Bobby was feeling his muscle and telling his sisters how strong he wanted to be, and Grandma, hearing him, said, “Of course it’s nice to be strong, Bobby, but strength won’t get anyone very far unless it is combined with brains. I knew a delicate looking boy once who got ahead of half a dozen big strong fellows, not because he was strong, but because he had brains and used them.
“It was long, long ago—the winter my brother Truman taught our home school. Mother didn’t want Truman to take the school, for, though he was eighteen years old, he was a slender, little fellow and his blue eyes and light hair made him look even younger than he really was. But Father said for him to go ahead and see what he could do.
“There were several bad boys in school. The year before they had run the teacher out before the term was half over, and we had no more school that winter. When they heard that Truman was going to teach, they made all sorts of boasts about what they meant to do.
“Truman got along all right the first few weeks until the older boys, who had been working at a sawmill, started in. Nearly all of these boys were bigger than Truman, and Bud McGill, the leader, was a year older. He had broken up several schools and bragged that he would run Truman out in short order.
“From the day he started he did everything he could to make trouble. Because he had started to school late in the term he did not get the seat he wanted. One morning he came early and took this seat and refused to give it up when Truman asked him to. Truman couldn’t force him to give it up, because Bud was so much larger and stronger. All day long Bud sat there in the corner seat talking and laughing and throwing paper wads at girls—disturbing all the rest of us so we could not study. At dismissing time Truman told him to take his books with him and not come back to school until he could behave himself, but Bud walked out as bold as you please without a single book.
“I don’t know just how it would have come out if Bud’s father had not heard about the trouble. But he did, and he told Bud he would have to give up the seat unless he got the teacher’s permission to keep it.
“Bud said he’d get Truman’s permission all right.
“The next morning I went to school early with Truman because Charlie was sick and couldn’t go. As soon as we came in sight of the schoolhouse and saw a thick column of smoke rising from the chimney we knew something had happened, for Truman always built the fire himself.
“When we got within hearing distance, Bud McGill opened the door a tiny bit and called out to Truman, ‘Have I your say-so to keep the seat in the corner?’
“‘No, you haven’t,’ Truman said shortly, and Bud slammed the door in his face and bolted it. Bud’s plan was to keep Truman out of the schoolhouse until he agreed to Bud’s taking the seat he wanted. Then Truman could come in and take up books as usual, but if he did this he would be admitting that Bud was the real authority in the school and the other pupils would cease to respect him.
“As the children came to school Bud opened the door and let them in. They offered to let me in, too, but I wouldn’t go. Truman wanted me to go back home, but I wouldn’t do that either. Several of the boys stopped to talk to Truman and offered to help him. Bud’s crowd saw the boys talking to Truman and thought they were going to combine and try to enter the schoolhouse by force. Bud dared them to come ahead. He went so far as to say that if the teacher got in he would do whatever he said. But Truman urged the boys who were eager to help him to go on in and not make any trouble. He said it was his problem and he would have to settle it alone as best he could. So they went in, and Truman and I were left alone.
“Truman brought some kindling from the coal house and built a fire, and we stood around it to keep warm.
“‘I’ve got to get ahead of them some way,’ Truman said, as much to himself as to me. ‘I’ll have to beat them or I’m done for. And if I give up the school, that means no spring term at the academy. I’ve either got to outwit Bud and his crowd or give up the school.’ Just then a strong wind blew the smoke in our eyes and started them to smarting. This gave Truman an idea.
“‘I might smoke them out,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘If I could only get to the roof, I could stuff this old coat down the chimney. You wait here, Sarah, while I look around for a ladder.’
“He strolled to the back of the building where there were no windows, got down on his hands and knees, and crawled under the house to look for a ladder that had been there. But the ladder was gone. He examined the walls of the schoolhouse, but they were smoothly weather-boarded and gave no foothold.
“He got an armful of kindling to build up the fire, and presently, though it wasn’t noon, we opened our lunch basket and ate our dinner. A cold wind had risen and the fire was getting low. Whatever Truman did must be done quickly, for the short winter afternoon would soon be over.
“I shivered and edged nearer to the fire.
“‘I wish I had Belle’s new cape,’ I said. ‘It would keep me good and warm. Did you see Belle’s new dolman and hat that she got while she was at Clayville yesterday, Truman?’ I asked idly, just for something to say.
“He didn’t answer me at once. Then, ‘Has anyone else seen them?’ he asked quietly. ‘I mean anyone else except our own folks.’
“‘No, not a soul,’ I said. ‘No one knows she even went to town.’
“Truman stared at me blankly. ‘I wonder if I could do it,’ he murmured.
“‘Why I’m sure you could,’ I said, not in the least knowing what he was talking about, but eager to encourage him in any way I could.
“‘I’ll try it!’ he cried. ‘You go in, Sarah, and tell them I’ll be back in an hour.’ With that he started down the road, and I went in and gave them his message. Some of the boys hooted and laughed and said they might as well go home, but finally decided to wait.
“Less than an hour from the time Truman left some of the scholars impatiently watching the road for his return were surprised to see a lady approaching on horseback from the opposite direction. She got off her horse in front of the schoolhouse and looked helplessly around. Bud McGill dashed out and tied her horse to the fence. The girls said she must be a stranger, for none of them had ever seen her before.
“The teacher is out just now. Won’t you have a chair?” said Bud
“A plaid dolman of the newest style, trimmed with fringe, fell nearly to her knees, and she wore a wide black beaver hat with a thick veil and glasses. She walked with mincing steps to the door, daintily holding up her long black riding skirt. Just inside she turned to Bud.
“‘Are you the teacher?’ she asked softly.
“‘No, ma’am,’ Bud said politely, ‘the teacher is out just now. Won’t you have a chair?’
“The lady sat down at the teacher’s desk and began to fumble with her veil. One of the girls came forward and deftly removed the pins that held it in place. The veil slipped off, and there sat Truman dressed in sister Belle’s new clothes! There were shouts and shouts of laughter in which even Bud was forced to join. He came forward and offered Truman his hand.
“‘You beat,’ he said. He never made any more trouble and we had a good school the rest of the winter.
“See who gets to sleep first and we’ll have another story real, real soon.”