngster plainly copied the whole thing from him.”
Mr. Franklin nodded a.s.sent. ”Betty,” he said, ”you are cleared from all suspicion of copying and cheating. We know which ones of these papers were copied. You may thank Miss Heath for her little scheme to find out.
We have already met with the others, but we can not tell you their names.”
”Oh, I don't want to know!” exclaimed Betty. ”Thank you so much!”
It was another Betty that ran down the steps, to find both Peggy and Carolyn waiting for her. Her face must have told them the story. ”O, Betty! Is is all right?” eagerly asked Carolyn. ”Peggy told me, when I asked her why she was waiting for you. Oh, you should have told me and let me worry with you! Was that why you wouldn't come up to lunch?”
”Yes.”
”Please tell us how they found out that you didn't-” Carolyn would not finish.
”Well, you saw Miss Heath, that darling woman! She came over on purpose to see all about it and she had the scheme to bring the questions and find out how much each of us really knew about things. I really don't see how she told, but it must be that whoever copied couldn't give good reasons for what he would have missed on or something. She's a regular Sherlock Holmes!”
”And now, if you'll never tell a soul, I'll tell you what Sally Wright told me during lunch. I learned a lot by staying down and giving Sally an old chocolate bar!”
The girls promised, and the three, Betty in the middle, walked slowly toward the street, heads together, arms about each other.
CHAPTER XVI: SOME FRESHMAN CONCLUSIONS
What had happened between the teachers and the pupils who had cheated in the test was, naturally, not known, except that every one knew the penalty of losing a grade. The boys that had changed seats and generally ”acted up” during the presence of the subst.i.tute were well rebuked and had to endure some penalty, the girls understood; but only those who had behaved ever mentioned the occurrence. The guilty carried it off with bland ignorance or nonchalance and pretended not to understand any jokes at their expense. Jakey Bechstein was out of school for several days, but came back as lively as ever and making good recitations. His basketball team lacked his presence.
At Betty Jakey never looked, but as she had never known him very well and as he did not ordinarily sit near her in any of her cla.s.ses, she scarcely noticed that he avoided her till Peggy called her attention to it.
But the year went on and Betty had many more interesting things to take up her mind. The semester examinations were a nightmare, Carolyn claimed, but they managed to live through them, as they usually do. Miss Heath was particularly fond of Betty, she told her mother when Mrs. Lee, without Amy Lou, came to visit Betty's cla.s.ses one day. ”Betty is a very charming little girl, Mrs. Lee, and very bright. She is a friend of some of our best freshman girls, too, as I imagine you'd like to know. It is rather important, you know, what sort of friends the children like.”
The winter pa.s.sed. Betty for the most part worked at her lessons, with pleasant Sat.u.r.day afternoons, sometimes with the girls, sometimes on expeditions with the family. Her father was greatly absorbed in business affairs, but as spring approached he often drove his family to find the first spring flowers at some spot outside of the city, or to observe the coming of bud and blossom.
On one warm April day, rather in advance of the season, they thought, Mr. Lee and Betty were alone and the machine was parked by the roadside near a little stream where some violets were growing. As the ground was dry upon the sloping bank, Betty sat down with her bunch of violets in her hand and her father decided to join her. ”What do you think of this place, Betty? You'd hardly expect it so near the city, would you?”
”No, but there are lots of places in this town that are what you might call unexpected, because there are the hills and ravines, you know.”
”Yes, that is so.”