Part 24 (1/2)

”Oh that's because you haven't heard some other testimony.”

a.n.u.se said happily and firmly back in control.

”I agree that I have not heard all of the testimony.

However, if that testimony was important, and it must be since you appear to believe it, why wasn't the hearing open as Diana requested? If it had been, I would have been here to hear the testimony you put such stock in and would be able to evaluate it for myself.”

Chapter 21

Professor Diana Trenchant was sitting at her desk preparing for the evening laboratory. Roz had just left with Jennifer to talk to as many students as they could find. It had been Jennifer's idea and she had brought Roz along to help talk Diana into it.

Ever since Jennifer had asked her what was wrong and Diana had explained and shown her the copies of the SmurFF's she had been accused of writing, Jennifer had been pondering what to do.

She was older than most of the students and had seen enough of life to know that one had to fight or be trampled.

She didn't want to see a good teacher trampled.

”You mean they have accused you of writing these and demand that you resign?” She was dumbfounded. After she had looked at them more carefully, she asked, ”Is this all of them?

Five medical radiology and two nursing nutrition?”

”That's it.”

”This sucks! And this paper is the graphologist report?”

Jennifer used the scientific designation, graphologist, rather than the term doc.u.ment examiner. ”Look here, these are what they call standards, did you write these?”

”I could have, I suppose, but the dates on them are so long ago that I just don't remember for sure.”

”Well, two of these evaluations are printed. There is no printing among the standards. Look, I know a little about graphology and I know that they can't compare printing to writing standards.

This looks like a setup. We need to put a crimp in Lyle Stone's tail.

It's unconscionable that he would send student evaluations to a graphologist.”

Later, when Roz had come in, she had asked Diana if they could tell the other students in the cla.s.s about the two nursing nutrition SmurFFs.

”We'll ask them to come up and see if they can identify if they wrote these.

Then we'll check with the med students and have them do the same.

Somebody must have written these and we need to find out who.”

Diana agreed but only if no pressure was put on anyone.

”This must be absolutely voluntary. I will copy some completed forms from last year's cla.s.s and put them with these two to be identified. No one will know which two are critical.”

Later in the day, several groups of students had wandered in to look at the pile of evaluations, shake their heads and wander out again.

That is until Jenny Smythe bubbled her way in. Jenny was from England. Her husband was a doctor a.s.sociated with the medical school and she was continuing her education while he was posted here. She pounced delightedly on one of the forms, ”This looks just like Sarah's writing. Sarah and I sit together at all the lectures and I've seen her handwriting so many times.

I'll go get her!” And Jenny was off with that efficient British walking gait that one a.s.sociates with woolen socks and moors.

The next day, Sarah appeared at Diana's door, tentative and a bit apprehensive. Sarah was a shy young woman barely out of high school. Raised on a farm, she had not yet a.s.sumed the mask that so many of her more sophisticated cla.s.smates wore.

”Jenny said I should look at some evaluations because you have some trouble because of them.”

”Yes, thanks for coming by. They are on the bench there.”