Thursday, July *3, 1922
Ramsey
MilhoUand
by
Booth Tarkingtcm
*8
Illustrations by
Irwin Mqers
Copyright by Doubleday, Page & Co.
Thenceforth it became the most
pressing care of Ramsey's life to pre
vent his roommate from learning that
there was any conversation at all,
even botanical. Fortunately, Fred
was not taking the biological courses,
though be appeared to be taking the
sentimental ones with an astonishing
thoroughness, and sometimes, to Fred's
hilarious delight. Ramsey attempted to
niKi the tables and rally him upon
whatever last affair seemed to be en
gaging his fancy. The old Victorian
and pre-Victorian blague word "pet
ticoat" had been revived in Fred's
vocabulary, and in others, as "skirt."
The lightsome sprig was hourly to be
seen, even when university rulings for
bade, dilly-dallying giddily along the
campus paths or the town sidewalks
with some new and pretty Skirt. And
when Ramsey tried to fluster him
about such a matter Fred would pro
fess his ardent love for the new lady
in shouts and impromptu song. Noth
ing could be done to him, and Ramsey,
utterly unable to defcrid his own sensi
bilities in like manner, had always
to retire in bafflement. Sometimes he
would ponder upon the question thus
suggested: Why couldn't he do this
sort of thing, since Fred could? But
he never discovered a satisfying an
swer.
Ramsey's watchfulness was so care
ful (lest he make some impulsive ad
mission in regard to the botanical lab
oratory, for instance) that Mr. Mit
chell's curiosity gradually became al
most quiescent but there arrived a
day in February when it was piqued
Into the liveliest activity. It was Sun
day and Fred, dressing, with a fas-
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tidFousness ever his daily habit, no
ticed that Ramsey was exhibiting an
unusual perplexity about neckties.
"Keep the black one on," Fred said,
volunteering a suggestion, as Ramsey
muttered fiercely at a mirror. "It's in
better taste for church, anyhow.
You're going to church, aren't you?"
"Yes. Are you?"
"No. I've got a luncheon engage
ment."
"Well, you could go to church first,
couldn't you? You better; you've got
a lot of church absences against you."
"Then one more won't hurt. No
church in mine this morning, thanks!
G'by, ole sox; see you at the 'frat
house* for dinner."
K? T*vnt forth, whistling syncopa
tions, and began a brisk trudge into
the open country. There was a pro
feasor's daughter who also was not
going to church that morning and she
lived a little more than three miles
beyond the outskirts of the town. Un
fortunately, as the weather was threat
ening, all others of her family aban
doned the idea of church that day, and
Fred found her before a cozy fire, but
surrounded by parents, little brothers
and big sisters. The professor was
talkative; Fred's mind might have
been greatly improved, but with a win
dow in range he preferred a melan
choly contemplation of the snow,
which had begun to fall in quantity.
The professor talked until luncheon,
throughout luncheon, and was well un
der way to fill the whole afternoon
with talk, when Fred, repenting all
the errors of his life, got up to go.
Heartily urged to remain, for there
was now something just under a bliz
zard developing, he said no, he had a
great deal of "curriculum work" to
get done before tomorrow, and passed
from the sound of the professor's hos
pitable voice and into the storm. He
had a tedious struggle against the
wind and thickening snow, but finally
came in sight of the town, not long
before dark. Here the road led down
into a depression, and, lifting his head
as he began the slight ascent on the
other side, Fred was aware of two
figures outlined upon the low ridge
before him. They were dimmed by the
driving snow and their backs were
toward him, but he recognized them
with perfect assurance. They were
Dora Yocum and Ramsey Milholland.
They were walking so slowly that
their advance was almost impercept
ible, but it could be seen that Dora
was talking with great animation; and
she was a graceful thing, thus gesticu
lating, in her long, slim fur coat with
the white snow her brown fur
|
They Were Dora Yocum and Ramsey
Milholland.
cap. Ramsey had lus "hanHS Tleepln
his overcoat pockets and his manner
was wholly that of an audience.
Fred murmured to himself, " 'What
did you say to her?' 'Nothin'. I start
ed to, but' —" Then he put on a
hurst of speed and passed them, sweep
ing off his hat with operatic deference,
yet hurrying by as if fearful of being
thought a killjoy if he lingered. He
went to the "frat house," found no one
downstairs, and established himself in
a red leather chair to smoke and
ruminate merrily by a great fire in
the hall.
Half an hour later Ramsey entered,
stamped off the snow, hung up his
hat and coat, and sat himself down
defiantly in the red leather chair on
the other side of the fireplace.
"Well, go on," he said. "Commence!"
"Not at all!" Fl ed returned, ami
ably. "Fine spring weather today.
Lovely to see all the flowers and the
birds as we go a-strolling by. The lit
tle bobolinks—"
"You look here! That's the only
walk I ever took with her in my life.
I mean by—by asking her and her
saying she would and so forth. That
other time just sort of happened, and
you know it. Well, the weather wasn't
just the best in the world, maybe, but
she's an awful conscientious girl and
once she makes an engager**ent—"
"Why, of course," Fred finished for
him, "she'd be too pious to break it
just on account of a mere little bliz
zard or anything. Wonder how the
weather will be next Sunday?"
"I don't know and J don't care,"
said Ramsey. "You don't suppose I
asked her to go again, do you?"
