The horses stopped, panting, in front of the hotel and the driver unstrapped the Naturalist's trunk from the back of the hack and carried it in, for this was to be his home. He was to have free use of the immense living-room on the main floor, with its big stove and comfortable rocking-chairs; and the small bedroom on the floor above, where the sun first appeared in the morning; while he was to have his meals at one end of the long table in the dining room at the boarding-school.

The employment of a young, unmarried man on the teaching staff was an experiment with the Principal and he was much interested both in the initial effect and the final result. First came the introduction to the various lady members of the staff: the head of instrumental music, from Boston; the vocalist, from near Gettysburg; the artist, from Canada; and several others. Acquaintance with the students came more slowly; at the table, during leisure hours, and especially in the class-room. The Naturalist accepted the situation with confidence and hope. Fresh from a large college, he had faith in the extent and accuracy of his knowledge and in his ability to teach what seemed to him a mere handful of young women. The presence of one of his sisters in the student body was also a great help to him.

GETTING TO WORK

Breakfast was followed by chapel exercises, and then by classes, which were run on schedule time until four or five o'clock in the afternoon; with the exception of an hour or more for dinner at the middle of the day. It is remarkable what a youth fresh from college will attempt and carry through successfully without a whimper on a very small salary. He is making a reputation-gaining experience-and nothing is for him too early or too late, too difficult or too tedious. So far as pure teaching goes, he often does the work of half a dozen university professorsand does it better. The Naturalist had completed courses at two different colleges containing a great variety of subjects, so he was given the senior classes in English, Latin, French, German, and Mathematics, as well as all the work in Physics, Chemistry, Zoology, and Botany. There were a few other subjects in his teaching curriculum, but those mentioned are sufficient to prove his audacity.

He also did his share in the social and religious work of the school; devoted his holidays to long tramps with the science pupils; and his evenings to wading through immense piles of essays, note-books, and examination papers. It must be said, however,

that his attention and energy were very rarely diverted from teaching to discipline; the girls being eager to learn and accustomed to hard and earnest work. The secret of success lay in having the right kind of pupils to begin with, and then in keeping them interested and occupied.

A SNOWBALLING EPISODE

When the first snow fell, the Naturalist came merrily to school in the morning and worked happily all day long without suspecting what was hidden behind the calm and serious faces of his pupils. Late in the afternoon, he stepped from the front door of the building on his way home with an armful of books, only to be confronted with a shower of snowballs at close range from a dozen or more young amazons drawn up in a semicircular line of battle across his path. Here was occasion for quick thinking and quicker acting; the thought of surrender or retreat never occurred to him. He had the strength and training, but lacked ammunition and was hopelessly outclassed numerically.

Hastily scanning the field of battle, he discovered two points to his advantage; his rear was protected by the building and a store of ammunition was in

sight, because the enemy had been busy for the past half hour making balls and stacking them in several piles, one of which was at the corner of the porch about fifteen feet away. His first move was to capture the nearest stack of ammunition, and the second to hurl it at the enemy as swiftly as possible, which resulted in several casualties and considerable loss of morale.

After this, he contented himself with catching and returning each missile to the sender with its energy greatly increased, so that it proved a dangerous boomerang. In this way, Janie, the best girl in Mathematics, received a big bump in the middle of her forehead and Pearl, the Physics star and one of the belles of the school, got a bad black eye.

Then came the surrender, and all was forgiven and forgotten on both sides. It was probably the original intention of the girls to have a little fun at teacher's expense with every new fall of snow, but he went to and fro after this bearing a charmed life, while the girls accepted their defeat most gracefully and the episode was never adverted to afterward by either party.

CHAPTER II
BOATING

THE lake was three miles long and very narrow and winding, with its banks almost entirely wooded. The Naturalist often went over the course before supper in a rowboat with his sister for company. Sometimes he took the artist and vocalist, with a basket and a banjo, and then he did not return for supper. Near the upper end of the lake, there was a tolerable landing-place where a sawmill had stood. Here the boat was drawn up and a fire built; while the lengthening sunbeams intensified the brilliancy of the autumn foliage and the quiet water reflected the form of each bending tree, each floating cloud, and each sleepy crow seeking its accustomed restingplace in the pines beyond.

The fire grew brighter as the daylight faded and the noises of the night became louder and clearer with the coming of the stars. On the journey homeward, four other sounds mingled with those of Nature: the regular dip of the oars, the gurgling water, the twang of the banjo strings, and the sweet melody of a song.