She thought it all over,
sitting up far into the night. If she could only create an interest in
some study that should bind them all together, and in which she could
lead! Was she too old to begin? Never had the desire to become the very
center of interest to them taken such a hold upon her.
A few weeks after, she said one morning, at the breakfast table, "Boys,
I've been thinking that we might begin geology this summer, and study
it, all of us together. Your father and I meant to do it sometime. I've
found a text-book; by and by, perhaps, Thede can draw us a chart. Jerry
will take hold, I know, and Nate and Johnnie can hunt for specimens.
We'll have an hour or two every night."
The children's interest awoke in a flash, and that very evening the
question discussed was one brought in by Nate: "What is the difference
between limestone and granite?" A simple one, but it opened the way for
her, and their first meeting proved a success. She had to study each day
to be ready and wide awake for her class. They lived in a limestone
region. Different forms of coral abounded, and other fossils were
plenty. An old cupboard in the shed was turned into a cabinet. One day
Nate, who had wandered off two or three miles, brought home a piece of
rock, where curious, long, finger-shaped creatures were imbedded. Great
was the delight of all to find them described as _orthoceratites,_ and
an expedition to the spot was planned for some half-holiday.
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