The clanging of the bell with the two-minute warning served its purpose as play was abandoned and the scurry to the schoolhouse that sat at the far end of town began. It had taken far less time than he'd expected for the fervour of the children to fade away. There had been a few who never had it, and that was to be expected. Sitting in a classroom, even for just half a day, rarely would be the preferred choice when a day of fishing, exploring or just general mischief were amoung the options. There were far better uses for a morning. But many had looked forward to the novelty of learning and eagerly showed up early for the first few days. Now, only just over a week since classes had begun, the smiles were few and far between.
The late start and early end to classes had been the compromise reached with parents who had been reluctant to lose the services of the children on the farms or businesses. Getting up with the sun to do chores and knowing more were waiting at the end of the day undoubtedly contributed to the lack of enthusiasm. But it wasn't enough, yet, to keep the children home. Ezra pulled out his pocket watch, noticing the few stragglers running to get to the school for the 9:30 start. He could only assume tardiness was not acceptable to the new school master.
Mr. Stymiest stood in the doorway of the simple school house. It had been hastily built when the committee to hire a teacher got word he was available and could start as soon as the stagecoach could get him there. No one had really expected the affirmative response, and the task of raising an appropriate building, quickly became a town event much like a barn raising and the speed of the task had puzzled JD.
"How come we could build a school house in two days, while Josiah has spent months on his church and it still ain't finished?"
"Isn't finished, Mr. Dunne. And his edifice would be complete if he allowed others to assist and ceased his constant alteration of plans."
"My church, my labours. It's part of the arrangement I have with The Boss."
Ezra sat back in his seat on the verandah of the saloon, observing the interaction of the children with their teacher. They all carefully skirted around him as they darted into the room, none looking up to meet his stare. There was no sign of warmth from any of them. Stymiest suddenly snapped his watch closed, and Ezra glanced down at his own. 9:30, as he expected. Looking back up he saw two children, Billy Travis and Andrew Bailey, slow as they approached the school, heads low. Even from this distance, he could see look on the teacher's face was unsettling and sent an unexpected chill through him. It went beyond stern, beyond any indication that the children had merely broken a rule. There was a malevolence on his face that Ezra could read from where he sat. He could only imagine what it was like up close. Well, more than imagine. He could remember. It had been some time now, but he had definitely seen that look in the past, and the consequences had been unpleasant.
"What're you staring at Ezra?" Vin's voice broke his concentration and he struggled for a moment to paste a neutral look on his face before smiling up at his friend.
"Simply lost in the recollection of time spent in my much younger days." He nodded his head toward the school, watching the door close trying to shake of the ominous impression that innocent action stirred.
"Can't say that the feeling is familiar to me." A childhood spent as his was had left Vin no opportunity to set foot inside a classroom, the consequences of which he was still dealing with. Ezra felt a pang of guilt for raising the subject, which was immediately recognized. "Don't think that way Ezra. Wasn't your fault, and you've been real good about helping me with all of that."
"It is the least I could do, considering."
"Don't know why we had to go outside to find a teacher. You'd have been a good one for the job."
As much as he might have enjoyed the time with the children, and the opportunity to more formally share his knowledge, the reality was laughable. Ignoring the fact there would have been a significant objection from the good folks of Four Corners at the mere suggestion a man of his character be responsible for educating the children, there was also the matter of a total lack of qualification. It remained one of his best kept secrets that he'd had only slightly more experience in a classroom than Vin did, and most of that had been in the cause of one of a myriad of scams that were being perpetrated by his mother. She had made sure he could read, as the skill was invaluable in their line of work, and his gift for numbers came from learning to calculate odds and keeping track of the money on the card table. Hours spent alone were passed reading whatever he could find in the assorted homes and hotels he grew up in, resulting in a diverse pool of knowledge. Time spent with the servants in those establishments gave him a grounding in several languages, which he worked at expanding whenever he could. The result was that he was a highly knowledgeable individual with no certification to give him any credibility.
"I believe I have sufficient activities to occupy my time at this point. Adding any further would seriously intrude upon my leisure time and extra earning hours."
"In other words, no time for poker."
"Precisely."
The sight of Chris walking toward them brought both men to their feet. "Yes Mr. Larabee, we are aware of our patrol responsibilities. We were just discussing the advantages of education."
