The Emperor of Portugallia Part 5

In Svartsjo lived another schoolmaster, who was an old soldier. He taught in an out-of-the-way corner of the parish and had no regular schoolhouse, as had the s.e.xton; but he was greatly beloved by all children. The youngsters themselves hardly knew they went to school to him, but thought they came together just to play.

The two schoolmasters were the best of friends. But sometimes the younger teacher would try to persuade the older one to keep abreast of the times, and wanted him to go in for phonetics and other innovations. The old soldier generally regarded such things with mild tolerance. Once, however, he lost his temper.

"Just because you've got a schoolhouse you think you know it all, Blackie!" he let fly. "But I'll have you understand that my children know quite as much us yours, even if they do have only farmhouses to sit in."

"Yes, I know," returned the s.e.xton, "and have never said anything to the contrary. I simply mean that if the children could learn a thing with less effort--"

"Well, what then?" bristled the old soldier.

The s.e.xton knew from the old man's tone that he had offended him, and tried to smooth over the breach.

"Anyhow you make it so easy for your pupils that they never complain about their lessons."

"Maybe I make it too easy for them?" snapped the old man. "Maybe I don't teach them anything?" he shouted, striking the table with his hand.

"What on earth has come over you, Tyberg?" said the s.e.xton. "You seem to resent everything I say."

"Well, you always come at me with so many allusions!"

Just then other people happened in, and soon all was smooth between the schoolmasters; when they parted company they were as good friends as ever. But when old man Tyberg was on his way home, the s.e.xton's remarks kept cropping up in his mind, and now he was even angrier than before.

"Why should that strippling say I could teach the children more if I kept abreast of the times?" he muttered to himself. "He probably thinks I'm too old, though he doesn't say it in plain words."

Tyberg could not get over his exasperation, and as soon as he reached home he told it all to his wife.

"Why should you mind the s.e.xton's chatter?" said the wife. "'Youth is elastic, but age is solid,' as the saying goes. You're excellent teachers both of you."

"Little good your saying it!" he grunted. "Others will think what they like just the same."

The old man went about for days looking so glum that he quite distressed his wife.

"Can't you show them they are in the wrong?" she finally suggested.

"How show them? What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you know your pupils to be just as clever as the s.e.xton's--"

"Of course they are!" he struck in.

"--then you must see that your pupils and his get together for a test examination."

The old man pretended not to be interested in her proposition, but all the same it caught his fancy. And some days later the s.e.xton received a letter from him wherein he proposed that the children of both schools be allowed to test their respective merits.

The s.e.xton was not averse to this, of course, only he wanted to have the contest held some time during the Christmas holidays, so that it could be made a festive occasion for the children.

"That was a happy conceit," thought he. "Now I shan't have to review any lessons this term."

Nor was it necessary. It was positively amazing the amount of reading and studying that went on just then in the two schools!

The contest was held the evening of the day after Christmas. The schoolroom had been decorated for the occasion with spruce trees, on which shone all the church candles left over from the Christmas Matins, and there were apples enough to give every child two apiece. It was whispered about that the parents and guardians who had come to listen to the children would be served with coffee and cakes. The chief attraction, however, was the big contest.

On one side of the room sat the soldier's pupils, on the other the s.e.xton's. And now it was for the children to defend their teachers'

reputations. Schoolmaster Tyberg had to examine the s.e.xton's pupils, and the s.e.xton the Tyberg pupils. Any questions that could not be answered by the one school were to be taken up by the other.

Each question had to be duly recorded so that the judges would be able to decide which school was the better.

The s.e.xton opened the contest. He proceeded rather cautiously at first, but when he found that he had a lot of clever children to deal with he went at them harder and harder. The Tyberg pupils were so well grounded they did not let a single quizz get by them.

Then came old man Tyberg's turn at questioning the s.e.xton's pupils.

The soldier was no longer angry with the s.e.xton. Now that his children had shown that they knew their bits, the demon of mischief flew into him. At the start he put a few straight questions to the s.e.xton's pupils, but being unable to remain serious for long at a time he soon became as waggish as he usually was at his own school.

"Of course I know that you have read a deal more than have we who come from the backwoods," said he. "You have studied natural science and much else, still I wonder if any of you can tell me what the stones in Motala Stream are?"

Not one of the s.e.xton's pupils raised a hand, but on the other side hand after hand shot up.

Yet, in the s.e.xton's division sat Olof Oleson--he who knew he had the best head in the parish, and Dar Nol, of good old peasant stock. But they could not answer. There was Karin Svens, the sprightly la.s.s of a soldier's daughter, who had not missed a day at school. She, with the others, wondered why the s.e.xton had not told them what there was remarkable about the stones in Motala Stream.

Schoolmaster Tyberg stood looking very grave while Schoolmaster Blackie sat gazing at the floor, much perturbed.

"I don't see but that we'll have to let this question go to the opposition," said the soldier-teacher. "Fancy, so many bright boys and girls not being able to answer an easy question like that!"

At the last moment Glory Goldie turned and looked back at her father, as was her habit when not knowing what else to do.

Jan was too far away to whisper the answer to her; but the instant the child caught her father's eye she knew what she must say. Then, in her eagerness, she not only raised her hand, but stood up.

Her schoolmates all turned to her, expectantly, and the s.e.xton looked pleased because the question would not be taken away from his children.

"They are wet!" shouted Glory Goldie without waiting for the question to be put to her, for the time was up.

The next second the little girl feared she had said something very stupid and spoiled the thing for them all. She sank down on the bench and hid her face under the desk, so that no one should see her.

"Well answered, my girl!" said the soldier-teacher. "It's lucky for you s.e.xton pupils there was one among you could reply; for, with all your c.o.c.k-sureness, you were about to lose the game."

And such peals of laughter as went up from the children of both schools and from the grown folk as well, the two schoolmasters had never heard. Some of the youngsters had to stand up to have their laugh out, while others doubled in their seats, and shrieked. That put an end to all order.

"Now I think we'd better remove the benches and take a swing round the Christmas trees," said old man Tyberg.

And never before had they had such fun in the schoolhouse, and never since, either.

FISHING

It would hardly have been possible for any one to be as fond of the little girl as her father was; but it may be truly said that she had a very good friend in old seine-maker Ola.

This is the way they came to be friends: Glory Goldie had taken to setting out fishing-poles in the brook for the small salmon-trout that abounded there. She had better luck with her fishing than any one would have expected, and the very first day she brought home a couple of spindly fishes.

She was elated over her success, as can be imagined, and received praise from her mother for being able to provide food for the family, when she was only a little girl of eight. To encourage the child, Katrina let her cleanse and fry the fish. Jan ate of it and declared he had never tasted the like of that fish, which was the plain truth. For the fish was so bony and dry and burnt that the little girl herself could scarcely swallow a morsel of it.

But for all that the little girl was just as enthusiastic over her fishing. She got up every morning at the ionic time that Jan did and hurried off to the brook, a basket on her arm, and carrying in a little tin box the worms to bait her hooks. Thus equipped, she went off to the brook, which came gushing down the rocky steep in numerous falls and rapids, between which were short stretches of dark still water and places where the stream ran, clear and transparent, over a bed of sand and smooth stones.