Telegram for John Watson (Cont.)
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I could scarcely believe what he had related, but I had no reason to doubt him. When I asked him if he really thought he could get away with it, he said yes, of course, adding that Miss Strayhorn could not possibly know what had happened. He did say, also, however, that he hoped his roommate had purposely made a small mistake or two, so that the grade on the exam would be something less than 100. We both agreed that if his grade was too high, the teacher might suspect something. But he didn't seem to be worrying very much about it all, as he reminded me we better hurry so as not to be late to our next class, Introduction to Ethics!

The following Monday, when the algebra class met again, Miss Strayhorn handed back our examination papers with no comment except that she would like to speak to John Watson at the end of the period. I glanced back at him when she said this, but he avoided looking at either me or the teacher.

I waited outside the building for John after the class was dismissed, and when he finally joined me, he was quite dejected--obviously without the optimism and confidence he had shown the day he took the examination.

She found out, he blurted out with disgust. When I asked how the teacher knew, he said that first off she spotted the folded creases in his paper--while all the other papers had been handed in flat, just as she had passed them out. Next, John added, when she asked him to explain exactly how he had solved the river problem, he just couldn't do it.

But the telling blow, he declared, was when Miss Strayhorn asked him if his roommate was not a math major who was currently enrolled in her advanced calculus class.

She had me down cold, John said woefully, before telling me he would be going back home the next week to begin work on the farm.

John's attempt to break the grading system at Western had not succeeded, and the word soon got around on campus that you better not try to fool Miss Strayhorn. As far as I know none of the Western students ever tried to fool her after that.

Chester C. Travelstead
December 8, 1981

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