Thursday, June 8, 1922
Ramsey
Milhollarid
by
Booth Tarkinqton
Illustrations by
lru?in Mqers
Copyright by Doubleday, P&ge & Co.
"TThtft did yois 35y men?"
"Xoth— Oh, shut up! So then she
skipped out to hor Dorm, and I came
on home."
"When did you see her next. Ram-
sey?" .*=• • .~ v\ r.'.» .
"I haven't seen her next,", said Ram
sey. "I haven't seen her at all —not to
speak to. I saw her on Main street
twice since then, but both times she
was with some other girls, and they
were across the street, and I cotildn't
tell if sbe was lookin' at me—l kind of
thought not— I thought it might look
sort o' nutty to bow to her if she
wasn't, so I didn't."
"And you didn't tell her you wouldn't
he one of the ones to help her with her
pacinam nnd stuff
thatr: „-,. v £tM
I started to, but— Shut up ! H
Fred sat up, giggling. ''So she tlilnkg
you will help her. You didn't say any
thing at all, and she must think that
means she converted you. Why didnt
you speak up?"
"Well, I wouldn't argue with her,"
said Ramsey. Then, after a silence, he
seemed to be in need of sympathetic
comprehension. "It was kind o' funny
though, wasn't It?" he said, appealing
iy. * ..
"What wast"
"The whole business.**
"What 'whole bus' —*' _
"Oh, get out! Her stoppfn' fae, andf
me goin' pokin' along with her, and
her —-well, her crying and everything,
"No. I Started To, but—Shut Up!*
and me being around with her while
she felt so upset, I mean. It seems—
well, it does seem all kind o' funny to
"Why does It?" Fred inquired, pre
serving his gravity. "Why should It
seem funny to you?"
"I don't mean funny like something's
funny you laugh at," Ramsey explained
laboriously. "I mean funny like some
thing that's out of the way, and you
wonder how it ever happened to hap
pen. I mean it seems funny I'd ever
be sittin' there on a bench with that
ole girl I never spoke to in my life or
had anything to do with, and talkin'
about the United States goin' to war.
What we were talkin' about, why, that
seems just as funny as the rest of It.
Lookin' back to our class picnic, fr
instance, second year of high school,
that day I Jumped in the creek after —
ell, you know, it was when I started
makin' a fool of myself over a girl.
Thank goodness, I got that out o' my
system; it makes me just sick to look
back on those days and think of the
fool things I did, and all I thought
about that girl. Why. she— Well, I've
got old .enough to see now she was
just about as ordinary a girl as there
ever was, and if I saw her now I
wouldn't even think she was pretty;
I'd prob'ly think she was sort of loud
lookln'. Well, what's passed is past,
and It Isn't either here nor there.
What I started to say was this": that
the way it begins to look to me, It
looks as if nobody can teJJ In this life
a darn thing about what's goln' to hap
pen, and the things that do happen are
the very ones you'd swear were the
last tyat could. I mean—you look back
to that day of the picnic—my I but I
wa * ® rube then—well, X mean you look
>ack to that day, and what do yon
suppose Td have thought then If some
body'd told me the time would ever
come when Td be 'way off here at' col
lege slttln' on a bench with Dora To
mm—with Dora Yocum, in the first
place—and her crying' and both of tts
talking about the United States goln'
to war with Germanyl; Don't It seem
pretty funny to you, Fred, too?**
_ "But as near as I can make out/*
Fred said, "Chat isn't what Happened."
"Why Isn't it?"
"You say 'and both of us talking"
and so on. As near as I can make out,
you didn't say anything at all."
"Well, I didn't)—much," Ramsey ad
mitted, and returned to his point with
almost pathetic persistence. "But
doesn't it seem kind o' funny to you,
Fred?"
"Well, I don't know."
"It does to me," Ramsey insisted. "It
certainly does to me."
"Yes," said Fred cruelly. "I've no
ticed you said so, but It don't look any
funnier than you do when you say
it."
Suddenly he sent forth a startling
shout. "Wow! You're as red as a
blushing beet!"
"I am not I"
"Y'are!' shouted Fred. "Wow! The
ole woman-hater's get the flushes. Oh,
look at the pretty posy!"
And, Jumping down from the window
seat, he began to dance round his
much perturbed comrade, bellowifig.
Ramsey bore with him for a moment,
then sprang upon him; they wrestled
vigorously, broke a. chair and went to
th 4 floor With a crash that gave the
chandelier in Mrs. Meigs' parlor, be
low, an attack of jingles.
"You let me up!" Fred gasped.
"You. take, sour solemn oath to shut
' „
;■' xx-":.-- •••••••• .... f • •.... . . ; . ... •: • .. »
"" ' m
m %•# JUI & *T" : ' " f f r,,. m m&? m
Mi V & 's->•--•:•••»:•• v.- a- \ *W -\
p... • " 1 '*» ..
• I :^: v :: ••'•S ;| v': 5 . j.S : - : - : -:,.. •V.-vi-O:.::.. • ?■ : x-W
■ r f
" % ••V.V? |f
p| ft , v I 0 '
M ;V- • 181181 i:£"' Si 8 / , •*s. if 111? S.
p fe- • • I ;•'••• I lit ,:-^w
• - m ' --W r - •= bviv.i
f ■ MPf list 1 •' .* I!£ J?"
