Page:The spirit of the leader (IA spiritofleader00heyl).pdf/148

 to-day to claim some clothing. You know what the school calls him—the 'Bawler-Out.' Do you think he ought to talk to a girl the same way he talks to a boy?"

"I have nothing to do with the Safety Committee, Betty."

She felt a stirring of regret. In her present mood she wanted to encounter the strength of a leader with the courage to stand for his convictions. Praska she thought was trimming.

"Never mind that," she said. "I know you're not on the committee. But you're running for office, and Perry is one of your chief supporters. You know what he's been doing in Room B-2. The whole school knows. Do you believe in his talking to a girl like that?"

"I believe," Praska said slowly, "that if a girl and a fellow are to be equal in their citizenship, they must be equal in their responsibility. Perry wasn't insulting, was he?"

"N—no, not exactly. He hurt my feelings."

"Perhaps you hurt his feelings by breaking a Northfield law. Did you not leave your locker open?"

"Yes."

"Then Perry did what I would have done had I been in his place."

At that moment the message that Perry had