THE SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 20

THE SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION

A Story of School Life. A FTERNOON school was drawing to a close. The hot summer sun was j£\ streaming pitilessly down on to the little country school, and most of the - boys and girls jn the room were eagerly awaiting the end of the" lesson. Mark Daley was one of the few for whom the moments were passing only too quickly. His thoughts for the time being were on nothing but work, ana the scholarship examination at the school next morning. ■The scholarship had been subscribed by numbers of well-wishers in the district, and the winner of it was to be sent to a boarding school in Sydney idrj three years. Boarding school had always been the dream of Mark's life. He would have been-there years before—but the times-had turned out so bad* • Wool prices had fallen away to nothing, it was all his father could do to carry on at all,' and Mark had simply had to stay on at Uie little local schooL But if Only he could win the scholarship—. - ' "Put your books together, -now!" said the teacher, pleasantly.' '»I .want to remind all...boys _and __girls who are competing, at ihe examination tomorrow to be here at a quarter past nine sharp, and I'm sure we all wish you hick. You can't all win the scholarship unfortunately, but you can all try'your hardest. Now, who is the monitor for the week?" Mark was, so that he was left alone in the room tidying it up when Mr. Bates 'and all the others had gone but. "ffm, not too bad!" said Mark to himself, surveying the room critically. 'But I see that untidy Bill has left a sheet of paper under his desk." ■ He picked it up, glanced casually at it, then whistled slightly. ■ "If I'm any judge, vßil\ will,want this!" he said. "It seems to be a list of likely questions for the, examination tomorrow.* Yes—that's a very good idea to set them out like thgt! 'BtnVl didn't think-Sill was sitting now I come to think of it " \'• '•. ? • A sudden thought "struck him with dismay. H£ had just noticed that the drawer of Mr. Bates's desk was half-open, and he strode quickly over to it. Inside, he could'see a. number of typed papers, like the one he had in. his hand. \ 5 •>< , "Good heavens!".he'murmured. "This paper must have blown out of the desk! These are the,questions for tomorrow.'And I've read half" of them! It won't be fair for> me to work at all tonight—it won't be fair for me to'sit for the exam! what am I to do!!" • It was a quarter to nine the next morning. Mr. Bates was at his desk, taking out sheets of writing paper when a knock came at the door and Markientered. , "You are early, Mark!" said Mr. Bates, with a smile. "I said a quartet past, not a quarter to. Better early than late, of course, but I can't have you in here yet!" "I—l—nave to see you, please, sir!" replied Mark. "I—the trouble is-^-I'm not going to sit for the examination—" '• "Rubbish!" answered his'teacher cheerfully. "Of courscyou are!" ; "Butj—but I can't, sir!" protested' Mark miserably. "I can't do it—" "Now, don't try to tell me you're feeling too nervous about it!'!1 said Mi. Bates shortly. "Because I won't listen ? to such nonsense. You've probably overtired yourself working too much—V \ "It's not that, sir!" said Mark. "It's because of something ive done!" And with that, he told the whole story of the paper he had picked up. "I thought it out all last night!" he ended dismally. "And.decided, the.only fair,thing would be for me not to sit for the paper at all. I'm dreadfully disappointed of. course, but-^"- t - - ' - --- - ■ To his surprise, Mr. Bates burst out laughing. "I suppose these are the papers you saw!'*- hfe'said, taking a little pile from his desk. "Mark, did you really think I could be-so shockingly careless as to leave1 important papers in my desk for the. wind to blow out into the room? These are just some typed lists of questions that a friend of mine—a schoolmaster in Sydneysent me for examples, and I've sometimes used them in class. As to the examination papers, .the chairman of the scholarship committee will brine the scholarship results came out with Mark Daley's namelt thetop. '