Little Town On The Prairie (13 page)

Miss Wilder had seen the whole thing.

Laura turned to the blackboard and went on writing.

Miss Wilder said nothing to her or to Charley. Laura thought resentfully, “She has no right to be mad at me. She might have the grace to appreciate my trying to help keep order in school.”

After school that evening Charley and his chums, Clarence and Alfred, walked close behind Laura and Mary Power and Minnie.

“I'll fix that old meanie tomorrow!” Clarence bragged, loudly, so that Laura would hear him. “I'm going to put a bent pin in her chair.”

“I'll break her ruler beforehand,” Charley promised him. “So she can't punish you if she catches you.”

Laura turned around and walked backward. “Please don't do that, boys. Please,” she asked them.

“Aw, why not? It'll be fun, and she won't do anything to us,” Charley argued.

“But where is the fun?” Laura said. “That is no way for you boys to treat a woman, even if you don't like her. I do wish you wouldn't.”

“We-e-ll,” Clarence gave in. “Oh, all right. I won't, then.”

“Then we won't, either,” Alfred and Charley agreed. Laura knew they would keep their word, though they didn't want to.

Studying her lessons by the lamp that night, Laura looked up to say, “Miss Wilder doesn't like Carrie nor me, and I don't know why.”

Ma paused in her knitting. “You must imagine it, Laura,” she said.

Pa looked over the edge of his paper. “See that you don't give her any reason, and you'll soon feel differently.”

“I don't give her any reason not to like me, Pa,”

Laura said earnestly. “Maybe Nellie Oleson influ-ences her,” she added, bending her head again over her book, and to herself she thought, “She listens too much to Nellie Oleson.”

Laura and Carrie were early at school next morning.

Miss Wilder and Nellie were sitting together by the stove. No one else was there. Laura said good morning, and as she went into the warmth of the stove her skirt brushed against the coal hod and caught on its broken rim.

“Oh, bother!” Laura exclaimed as she stood to loosen it.

“Did you tear your dress, Laura?” Miss Wilder asked acidly. “Why don't you get us a new coal hod, since your father is on the school board and you can have everything as you want it?”

Laura looked at her in amazement. “Why, no, I can't!” she exclaimed. “But likely you could have a new coal hod if you want one.”

“Oh, thank you,” said Miss Wilder.

Laura could not understand why Miss Wilder spoke to her in that way. Nellie pretended to be intent on a book, but a sly smile was at the corner of her mouth.

Laura could not think what to say, so she said nothing.

All that morning the room was restless and noisy, but the boys kept their promise. The y were no naughtier than usual. The y did not know their lessons, for they would not study, and Miss Wilder was so harassed that Laura pitied her.

The afternoon began more quietly. Laura was intent on her geography lesson. Glancing up, while she memorized and thought about the exports of Brazil, she saw Carrie and Mamie Beardsley buried in study.

Their heads were together over their spelling book, their eyes were fixed upon it, and their lips silently moved as they spelled the words to themselves. The y did not know that they were swaying back and forth, and that their seat was swaying a little with them.

The bolts that should fasten the seat to the floor must be loose, Laura thought. The movement of the seat made no sound, so it did not matter. Laura looked at her book again and thought about seaports.

Suddenly she heard Miss Wilder speak sharply.

“Carrie and Mamie! You may put away your books, and just rock that seat!”

Laura looked up. Carrie's eyes and mouth were open in surprise. Her peaked little face was white from shock, then red with shame. She and Mamie put away their speller and rocked the seat, meekly and still quietly.

“We must have quiet in order to study,” Miss Wilder explained sweetly. “Hereafter anyone who disturbs us may continue that disturbance until he or she is thoroughly tired of making it.”

Mamie did not mind so much, but Carrie was so ashamed that she wanted to cry.

“Go on rocking that seat, girls, till I give you leave to stop,” said Miss Wilder, with that queer triumphant tone in her voice again. She turned to the blackboard, where she was explaining an arithmetic problem to the boys, who paid no attention.

Laura tried again to think about Brazil, but she could not. After a moment, Mamie gave a little toss of her head and boldly moved across the aisle into another seat.

Carrie went on rocking, but the double seat was too heavy for one little girl to rock from one end. Slowly its motion stopped.

