Page:Rilla of Ingleside (1921).djvu/303

 on the splendid understanding the children had of their lesson, and said he meant to tell her trustees what a jewel they had. It was ‘very unusual’ he said, to find a fourth class who could answer up so prompt when it came to explaining what words meant. He went off beaming. But Ella told me this as a great secret, Mrs. Dr. dear, and we must keep it as such, for the sake of the Lowbridge Road teacher. It would likely be the ruin of her chances of keeping the school if Whiskers should ever find out how he had been bamboozled.”

Mary Vance came up to Ingleside that same afternoon to tell them that Miller Douglas, who had been wounded when the Canadians took Hill 70, had had to have his leg amputated. The Ingleside folk sympathized with Mary, whose zeal and patriotism had taken some time to kindle but now burned with a glow as steady and bright as any one’s.

“Some folks have been twitting me about having a husband with only one leg. But,” said Mary, rising to a lofty height, “I would rather have Miller with only one leg than any other man in the world with a dozen—unless,” she added as an after-thought, “unless it was Lloyd George. Well, I must be going. I thought you’d be interested in hearing about Miller, so I run up from the store, but I must hustle home for I promised Luke MacAllister I’d help him build his grain stack this evening. It’s up to us girls to see that the harvest is got in, since the boys are so scarce. I’ve got overalls and I can tell you they’re real becoming. Mrs. Alec Douglas says they’re indecent and shouldn’t be allowed, and even Mrs. Elliott kinder looks askance at them. But bless you, the world moves, and anyhow there’s no fun for me like shocking Kitty Alec.”