They turned up their Tinkletown noses and sniffed at her
because she was a "vain creature," who thought more of "attractin' the
men than she did of anything else on earth." And all this in spite of
the fact that she was the intimate friend of the town goddess, Rosalie
Gray.
Everybody in school No. 5 over the age of seven was deeply, jealously in
love with Miss Banks. Many a frozen snowball did its deadly work from
ambush because of this impotent jealousy.
But the merriest rivalry was that which developed between Ed Higgins,
the Beau Brummel of Tinkletown, and 'Rast Little, whose father owned the
biggest farm in Bramble County. If she was amused by the frantic efforts
of each suitor to outwit the other she was too tactful to display her
emotion. Perhaps she was more highly entertained by the manner in which
Tinkletown femininity paired its venom with masculine admiration.
"Mornin', Miss Banks," was Anderson's greeting as he stamped noisily
into the room. He forgot that he had said good-morning to her when she
stopped in to see Rosalie on her way to the schoolhouse. The children
ceased their outdoor game and peered eagerly through the windows,
conscious that the visit of this dignitary was of supreme importance.
Miss Banks looked up from the papers she was correcting, the pucker
vanishing from her pretty brow as if by magic.
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