"She’s awful pretty," Peggy told the first knot of eager listeners, "and she’s got a lot of real curls on top what ain’t tied on. I know, fer I peeked through the crack of the door when she was fixin’ her hair last night, and it was down and reached ever so far below her waist. An’ she’s got dimples when she laughs, and twinkles in her eyes like the stars make, an’ she ain’t much bigger’n I am. She looks just like a little girl." "H’m! We’ll soon do her up!" remarked Daniel Butterworth, the tallest and strongest boy in the school. Daniel had a shock of yellow hair that was roughly curly, big blue eyes with curly yellow lashes, and an irresponsible wide mouth, always on a defiant grin. Peggy looked up at him in terror. "Now, Dan Butterworth," she began, "ef you boys go to playin’ pranks on her, it’ll be just pusly mean. She’s jest a girl, an’ she’s so pretty an’ don’t look like she was used to rough boys like you." "We don’t want no sissy-baby to teach us," declared ’Liakim Morse, a bold, black-eyed boy, who always followed Daniel’s lead in everything and then went a step further. "We want a _man_ to teach us. The selectmen’ll soon find out they can’t put no baby teachers off on us, fer we won’t stand it." Peggy made a face at them and turned her back, but Daniel only grinned. He had his plan, and he knew it would be carried out. He did not need to say much to his followers. The program was well understood by them. One of the selectmen, who lived near the school-house, came over with the key, and stayed about the place, opening the windows and setting the teacher’s desk in order. The scholars were all seated demurely with books before them when the minister came walking in with Dawn, shy and smiling, by his side. Not one of them seemed to be looking her over curiously, for it was done from the side of their eyes; but a kind of groan went softly over the back rows, where the bigger boys sat, as much as to say, "This job is too easy. It’s scarcely worth our attention. Why didn’t you send us some one worthy of our valor?" Dawn looked them over, bright-eyed, her heart beating a trifle fast, but her face on the whole quite confident and happy. They noted the confidence in the tilt of her chin, and it gave them intense pleasure to think how soon they could dispel it. They failed, however, to note, the firmness of that chin, or the determination in the line of the softly curving red lips. They looked at their victim warily, and rejoiced in her youth and beauty. They had vanquished many before, but never one so lovely, so child-like, or so confident. It was an insult to their manhood that the selectmen should have thought she could teach them.