It was holiday time, but the door
was open and on the steps were two graybearded men. They nodded to
Raften. These men were the school trustees. One of them was Char-less
Boyle; the other was old Moore, poor as a church mouse, but a genial
soul, and really put on the Board as a lubricant between Boyle and
Raften. Boyle was much the more popular. But Raften was always made
trustee, for the people knew that he would take extremely good care of
funds and school as well as of scholars.
This was a special meeting called to arrange for a new schoolhouse.
Raften got out a lot of papers, including letters from the Department
of Education. The School District had to find half the money; the
Department would supply the other half if all conditions were complied
with. Chief of these, the schoolhouse had to have a given number of
cubic feet of air for each pupil. This was very important, but how
were they to know in advance if they had the minimum and were not
greatly over. It would not do to ask the Department that. They could
not consult the teacher, for he was away now and probably would cheat
them with more air than was needed. It was Raften who brilliantly
solved this frightful mathematical problem and discovered a doughty
champion in the thin, bright-eyed child.
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