In less than a week Miss Mary had forgotten this episode, except that
her afternoon walks took thereafter, almost unconsciously, another
direction. She noticed, however, that every morning a fresh cluster of
azalea blossoms appeared among the flowers on her desk. This was not
strange, as her little flock were aware of her fondness for flowers,
and invariably kept her desk bright with anemones, syringas, and
lupines; but, on questioning them, they one and all professed
ignorance of the azaleas. A few days later, Master Johnny Stidger,
whose desk was nearest to the window, was suddenly taken with spasms
of apparently gratuitous laughter, that threatened the discipline of
the school. All that Miss Mary could get from him was, that some one
had been "looking in the winder." Irate and indignant, she sallied
from her hive to do battle with the intruder. As she turned the corner
of the schoolhouse she came plump upon the quondam drunkard, now
perfectly sober, and inexpressibly sheepish and guilty-looking.

These facts Miss Mary was not slow to take a feminine advantage of,
in her present humor. But it was somewhat confusing to observe, also,
that the beast, despite some faint signs of past dissipation, was
amiable-looking,--in fact, a kind of blond Samson, whose corn-colored
silken beard apparently had never yet known the touch of barber's
razor or Delilah's shears. So that the cutting speech which quivered
on her ready tongue died upon her lips, and she contented herself with
receiving his stammering apology with supercilious eyelids and the
gathered skirts of uncontamination. When she reentered the schoolroom,
her eyes fell upon the azaleas with a new sense of revelation; and
then she laughed, and the little people all laughed, and they were all
unconsciously very happy.