Now where did that thought come from?
“I have a test here that I’m giving to the children around your age. It’s both arithmetic and reading. This will tell me what we need to work on.” She handed him a sheet of paper that he took and sat back down.
Priscilla returned to sorting books into grade levels. She looked up after about ten minutes when Ian stood next to her. “Do you have a question about one of the problems?”
“No, ma’am. I’m finished.”
She frowned and looked at him, taking the paper he held out. Every problem was finished and correct. “Did you read the passages for the read
ing part of the test?”
He nodded.
She quizzed him on the passages and he answered all those questions correctly as well.
“My goodness. You are certainly more advanced than I thought.” She headed to her desk and pulled out the arithmetic sheet for the high school-aged children. “Here, try this. It will probably be too hard, but let’s see how far you get.”
Ian settled on the bench with his pencil and the paper and bent his head. She returned to her work, wondering how she would place the children in the classroom. The school she had done her training in had classes divided into two grade levels each. It would be a challenge to have all grades in one room. She looked around the space and decided dividing the benches into grade levels might work. Especially if she put the oldest children next to the youngest ones so they could help.
About half an hour after Ian had started the test, he returned it to her desk. All thirty problems had been completed and were correct.
She looked at the paper with amazement. “Ian, who’s been teaching you?”
“My pa. He also taught me history, geography, and literature.”
“Indeed?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She tapped her pencil against her lips, a slight smile teasing her mouth. It appeared Mr. Mitch Beaumont was not at all the man she’d believed him to be.
Chapter Five
“Hi, Miss Cochran.” Ian gave Priscilla a bright smile as she left her house to join him and Mitch in their buggy. Since she’d been watching for them before Mitch had a chance to fetch her, she was already next to the buggy. She was very excited to attend the church service and the social afterward.
“I imagine automobiles are the main mode of transportation in Guthrie,” Mitch said as he helped her into the vehicle.
“There are some. Ellie’s husband, Max, owns one, and my papa bought a Ford Model T last year. He purchased it because Mama wanted to learn to drive. Although Max lets Ellie drive his automobile, he won’t let anyone else touch it. You see more of them on the roads in Guthrie each year, but most people use the trolley cars or buggies.”
“Your mama wanted to drive?”
“Oh, yes. She’s not your typical mama.” She turned toward him, “When she was only twenty-three years old, she become guardian to my four cousins and they joined the Land Run in 1889.”
“Well, that explains a lot.” He grinned in her direction.
She stiffened. “I hope I haven’t just been insulted.”
“What’s the Land Run, Miss Cochran?” Ian’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
Priscilla went on to describe the event that history books would cover for years to come. All those people lined up on the borders of Oklahoma Territory, waiting for the signal to sound at noon on April 22, 1889. She would have to be sure to cover that in her history lessons.
She had passed the church on her way into town earlier in the week, but now that she had the opportunity to take a closer look at it, she was a little disappointed. It was a nice structure but badly needed a coat of paint. The grounds around the outside were not well kept, and the pastor standing at the front door looked as if a good wind would blow him down.
“My goodness. How old is the pastor?”
“Older than God, believe me.” Mitch jumped down and helped her out of the buggy. Ian followed behind until he spotted boys his age and took off.
“Reverend David Thatcher has been here since I was a boy. That’s why the place looks like it does. He refuses anyone’s help in maintaining the grounds. He says God doesn’t care what the church looks like. The town’s been trying to convince him to retire, or at least allow us to paint and fix up the place. He’s a wonderful man, but stubborn.”