e hands came down, the silence became oppressive. "Red Head" began:
"F--" Since that day I have waited anxiously for many a turn of the
wheel of fortune, but never under greater tension than when I watched for the
order in which those letters would fall from "Red's" lips--"o-u-r-t-h."
A sigh of relief and disappointment went up from the class. Afterwards, through
all our school days, "Red Head" shared my wit and quickness and I
benefited by his strength and dogged faithfulness.
There were some black and brown boys and girls in the school, and several of
them were in my class. One of the boys strongly attracted my attention from
the first day I saw him. His face was as black as night, but shone as though
it were polished; he had sparkling eyes, and when he opened his mouth, he displayed
glistening white teeth. It struck me at once as appropriate to call him "Shiny
Face," or "Shiny Eyes," or "Shiny Teeth," and I spoke
of him often by one of these names to the other boys. These terms were finally
merged into
