Darius Starts Teaching School, But Rowdy Gang Causes Him Some Worry

In the preceding chapter Merrill told of the barn raising, the feats of strength performed by the young men of the settlement. He told about Darius passing the examination for a teachers' certificate and securing the appointment as teacher of the home school.

Chapter 23

It was with the determination to win that he started out the next Monday morning for the little school house where he had first gone to his mother ten years before and where he was now to teach.

Arrived at the school house he found the usual motely assortment always found at a country school, assembled in the yard, ranging in age from four to twenty. Some were playing leap-frog, some wrestling, others sitting on the old stone steps whittling out bows and arrows, and still others were throwing and catching and old yarn ball, playing "three old cat."

The greeting was very friendly, and in such terms as as "Good morning teacher;" "Hello, Dide!" "Hello teacher!" "Teacher can I set on the back seat?" "Teacher, can I and Frank Percy sit together?" And so on.

To all of which Darius responded pleasantly. Every pupil there knew Darius personally; and he thought there was no occasion to anticipate trouble, but trouble came, as trouble will, and when least expected, but not till the end of the winter.

I can see my father now in my mind's eye, as he told me, many years ago, of his first experience teaching this school How he would smile at the recollection of the trouble that came at the termination of his first term. I will try to relate it as he told it to me.

The first two weeks were taken up in organizing the classes and getting them started in the regular routine of their work. This had been a hard job, as there were about thirty pupils in all, and some of the twelve and fourteen-year-olds were not so far advanced as others many years younger, which made it very difficult to grade them.

After about three weeks, when everything was running smoothly, Darius proposed to start a singing school One night just before closing he put the proposition up to a vote of the school.

"All in favor of organizing a singing school, to be held in this school house, two nights every week, make manifest by raising the right hand."

About twenty hands went up.

"Contrary same sign."

Four hands went up and Darius noted that they were the big boys from the west settlement over Bunker Hill. These were the illiterate element who delighted in picking a quarrel among the younger boys to see them fight, much more than learning their daily lessons. In truth Darius was glad they objected because, he reflected, I don't suppose they had any better voice for singing than the bullfrogs in the mill pond. As he dismissed the school he asked all those who wished to join in the singing class to remain until he could take their names down. The others could go at once. The big boys who voted against it walked sulkily out, but hung around the yard till the others were dismissed.

Darius had told them it would be fifty cents a month for each. Ten had signed up at once, but the others would have to see their "folks" before knowing whether they could afford to take the lessons, and so the singing school started on its long and successful career. And what fun they had! How they all did enjoy it!

Frank Percy was a natural comedian, which in those days meant clown. And then there was big Nate Thurber.

At the first meeting Darius ranged them all in line, in front of the rostrum and then with ruler held high, he said:

"Now then, everyone altogether. Repeat--in unison, the scale--D0-ra-me-fa-sol-la-ce-do--reverse," beating time up and down with the ruler, "Do-ce-la-sol-fa-me-ra-do." "Good, now then, once more."

But Frank could hold in no longer. "Say, Dide, where'ed you find that anyway--up Little Trout River?"

"Shut up, Frank," said Nate, "and tend to your business."

But Frank wasn't ready to shut up yet. He was always grinning. He continued:

"Nate says he can give the owl hoot a good deal better than he can speak that 'hog' Latin, and he wants another husking bee."

That set the whole class roaring, Dide included. Nobody ever got vexed at Frank, as he always had a smile on.

As the winter slipped by everything went fine. The singing class had reached to twenty pupils. And now about the middle of February the pupils were asking Darius to give an exhibition on the last day of school, which would be about the last of March.

It was certainly gratifying to know that he had succeeded in getting his pupils sufficiently interested to go to the extra exertion of staging an exhibition, which meant a night or two each week for rehearsal. He gladly gave his consent, at the same time reminding them that now they would have some real hard work ahead of them. They were to select their own pieces, to be approved by him--songs, speaking and dialogues and readings--the whole school taking part in the entertainment, except the four big boys who voted against the singing class. They were invited to take part, but sulkily refused.

In about ten days the first rehearsal was held in the school house and the rehearsals were repeated once a week.

These four big boys (I prefer to withhold their names) would often come to these rehearsals but would never enter the school room, preferring to look through the windows until they really became a nuisance and it was very annoying to Darius, as they would race around the building shouting to each other in vulgar language which could be plainly heard inside the building. Darius was now righteously indignant. Going to the door he called them by name. They came slowly up in front of him.

"Well, what's the matter, Dide?" asked one of the loudly.

"Boys," said Darius, calmly, "you are old enough to be gentlemen. You are old enough to know that you are acting very ungentlemanly to say the least. You know, too, that you are willfully disturbing our rehearsals. Now I ask you kindly to discontinue your visits here on our rehearsal nights, unless you can come as gentlemen and not as disturbers of the peace."

"Huh! Is that all?"

"That's all until I have occasion to say more."

Then closing the door, Darius, angered almost to the fighting point, returned to finish the rehearsal, but apparently the trouble was still to come.

Rumors were current among the younger pupils, and finally reaching Darius' ears, that the four rowdies,--can we call them anything better?--were making plans and bragging that they would break up the exhibition. These rumors did not affects Darius in the least, in fact it made him all the more determined to make the entertainment a success.

One morning a few days later while on his way to school, Nate Thurber met one of these reprobates, the one called Mike, and Mike sneeringly remarked:

"Well, I s'pose you'll be singing in some big show in the cities next thing. Fool's notion, that singing 'schule! hey Nate?"

Nate promptly answered:

"Well, Mike, I don't agree with you. In fact I think the fools were all left out of it."

"Ye do, hey? Well, we'll show ye they haint." "Say," he added, "I got a good cow dog that wants to jine your singing 'schule' and I kicked him till he couldn't stand up for it." and he laughed loudly at his supposed wit.

"Of course," said Nate, "the dog would have been far more acceptable to us in the singing school and probably has a much better voice than his mater."

His thrust angered Mike so much that he attempted to give Nate a good threshing right on the spot.

Nate was only about sixteen but was quite large for his age, and Mike soon found that he had tackled a bigger job than he had figured on. But Mike, feeling highly insulted, was determined to "lick" him in a way he wouldn't forget it. After a hard tussle he got Nate down and then commenced pounding him. Just then, unnoticed by either of them big Miles Miller [Bill Miles] strode up on his way to school.

"Hey! what's this mean? Here, you big bully, get off that boy or I'll give you a dose of the same medicine."

At the same instant he seized Mike by the coat collar and jerked him none too gently to his knees, adding a good swift kick from his heavy cowhide boots.

"Take that, and don't let me catch you in any more of your dirty tricks or you won't get off so easy."

Mike turned black with rage and sneaked off muttering to himself:

"You just wait, Mr. Bill. You'll get your pay for this."

Copyright 1930
By Charles E. Merrill

In the next chapter Mr. Merrill tells how the rowdies tried to break up the "exhibition" in the school and how Darius, Nate Thurber and Bill Miles put to rout the four bullies who had been causing all the trouble.