The Delta independent., 1889-08-13
A Romance of Courage.

- .VSe~Sss4VS "a SSo4 O60s
A few miles distant from tho old
college town Of Hanover, N. H., there
is farmhouse that was once the
scene of midnight fracas. In which q
pretty girl was the heroine, and set
OF Dartmouth college boys most
amazed crowd. As it happens, the
girl is now married to the ringleader
in that escapade and they live very
happily in great city near the Allan
tic coast, SO the young woman must be
called Jennie Smith merely to, indicate
that that was not her name.
1t was in the autumn OF 18S-that
the Dartmouth college sophomores,
having got over being freshmen. de-
cided that the new freshmen were ris-
ing above their places in a way that
was intolerable. and that a concreted
system OF hazing must be inaugurated
to even up things. One OF their chief
objects of sophomore wrath was Gill
bert Smith. big. good-natured fellow,
who calmly refused to recognize in a
sophomore anything superhuman.
This Smith lived in the large farm
house on the road to Lyme. A few
OF the moro daring sophs got together
and voted to raid the farmhouse and
instruct Smith little.
1t was a black, chilly night .en
the band of regulators crept up the
Lyme road toward the Smith farm
house. 1t was dark in the house, ex-
cept one window, from which a light
cleaned, as II TO welcome friends in
stead OF enemies. With no particular
compunctions, however, the sopho-
morcs, after drawing over their head
masks made OF shirt-slccves, stamped
up the porch, and without knocking,
filed into the sitting-room where Jen-
mic Smith sut reading alone. Anyone
who has ever seen . shirt-slecye mask
will understand that the fiendish sight
made the girls pretty eyes fill with
terror. But while asking what they
wanted in as steady tone as she could
command, she knew what the answer
would be.
'Where's your brother Gil?" was the
gruff chorus.
"What do you want him for?"
ITO teach him better nanncrs."
came the serulchral reply.
He is very sick in the next ROOM"
said the girl. pleadingly. "You
would not touch sick man, would
you?"
Had the cxplctive "RatsW then been
invented the students would have used
it unanimously. As it was, they in
various other ways expressed their
conviction that the sickness was an in
vention to shield the big freshman,
and they proceeded toward the cham
ber door with evident intention OF
opening it.
The young girl, with blazing checks
and flashing eyes, went over to tho
door and stood there to bar the way.
stop" she commanded, with both
arms upliftcd as il to ward of the
whole world from the sick man with
in.
The students, still disbelieving the
story OF illness, though thoroughly ad-
mired her bravery. pressed little
nearer, and one made us II to open
the door. Quick as flash the girl
caught big cavalry saber from the
wall where it hung and luuged savage
ly at the masked figures. This ii me
they fell back, but not before the cloth
over the face of the foremost was
dyed with blood from a cut in the
check. This ended the hazins, for
the boys valiantly begged her pardon
and marched back to Hanover lost in
admiration.
The hush II Jennie Smith, who
was not Jen,--. Smith, wears saber
mark on his check to-day.-New York
Press.