“Keep on rocking, Carrie,” Miss Wilder said sweetly. She said nothing to Mamie.

Laura's face flushed hot with fury. She did not even try to control her temper. She hated Miss Wilder, for her unfairness and her meanness. There sat Mamie, refusing to take her share of the punishment, and Miss Wilder did not say a word to her. Carrie was not strong enough to rock the heavy seat alone. Laura could hardly control herself. She bit her lip hard, and sat still.

Surely, she thought, Carrie will be excused soon.

Carrie was white. She was doing her best to keep the seat rocking, but it was too heavy. Its movement grew less, and less. At last with all her strength Carrie could hardly move it at all.

“Faster, Carrie! Faster!” Miss Wilder said. “You wanted to rock the seat. Now do it.”

Laura was on her feet. Her fury took possession of her, she did not try to resist it, she gave way completely. “Miss Wilder,” she cried, “if you want that seat rocked faster, I'll rock it for you!”

Miss Wilder pounced on that gladly. “You may do just that! You needn't take your book, just rock that seat.”

Laura hurried down the aisle. She whispered to Carrie, “Sit still and rest.” She braced her feet solidly on the floor; and she rocked.

Not for nothing had Pa always said that she was as strong as a little French horse.

“THUMP!” went the back legs on the floor.

“THUMP!” the front legs came down.

All the bolts came quite loose, and

“THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP!”

the seat went in rhythm, while gladly Laura rocked and Carrie sat resting.

Not even the swinging weight eased Laura's fury.

She grew angrier and angrier, while louder and faster she rocked.

“THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP!”

No one could study now.

“THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP!”

Miss Wilder could hardly hear her own voice. Loudly she called the Third Reader class.

“THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP!”

No one could recite, no one could even be heard.

“THUMP, THUMP! THUMP, THUMP! THUMP-”

Loudly Miss Wilder said, "Laura, you and Carrie are excused from school. You may go home for the rest of the day."

“THUMP!” Laura made the seat say. The n there was dead silence.

Everyone had heard of being sent home from school.

No one there had seen it done before. It was a punishment worse than whipping with a whip. Only one punishment was more dreadful; that was to be expelled from school.

Laura held her head up, but she could hardly see.

She gathered Carrie's books together. Carrie followed shrinking behind her and waited trembling by the door while Laura took her own books. There was not a sound in the room. From sympathy, Mary Power and Minnie did not look at Laura. Nellie Oleson, too, was intent on a book, but the sly smile quivered at the corner of her mouth. Ida gave Laura one stricken glance of sympathy.

Carrie had opened the door, Laura walked out, and shut it behind them.

In the entry, they put on their wraps. Outside the schoolhouse everything seemed strange and empty because no one else was there, no one was on the road to town. The time was about two o'clock, when they were not expected at home.

“Oh, Laura, what will we do?” Carrie asked for-lornly.

“We'll go home, of course,” Laura replied. The y were going home; already the schoolhouse was some distance behind them.

“What will Pa and Ma say?” Carrie quavered.

“We'll know when they say it,” said Laura. “They won't blame you, this isn't your fault. It's my fault because I rocked that seat so hard. I'm glad of it!” she added. “I'd do it again!”

Carrie did not care whose fault it was. There is no comfort anywhere for anyone who dreads to go home.

“Oh, Laura!” Carrie said. Her mittened hand slid into Laura's, and hand in hand they went on, not saying anything more. The y crossed Main Street and walked up to the door. Laura opened it. The y went in.

Pa turned from his desk where he was writing. Ma rose up from her chair and her ball of yarn rolled across the floor. Kitty pounced on it gaily.

“What in the world?” Ma exclaimed. “Girls, what is the matter? Is Carrie sick?”

“We were sent home from school,” Laura said.

Ma sat down. She looked helplessly at Pa. After a dreadful stillness, Pa asked, “Why?” and his voice was stern.

“It was my fault, Pa,” Carrie quickly answered. “I didn't mean to, but it was. Mamie and I began it.”

“No, it's all my fault,” Laura contradicted. She told what had happened. When she had finished, the stillness was dreadful again.

