"Oh, yes," answered Janet. "I was there before. You see, I took an examination a couple of months ago, when I first came." "Oh; that's it. What sort of a certificate did that little--examiner--give you?" There was something in the sound of this question which conveyed to her that he regarded her standing in an examination largely as a matter of luck. Janet felt an instant approval of this philosophy of the matter. "Third-class," she answered. "Well, that's better than fourth-class," he remarked. "Oh--but there _is_ no fourth-class," exclaimed Janet. Her eyes widened as she waited to hear what his reply to this might be. He entirely ignored the matter. "That examiner is a kind of a cocky little rooster, is n't he?" he commented. "Did you ever have any trouble with him?" inquired Janet. "Me!" He was evidently surprised that she should think so. "Why, no. I don't know him. I just saw him a few times. He is a sort of a dried-up little party. You know I get up to the court-house once in a while to have a brand registered or something like that." "He _is_ rather important--for his size," mused Janet. "And very particular about his looks." "They have a man teacher at a school near my house," remarked Steve, in no seeming connection. "I suppose he has a first-class certificate," said Janet. "Until lately it was easy to get a school in Texas. But the country school boards rate you by your certificate more and more. This time I am going to get first-class, or at least second. If I don't I 'll have to go back North." "What kind of questions does that fellow ask when he examines people?" Steve inquired. "Well--for instance--'Give the source and course of the Orizaba.'" "Huh!" remarked Steve. "To tell the truth," said Janet, "I would n't have got even third-class if it had n't been for the way I pulled through in geography." "Are you good in geography?" "Hardly. I just passed. He asked a great many questions about climate, and every time he asked that I wrote that it was salubrious. You see," she explained, with a sly little air, "in the children's geographies the climate of a country is nearly always salubrious. So I took a chance on every country. That brought my average up." "Good for you," exclaimed Steve. "Nothing like beating them at their own game. Won't you have some more coffee?" "No, thank you," said Janet. "Two cups is really more than I ought to drink at night." Having risen in expectation of getting the coffee, he gave the fire another armful of mesquite. "You take a good deal of notice of flowers, don't you!" he said, sitting down again. "A person could hardly help it in Texas. Lilies and trumpet-flowers and lobelias and asters and dahlias and wax-plants--they all grow wild here. And in spring it is just wonderful. There is scarcely room for grass." "Texas won't be like that long, if it keeps on." "No?"