"Why not?"
"Well, for one thing, you don't sup
pose I want her to think I'm a perfect
fool, do you?"
Fred mused a moment or two, look
ing at the fire. "What was the Jec
ture?" he asked, mildly.
"What lecture?"
"She seemed to me to be
"That wasn't lecturing; she was just
ft
"Just what?"
"Well, she thinks war for the United
States is coming closer and closer—"
"But it isn't."
"Well, she thinks so, anyhow," said
Ramsey, "and she's all broken up about
it. Of course she thinks we oughtn't
to fight and she's trying to get every
body else she can to keep working
against it. She isn't goin' home again
next summer, she's goin' back to that
settlement work in Chicago and work
there among those people against our
goin' to war; and here in college she
wants to get everybody she can to talk
against it, and —"
"W'aat did you say?" Fred asked,
and himself supplied the reply:
•Vothin'. I started to, but —"
Ramsey got up. "Now look here!
You know the 'frat' passed a rule that
if we broke any more furniture in this
house with ou? scrappin' we'd both be
fined the cost of repairs and five dol
lars apiece. Well, I can afford five
dollars this month better than you can,
and —"
"I take it back!" Fred interposed,
hastily. "But you just listen to me;
you look out —letting her think you're
on her side like that."
"I don't—"
"You don't?"
Ramsey looked dogged. "I'm not
gotn' around always arguin' about
everything when arguin' would just
hurt people's feelings about something
they're all excited about, and wouldn't
do a bit o' good in the world —and you
know yourself just talk hardly ever
settles anything—so I don't —"
"Aha !" Fred cried. "I thought so I
Now you listen to me! —"
"I won't. I—"
But at this moment they were inter
rupted. Someone slyly opened a door,
and a snowball deftly thrown from
without caught Ramsey upon the back
of the neck and head, where it flat
tened and displayed itself as an orna
mental star. Shouting fiercely, both
boys sprang up, ran to the door, were
caught there in a barrage of snowballs,
ducked through it in spite of all dam
age, charged .upon a dozen besweatered
figures awaiting them and began a mad
battle in the blizzard. Some of theif
opponents treacherously joined them
■and turned upon the ambushers.
In the dusk the merry conflict
waged up and down the snow-covered
lawn, and the combatants threw and
threw, or surged hack and forth, or
THE FOREST CITY COURIER
Thirsty People
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clenched" amTToppled" over fnuTsnow"-
banks, yet all coming to chant an ex
temporized battle-cry in chorus, even
as they fought the most wildly.
"Who? Who? Who?" they chanted.
"Who? Who? W h « sftys there ain't
goin' to be no war?"
CHAPTER XIII.
So everywhere over the country, that
winter of 1916, there were light-heart
ed boys skylarking—at college; or on
the farms; and in the towns the
young machinists snowballed one an
other as they came from the shops;
while on this Sunday of the "frat"
snow fight probably several hundreds
of thousands of youthful bachelors, be
tween the two oceans, went walking,
like Ramsey, each with a girl who
could forget the weather. Yet boys
of nineteen and in the twenties were
not light-hearted all the time that win
ter and that spring and that summer.
Most of them knew long, thoughtful
moments, as Ramsey did, when they
seemed to be thinking not of girls or
work or play —nor of anything around
them, but of some more vital matter
or prospect. And at such times they
were grave, but not ungentle.
For the long strain was on the coun
try; underneath all its outward seem- i
ing of things going on as usual there
shook a deep vibration, like the air
trembling to vast organ pipes in dia- !
pasons too profound to reach the ear |
as sound; one felt, not heard, thunder
in the ground under one's feet. The
succession of diplomatic notes came
to an end after the torpedoing of the
Sussex; and at last the tricky ruling
Germans in Berlin gave their word to
murder no more, and people said, "This |
means peace for America, and all is !
well for us," but everybody knew in
his heart that nothing was well for
us, that there was no peace.
They said, "All is well," while that
thunder in the ground never ceased —
it grew deeper and heavier till all
America shook with it and it became
slowly audible as the voice of the old
American soil, a soil wherein lay tho'se
who had defended it aforetime, a soil
that bred those who would defend it ,
again, for it was theirs; and the mean
ing of it —Life, Liberty, and the Pur
suit of Happiness—was theirs, and
theirs to defend. And they knew they
would defend it, and t#iat more than
the glory of a Nation was at stake, j
The Freedom of Man was at stake. So, •
gradually, the sacred thunder reached i
the ears of the young men and gave 1
them those deep moments that came to
them whether they sat in the class
room or the counting-room, or walked
with the plow, or stood to the machine,
or behind the ribbon counter. Thus
the thunder shook thei© and tried them
and slowly came into their lives and
changed everything for them.
Hate of the Germans was not bred;
but a contempt for what Germany had
shown in lieu of a national heart; a
contempt as mighty and as profound
as the resolve that the German way j
and the German will should not pre- ;
vail in America, nor in of
the world that would be free. And
when the German kaiser laid his com- i
mand upon America, that no American j
should take his ship upon the free
seas, death being the penalty for any j
who disobeyed, then the German kaiser ,
got his answer, not only to this new I
law he had made for us, but to many
other thoughts of his. Yet the an
swer was for some, time delayed. _
(To be continued)
Success comes to him who earns
it, grabs it, and holds onto it.
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Page Seven