in an informal way. The colored teacher was in the center of the group
and discussed the matter as freely as any; and he was listened to with
every mark of respect. Belton kept a keen watch on the conference
and began rubbing his hands and chuckling to himself with delight at
seeing the colored teacher participating on equal terms with the other
teachers.

The colored teacher's views seemed about to prevail, and as one after
another the teachers seemed to fall in line with him Belton could not
contain himself longer, but clapped his hands and gave a loud, joyful,
"Ha! ha!"

The eyes of the whole school were on him in an instant, and the
faculty turned around to discover the source and cause of the
disorder. But Belton had come to himself as soon as he made the noise,
and in a twinkling was as quiet and solemn looking as a mouse.

The faculty resumed its conference and the students passed the query
around as to what was the matter with the "newcomer." A number tapped
their heads significantly, saying: "Wrong here." How far wrong were
they! They should have put their hands over their hearts and said:
"The fire of patriotism here;" for Belton had here on a small scale,
the gratification of the deepest passion of his soul, viz., Equality
of the races. And what pleased him as much as anything else was the
dignified, matter of fact way in which the teacher bore his honors.
Belton afterwards discovered that this colored man was vice-president
of the faculty.

On a morning, later in the session, the president announced that the
faculty would hold its regular weekly meeting that evening, but that