[Sidenote: Disputing]
Miss Garber was hearing her eighth grade arithmetic class. When it came
Grant Langston’s turn to recite she told him that his problem was wrong.
“No, it isn’t, it’s right,” said the boy.
Now this boy had been showing a spirit of independence and indifference
to Miss Garber’s authority. This outbreak gave her the occasion she had
been waiting for to punish him. She used the county superintendent’s
prescribed instrument (a piece of rubber hose) and gave the boy one
hundred eight strokes with it, and asked him if he wanted another
whipping soon. Grant signified that the punishment was sufficient to be
effective and was allowed to go out to play.
While at play he told the boys that Miss Garber didn’t hurt him.
Somebody told Miss Garber what he said and so in the presence of the
whole room she said:
“Grant, you told me that the whipping I gave you this morning hurt and
you told the boys that it didn’t; to whom did you tell a falsehood?”
“To the boys,” answered Grant.
This confession was accepted as an apology and nothing done about the
telling of the falsehood. On the way home from school Grant again told
the boys that the whipping didn’t really hurt him.