The n Pa spoke sternly. "You girls will go back to school tomorrow morning, and go on as though none of this had happened. Miss Wilder may have been wrong, but she is the teacher. I cannot have my girls making trouble in school."

“No, Pa. We won't,” they promised.

“Now take off your school dresses and settle down to your books,” said Ma. “You can study here, the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow you'll do as Pa says, and likely it will all blow over.”

Laura thought that Nellie Oleson looked surprised and disappointed when she and Carrie came into the schoolhouse next morning.

Nellie might have expected that they would not come back to school.

“Oh, I'm glad you've come back!” Mary Power said, and Ida gave Laura's arm a warm little squeeze.

“You wouldn't let her meanness keep you away from school, would you, Laura?” Ida said.

“I wouldn't let anything keep me from getting an education,” Laura replied.

“I guess you wouldn't get an education if you were expelled from school,” Nellie put in.

Laura looked at her. “I've done nothing to be expelled for, and I won't do anything.”

“You couldn't be, anyway, could you, with your father on the school board,” said Nellie.

“I wish you'd stop talking about Pa's being on the school board!” Laura burst out. “I don't know what business it is of yours if—” The bell began to ring then, and they all went to their seats.

Carrie was carefully good, and in obedience to Pa, Laura was well-behaved, too. She did not think then of the Bible verse that speaks of the cup and the platter that were clean only on the outside, but the truth is that she was like that cup and platter. She hated Miss Wilder. She still felt a burning resentment against Miss Wilder's cruel unfairness to Carrie. She wanted to get even with her. Outside, she was shining clean with good behavior, but she made not the least effort to be truly good inside.

The school had never been so noisy. All over the room there was a clatter of books and feet and a rustle of whispering. Only the big girls and Carrie sat still and studied. Whichever way Miss Wilder turned, unruliness and noise swelled up behind her. Suddenly there was a piercing yell.

Charley had leaped to his feet. His hands were clapped to the seat of his trousers. “A pin!” he yelled.

“A pin in my seat!”

He held up a bent pin for Miss Wilder to see.

Her lips pressed tight together. This time she did not smile. Sharply she said, “You may come here, Charley.”

Charley winked at the room, and went trudging up to Miss Wilder's desk.

“Hold out your hand,” she said, as she reached inside her desk for her ruler. For a moment she felt about for it, then she looked into the desk. Her ruler was not there. She asked, “Has anyone seen my ruler?”

Not a hand was raised. Miss Wilder's face went red with anger. She said to Charley, “Go stand in that corner. Face to the wall!”

Charley went to the corner, rubbing his behind as if he still felt the pin-prick. Clarence and Alfred laughed aloud. Miss Wilder turned toward them quickly, and even more quickly Charley looked over his shoulder and made such a face at her that all the boys burst out laughing. Charley was so quick that she saw only the back of his head when very quickly she turned to see what caused the laughter.

Three or four times she turned quickly this way and that, and Charley turned more quickly, making faces at her. The whole school was roaring. Only Laura and Carrie were able to keep their faces perfectly straight.

Even the other big girls were strangling and choking in their handkerchiefs.

Miss Wilder rapped for order. She had to rap with her knuckles, she had no ruler. And she could not keep order. She could not watch Charley every minute, and whenever her head was turned, he made a face at her and laughter broke out.

The boys were not breaking their promise to Laura, but they were contriving to be even naughtier than they had promised not to be. And Laura did not care.

Truth to tell, she was pleased with them.

When Clarence slid out of his seat and came up the aisle on all fours, she smiled at him.

At recess, she stayed in the schoolhouse. She was sure the boys were planning more mischief, and she meant to be where she could not hear them.

After recess, the disorder was worse. The boys kept paper wads and spitballs flying on their side of the room. All the smaller girls were whispering and passing notes. While Miss Wilder was at the blackboard, Clarence went down the aisle on hands and knees, Alfred followed him, and Charley, lightfooted as a cat, ran down the aisle and leap-frogged over their backs.

They looked for Laura's approval, and she smiled at them.

“What are you laughing at, Laura?” Miss Wilder asked sharply, turning from the blackboard.

“Why, was I laughing?” Laura looked up from her book and sounded surprised. The room was quiet, the boys were in their seats, everyone seemed to be busily studying.