The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1903-07-05
CHAPTER XIV.


cosiMENcHMENT AT MONROE coll
m En- I'll EEGE. #&A##e
1T was THE evening Of commence
nent day at Monroe college, Upon
the wide yeranda of one Of the fra
ternity houses sat Philip Rossiter
smoking a cigar and gazing through
n opening IN the trees at the moon
Iight-fooded valley A very different
man he was in thought and appear
ance from the individual who had
strollcd about the college campus
that Sabbath morning more than a
year and half previous. The sky
If fortune began to clear for him
the day he became member Of
the staff Of the Evening Star, and
there had been no recurrence Of
cloud. Early in his career upon the
paper, in the absence OF more eX-
perienced reporter, he had inter
viewed distinguished parsonage
with unwonted tact, and thus leaped
at bound into the graces of the
editor-in-chief. Inspired by his sue
81
of effort in which he had formerly
won praise. His vivid pictures Of
the slums, of tramp life, of unusual
police court episodes, quickly at
tracted attention from these
sketches to fiction was a natural and
easy transition, and ne suddenly
found himself a contributor to one
Of the best magazines.
Rossiter was again the neatly
dressed man of yore. and TO the ease
Of manner which had always been
his was added subtle trace of indie
pendence of assurance that was
wholly new to him He bore in his
heart but one bur len, his elose fox
Sylvia Densmore; sand yet he often
confessed to himself that the mem
cry of her winsome personality car
ried with it more of sweetness than
Of sadness. Her image and the recol-
lection Of the hop-feld days, more
than the importuning Of friends, had
s'rawn Elm back TO IIintonville and
The reunion with his college class
mates. .n
IT was his first holiday since he
had begun work upon thegEvening
Star, and IT proved to him time of
restful delight-delight within whose
amber he was conscious
Of but a single flaw. Three of the
four days for which he had been
granted leave Of absence had slipped 4
by. Should he on the morrow drive
over to the Merton farm and have
chat with the good people-Jaek
Parmelee and Mr.. and Mrs. Merton
and their daughter? Every night
since his arrival in Hintonyille he !
bad put to himself this question, but
the visit was yet tos be made PAS
sionately as he longed for some news
IF Miss Densmore, he dreaded to 7
hear of what he reflected must, in all
have long since taken
place--her marriage.
For nearly an hour carriages had |
been passing, conveying students and
Joung ladies and their chaperones |,
% the gymnasium, where the senior
,all was that night to be held. Ros-
.iter's special friends were making
.alls in town, and within the frater-
lity house the r-classmen were
several prospective fresh
men. Rossiter was hence left quite
o himself, yet he was in no wise
onely, his thoughts being very agree
lble company Presently strains OF
music foated down to him across the
ampus. For a while he listened to
hem dreamly, then it occurred to
i'm that it might be interesting to
zee what an up-to-date college ball
vas like, so he rose and saunterad
owards the gymnasium. !
AS he emerged from the mapie
hadow, he found the combination
# music and moonlight so beguiling