That curtain is almost
sound-proof, too, and causes more throat-trouble among parents than is
suspected.
The nervous monotony of the schoolroom inspires a sometimes unbearable
longing for something astonishing to happen, and as every boy's
fundamental desire is to do something astonishing himself, so as to be
the centre of all human interest and awe, it was natural that Penrod
should discover in fancy the delightful secret of self-levitation.
He found, in this curious series of imaginings, during the lesson in
arithmetic, that the atmosphere may be navigated as by a swimmer under
water, but with infinitely greater ease and with perfect comfort in
breathing. In his mind he extended his arms gracefully, at a level with
his shoulders, and delicately paddled the air with his hands, which at
once caused him to be drawn up out of his seat and elevated gently to a
position about midway between the floor and the ceiling, where he
came to an equilibrium and floated; a sensation not the less exquisite
because of the screams of his fellow pupils, appalled by the miracle.
Miss Spence herself was amazed and frightened, but he only smiled down
carelessly upon her when she commanded him to return to earth; and
then, when she climbed upon a desk to pull him down, he quietly paddled
himself a little higher, leaving his toes just out of her reach. Next,
he swam through a few slow somersaults to show his mastery of the new
art, and, with the shouting of the dumfounded scholars ringing in
his ears, turned on his side and floated swiftly out of the window,
immediately rising above the housetops, while people in the street below
him shrieked, and a trolley car stopped dead in wonder.
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