Henry had before him a map of the Empire of Muscovy but he saw little there.

Instead there came between him and the page a vision of the beaver dam and the pool above it, now covered with a sheet of ice, and of the salt spring where the deer came to drink, and of a sheltered valley in which a herd of elk rested every night.
Mr.Pennypacker was singularly quiet that morning.

It was his custom to call up his pupils and make them recite in a loud voice, but the hours passed and there were no recitations.

The teacher seemed to be looking far away at something outside the schoolroom, and his thoughts followed his eyes.

Henry by and by let his own roam as they would and he was in dreamland, when he was aroused by a sharp smack of the teacher's homemade ruler upon his homemade desk.
But the blow was not aimed at Henry or anybody in particular.