... ;. &... m ' mm v ** y mm mm y ' m
; > i§i!| *
d$T M . 11 £Ol 9 • v
l| TSRES
II 30x3i Non-Skid Fabric 8.75 ||
32x4 Non-Skid Fabric 16.40
11 33x4 Non-Skid|Fabric 17.30 ||
33x4 Fabric 14.95 |1
34x4 Non-Skid Fabric 20.55 ||
11 32x4i Non-Skid Fabric 25.25 ||
■ j 32x4
Si OTHER SIZES ACCORDINGLY |1
j TUBES 1
I*l 30x3 - $1.65 30x3i SI.BO p
I SI.OO CHECK FREE | !
| To eachjpurshaser"of]a tire or tube during Dollar Day sales f
Iwe will give a dollar;trade check free to apply on the pur- I ||
i | chase'price of any tire] [in the house after Dollar Day sale | 1
Forest] City Motor Co.
1 Chevrolet and Buick Cars
I Forest City, N. C. ;
When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them
up? You goin' to swear it?"
"All right. I give my solemn oath."
said Fred; and they rose arranging
their tousled attire.
"Well," said Fred, "when you gcln'
to call on her?"
"You k>ok here!" Ramsey approached
him dangerously. "You Just gave me
your sol—"
"I beg!" Fred cried, retreating. *1
mean, aside from all that, why, I Just
thought maybe after 6uch an evening
you'd feai as a gentleman you ought to
go and ask after her health.'
"Now, see here—"
"No, I mean it; you ought to,"* Fred
Insisted, earnestly, and as his room
mate glared at him with complete sus
picion, he added, in explanation. "You
ought to go next Callers' Night and
send in your card, and say you felt you
ought to ask If she'd suffered any from
the night air. Even if you couldn't
manage to say that, you ought to start
to say it, anyhow, because you— Keep
off o' me! I'm only tryin' to do you a
good turn, ain't I?"
"You save your gqpd turns for
yourself," Ramsey growled, still ad
vancing upon him.
But the insidious Mitchell, evading
him, fled to the other end of the room,
picked up his cap and changed his
manner. ''Come on t ole bag o'_ beans.
THE FOREST CITY COURIER
ietVue on our way to the 'frat "house';
it's time. Well call this all off."
"You better 1" Ramsey warned him;
and they trotted out together.
But as they went along, Fred took
Ramsey's arm confidentially, and said:
"Now, honestly, Ram, ole man, when
are you goin' to —"
Ramsey was still red. "You look
here! Just say one more word—*"
"Oh, no," Fred expostulated. "I
mean seriously, Ramsey. Honestly, I
mean seriously. Aren't you seriously
goin' to call on her some Callers'
Night?"
"No, I'm not 1"
"But why liot?"
"Because I don't want to."
"Well, seriously, Ramsey, there's
only one Callers' Night before vaca-»
tion, and so I suppose it hardly will
be worth while; but I expect you'll see
quite a little of her at home this sum
mer?"
"No, I won't. I wpn't see her at all.
She isn't goin' to be home this sum
mer, and I wouldn't see anything of
her if she was."
"Where's she goin' to be?"
"In Chicago."
"She is?" said Feed, slyly. "When'd
she tell you?"
Ramsey turned on him. "You look
out I She didn't tell me. I just hap
pened. to see in the Bulletin she's
signed up wuh some 6Tser gfi-Ts fo~gd
and do settlement work in Chicago.
Anybody could see l\ It was printed
out plain. You could have seen it Just
as well as I could, if you'd read the
Bulletin."
"Oh," said Fred.
"Now look fiere—"
"Good heavens! Can't I even say
•oh'?"
"It depends on the way you say it."
"I'll be careful," Fred assured him,
earnestly. "I really and honestly
don't mean to get you excited about
all this, Ramsey. I can see myself you
litoven't changed from your old opinion
of Dora Yocum a bit. I was only try
in' to get a little rise out of you for a
minute, because of course, seriously,
why, I can see you hate her Just the
same as you always did."
"Yes," said Ramsey, disarmed and
guileless in the faee of diplomacy. "I
only told you about all thlg, Fred, be
cause it seemed —well, It seemed so
kind o' funny to me."
Fred affected not to hear. "What
did you say, Ramsey ?'
Ramsey looked vaguely disturbed. "I
said—why, I said it all seemed kind
o' —" He paused, then repeated plain
tively: "Well, to me, It all seemed
kind o' —klndo' funnr." -
(To Tie continued)
ALEXANDER MILLS
Mr. J. R. Moore recently return
ed from a business trip to New-
York.
Rev. C. C. Matheny is home from
the Southern Baptist Convention
at Jacksonville. He reports a fine
trip and a splendid meeting-.
The Forest City-Alexander team
is booked for a baseball game with
the American Athletic Girls on
the Alexander ground Saturday,
June 10th. Come out and see the
girls play. They will show that
this is not a man's game alone,
but that -women play as well.
We were shocked recently to
hear of the sudden death of Mrs.
Summey, the mother of Mr. S. A.
Summey, our superintendent, and
Mr. L. M. Summey, of Alexander.
Those from here who attended the
funeral service which was held at
the home of Mr. Summey at Shel
by were Messrs. J. R. and Terry
Moore, C. C. Matheny, G. C. Ham
rick, L. R. Champion, G. T. Haw
kins, L. D. Allen, and Clyde iHcks.
The sympathy of the entire town
goes out to the bereaved ones.
Page Three