"Well, that's a new excuse." Chris offered them a rare smile. "Billy certainly seems to be taking to his studies. Didn't even want to go fishing 'til he got all his practice work done."
Vin paused as he walked down the stairs. "That ain't natural."
"Isn't." Ezra corrected automatically. "And no, it isn't."
Chris shrugged. "I imagine it will pass after a time. People tend to be less eager once they get used to something. Like, I remember when folks went out to do their patrols on time."
"Yes sir cowboy – on my way." Vin gave a playful salute as he walked away. Chris looked up at Ezra, who wasn't moving, staring once again at the school.
"Anything holding you back Standish?"
Bringing his attention back, Ezra grinned. "A good many things Mr. Larabee, but I shall persevere." He matched Vin's salute as he headed to the stables to prepare Chaucer for their rounds.
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Billy left the school quickly and quietly, not looking back as he heard the door close behind him. He turned toward the back alleys quickly, not wanting to take the main road home. Running was difficult, but he fought through the discomfort as he made his way to the creek that ran behind the town. Carefully setting his school sack far away from the water, he squatted next to it, using the cool fresh water to wash his face of the tear stains and calm the accompanying redness. It took him several minutes to settle down to the point he was ready to go home, hoping all the while that his mother would be too busy with this week's paper to notice the state he was in.
She barely looked up from the printing press when he came in. "How was your morning?"
"It was good. I have work to do." He hurried past her to his bed where he dropped the bag and began trying to look busy.
"Is everything all right Billy?" Mary had hoped that going to school would help the lad overcome his shy, quiet ways, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect.
"Yes ma. Just want to do this while I can remember what Mr. Stymiest told us."
She looked at the amount of type still to set and sighed to herself. She'd have a chat with him tonight and make sure there was nothing going on.
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Ezra rode past the Bailey property on his way back into town late in the afternoon. It had been a quiet day, and while he knew that was a good thing, it did make for a rather boring tour. He'd stopped for brief visits with some of the settlers. The community was growing, and it was important to make sure everyone in the area felt they were a part of Four Corners, or so Chris kept telling them. He was unsure when his job became as much public relations as it was peace keeper. But, as glad-handing was second nature to the (mostly) reformed con-man, the social aspect of his day was not a challenge. Finding something of interest to discuss with people who cared only about crops and weather was another issue, but one he was learning to deal with.
As he got closer to the Bailey house it occurred to him this would be an ideal opportunity to discover how their youngster was enjoying attending school. This was one of the few homes he'd passed today that was close enough for school to be an option. Thinking of the children left out, he resolved to find a way to deal with the distance issues before too much more time had passed. If, as Chris wanted, the region was to become a town, these were the types of concerns that would have to be addressed.
Spotting Mrs. Bailey hanging laundry, he called out to warn her of his arrival. She turned when she saw him and quickly ran into the house. A moment later Mr. Bailey was on the porch, shotgun in hand.
"Get of my property Standish. You ain't welcome here."
Ezra pulled back on the reins, stopping Chaucer in mid stride. "I assure you sir, I mean no harm."
"You may not mean it, but you done plenty. Just turn around and git."
Despite a quick review of recent encounters, Ezra could find no actions that would have inspired this reaction from the normally reserved man. "If I have offended you in some way, I do offer a sincere apology."
"Can't apologize for what you did to my boy. Giving you one last warning."
Ezra signaled Chaucer to back up, not turning away from his accuser. "I am at a loss sir. I assure you, I have done nothing to young Andrew."
"You made him go to that school, and they made him feel like dirt. Nobody treats my kin that way."
Confusion made Ezra forget the imminent threat and he stopped the retreat. "I repeat Mr. Bailey, I do not understand your accusation. I would never do any such thing to Andrew, nor condone it's occurrence."
Bailey lowered the gun slightly. Even though he didn't completely understand what was being said, he was getting the idea the Ezra didn't know what was going on. He liked Standish, as much as he liked any of the townsfolk. And he'd believed the man had been sincere about helping Andrew with this learning business. But what had happened at school today was not part of the deal, and he was having no part of any more of this.
"Go on. Get away from here. You go ask that teacher of yours what's going on."
Knowing he was not going to get any more information from the agitated man, Ezra turned Chaucer and headed off the property. He could see Mrs. Bailey at the back of the house, arm wrapped tightly around Andrew as if trying to protect him from the hounds of hell. If it was the last thing he did, Ezra was going to find out why.
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