"Yas'm. I sho' will 'member," and with a smile at Sylvia, Estralla
tiptoed toward the open door and disappeared.
It was a very grave teacher who watched her pupils return to their seats
that morning. It was a time when all the people in the southern city
were anxious and troubled. There had always been slaves in South
Carolina, and now the Government of the United States was realizing that
the black people must not be kept in servitude; that they had the same
rights as white people; and it was difficult for the Charleston people
to acknowledge that this was right.
Miss Rosalie was a South Carolinian, and she was sure that Charleston
people did right to insist on keeping their slaves, even if it meant
war. And it now seemed likely that the North and South might come to
warfare. The word "Yankee" was as hateful to Miss Rosalie as it was to
Elinor Mayhew, and for that very reason she determined that Elinor
should make a public apology for calling one of her schoolmates a
"Yankee." To the Carolinians the name meant the name of their enemies,
and it seemed to Miss Rosalie a very dreadful thing to accuse this
little northern girl of being an enemy.
After the girls were all seated she said in a very quiet tone:
"Elinor, please come to the platform."
For a moment Elinor hesitated. Then she walked slowly down the aisle and
stood beside Miss Patten.
"Now, young ladies, I do not need to explain to you the meaning of the
word 'courtesy.
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