Read Fermina Marquez (1911) for Free Online Page A

— they meant a detention, ultimately the loss of the prize for excellence and the ruin of his school career! No, this was out of the question! He pulled himself together, he had to act.
He belonged to a matchless generation which was to leave the memory of unsurpassable audacity and virility to those who were now in the lower classes. What he was going to do would put his name in the same rank as those of the two Iturrias, of Onega, of those of the finest representatives of this much-vaunted generation. Or conversely, if he were not successful, he would be universally regarded as deceitful and placed in isolation — no, he would quite simply be thrown out of the school. He did not stop to think for a single moment that he might wreck Mr Lebrun's career, perhaps cause him to be dismissed by the administration. He had these words of command circulated: "Continue the bait; I am going to get the prefect of studies."
Then he left the room without condescending to reply to the remark sarcastically flung at him by the monitor whose patience was exhausted: "Don't bother to wait to be told to leave the room, will you? Just go as you please; it's something you have got used to."
Leniot crossed the yard, the grounds and rang the doorbell of the chalet where the prefect of studies lived with his family. Admitted to the presence of the school's most senior official, he related what was going on in the prep room of the new monitor. Normally, they were a trustworthy group; there had never been a cause for complaint. Mr Lebrun was alone responsible for the disturbance.
With gravity, the prefect of studies listened to Joanny's plea. This step was extraordinary. The pupil who had taken it was one of the best in the school. The prefect of studies hesitated to make a final judgement. He wanted to see for himself and followed Leniot. Thus, as he had promised, Leniot brought the prefect of studies back with him. His triumph was more than half complete. As they entered, the whole prep group was standing up jeering at the tutor.
A silence fell abruptly. Under the eyes of his companions and Mr Lebrun, Leniot renewed his diatribe against the monitor. His tone of voice was restrained but quite resolute and the prefect of studies did not interrupt him. From time to time, Mr Lebrun made objections, but clumsily:
"The younger Iturria insulted me in Spanish!"
"You're lying!" retorted Pablo.
"You have just called us louts!" shouted a pupil. Leniot drew to a conclusion:
"Mr Lebrun, by his excessive use of reprimands and black marks, has been the sole cause of this disturbance. We leave you Sir, the prefect of studies, with the responsibility for making him understand this."
The prefect of studies did not want to appear as embarrassed as he really was. He clearly saw that tempers had risen. "Gentleman," he said, "I have come ..." He was cut short by applause. This was discreet and brief, conveying respect, gratitude and trust.
For all the world, the prefect of studies would not have wished to find himself at odds with his South American boarders whom he called — but strictly in private — "my toreadors". From the moment he started to speak, he was expected to be conciliatory and unreservedly lenient.
"Pupils of the fifth and sixth forms, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for having behaved like primary school children" . . . Iturria minor ought to realize that it is the height of rudeness to talk to somebody in a language which that person cannot understand at all ... Mr Lebrun showed justifiable severity . . . Moreover, Mr Leniot rightly took advantage of his authority as a model pupil to inform him of what was happening in this prep room. He himself was personally sure that discipline would be respected here in the future. Mr Lebrun was a man of distinction; hard-working and with a rare intellect. He, the prefect of studies, hoped to see a certain affinity develop between master and pupils. He was convinced that this affinity could develop