"Go sit down, Ramsey, and do it after school." His ears roaring, the unfortunate went to his seat, and, among all the hilarious faces, one stood out--Dora Yocum's.

Her laughter was precocious; it was that of a confirmed superior, insufferably adult--she was laughing at him as a grown person laughs at a child.

Conspicuously and unmistakably, there was something indulgent in her amusement.

He choked.

Here was a little squirt of a high-school girl who would trot up to George Washington himself and show off around him, given the opportunity; and George Washington would probably pat her on the head, or give her a medal--or something.