You didn't get that speech out of books."
Among my graduation presents there was a
silk umbrella from Mrs. Harling, with my
name on the handle.

I walked home from the Opera House
alone. As I passed the Methodist Church, I
saw three white figures ahead of me, pacing
up and down under the arching maple trees,
where the moonlight filtered through the lush
June foliage. They hurried toward me; they
were waiting for me -- Lena and Tony and
Anna Hansen.

"Oh, Jim, it was splendid!" Tony was
breathing hard, as she always did when her
feelings outran her language. "There ain't a
lawyer in Black Hawk could make a speech like
that. I just stopped your grandpa and said so
to him. He won't tell you, but he told us he
was awful surprised himself, didn't he, girls?"

Lena sidled up to me and said teasingly:
"What made you so solemn? I thought you
were scared. I was sure you'd forget."

Anna spoke wistfully. "It must make you
happy, Jim, to have fine thoughts like that in
your mind all the time, and to have words to
put them in. I always wanted to go to school,
you know."

[[262]]

p261 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p262w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p263

v?