St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1901-08-17
HOW JACK GOT EVEN

Atthe beginning Of the spring term
of his Junior year Jack Long was
sent home from college in disgrace.
For some months he had been on the
tenth course Of discipline, and when
he was discovered ODE ringleader
of a gang of juniors who had stolen
The seniors mortar boards and tied
the president Of the class Of 1900 to
an oak tree on the campus, the faculty
decided that it was time toact, They
sentenced Jack to temporary re-
tirement, only promising that il he
did the proper amount of work out OF
college he might be permitted to grad
nate with his class.
Prof. Thomas Erskine Hope was
Jacks class officer that year, and
was held chiefly to blame for the de-
cision to send him home. Prof. Hope,
irreverently called skinny : in joint
allusion to his middle name and to
his gaunt and emaciated figure, was
9 young man not much older than
Jack and his fellows Of the senior
class. He had worked his way
through college and had taken post
graduate course at German uniYer-
sity, conlisg back then to take the
chair Of botany at his alma mater. He
was a young man who took everything
seriously, as one might have known
after looking at his little brown side
whiskers and the white string tie
which always encircled his neck. he
had no sympathy with and no under
standing of the point Of view Of rich
and fun-loving youths like Jack, to
whom life was still jest. But what
ever the professor undertook he did
thoroughly, which accounts for the
rapidity with which Jack Long ad-
vaneed through all the courses Of
discipline" allowed by the college
rules, until finally he was rusticated on
motion of skinny" And Jack and
his classmates, with whom hewas pop
ular, he'd many conference to dis
cuss ways and means Of getting even
with skinny"
When Jack went home for the
Easter vacation it was understood that
be would not return until the next
fall, matter which gave that young
man small concern. He looked upon
It simply as q chance to enjoy him
self.
In pursuance Of that idea, be was
delighted when his mother announced
that as Jack would not be busy IN coll
lege, the family would move up to
their Pike lake cottage in northern
Wisconsin on June l, q month earlier
than usual.
The family consisted of Jack, his.
mother, and his pretty sister, Fanny,
who was Just out of finishing school.
When tnnmeneement was over
Jack had q couple Of the fellows
from college up to spend a month
with him, while Miss Fanny was host
ess FOR q beyy Of pretty girls, Of whom
the most important, from Jacks
standpoint, was Miss Helen Harvey, a
black-eyed daughter Of Louisiana,
selao was spending her season in the
north.
Jack had met Miss Harvey at the
school which she and Fanny both at
tended, and had so far lost his heart
TO her as such thing was possible to
him. Now he found himself even
more strongly under the spell Of the
old infatuation. With a quick yield-
ing to impulse which was characters
tic of him, be proposed to her enc
moonlight night under the oaks and
was laughed at for his pains.
Why, Jack. " said the smiling Miss
Helen, you're really amusing.
you've never taken anything Sc
riously in yourlife, and SO you mustn't
expect me to listen to you. The idea
of reckless boy like you, who's just
been expelled from college, talking.
about getting married is absurd. Be-
sides, ! don't love Jon. NoW, let's go
back to the house
For the next month Jack repeated
his proposal on an average of once
week. Each time he got practically
the same answer He discovered that
under her light and gay manner Miss
Helen Harvey wasreallyap extremely