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Rh heads together, and compelling the largest, a husky youth of nineteen, to write, "I will be a good boy," twenty times on the black-board. As the failure of the Junction school had been attributed to the muscular resistance made by this youth and his companions to the introduction of knowledge thereabouts, the committee had upheld Mr. Hart, and, strange to say, the unruly scholars had become his friends and admirers. It was one of these who was going to call off the figures at the coming dance.

As he stood looking into the rain, the deputy sheriff was thinking things over. He realized the difficulties which confronted him; it was his ambition to become a member of, the bar of the State of Nebraska, but the obstacles that arose before his vision were great and many; the necessity of knowledge never appeared so strong as it had in the last few weeks.

Suddenly there was a clattering on the rickety stairway that led down from the second floor. Hart recognized the footsteps, and sang out, "Hullo!" without turning to see who it was.

The Van Clees lived up above, and Hart's courtship of the buxom daughter of the senior