The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1905-02-09
A Graduates StOrV
tOriginal.l

Father" said Frank Notkins one
evening when the family We're sitting
before cheerful fire. you promised
me when I became of age you would
tell me that story Of your student life
I'm twenty-One today"
"Well. Frank. I'll keep my promise.
When I was In college made the ac
quaintance Of girl we will call Nan
cy. You see, your mother might be
jealous, and l wouldn't like her to
know the girls real namo. Nancy and
| kept getting spoonier and spoonier,
and, her father getting on to the stu
alton, forbade me the house. 1t wasn't
that he had any objection to me except
that was only college boy with two
years Of study before me. besides a
course In agriculture. to be taken aft
er graduation. AS for Nancy, he pro-
posed that she should spend three or
four years more on her education. Per
haps If he had let US alone we might
have got over 1t In time without max
ing ninnies Of ourselves. As It was.
he drove us into one Of the sllliest per
formances on record-an elopement.
1.-The time we chose for this absurdity
was IN midwinter. just after one Of the
heaviest snowstorms we had had In
years. Our plan was for me to pick
up Nancy on the road, take her in
my sleigh to the junction. get spliced
there. drive her back and say nothing
about the matter till we had finished
our education. Nancy was at the place
of rendezvous all done up in furs and
with @ pair Of cheeks which the frost
tInged with the hue of red apples.
She jumped into the sleigh. l pulled
| up the robe, and we started.
Nancy told me that her father was
! suspicious Of her, and she thought he
had been watching her. so had bet
| ter drive pretty fast This did so
| far as l could, but the road between
our college town and the Junction Is
| hilly, and the snow was deep and un-
| troddcn with occasional bad drifts. So
| our progress was necessarily SLOW
Nancy kept looking back uneasily, and
when we reached the top Of a rise
about q mile from the town Nancy.
upon glancing to the rear, gave my
arm grip. exclaiming:
"'Oh. my goodness gracious"
Turning my head, ] saw a sleigh
descending the next slope behind US
| drawn by two horses, who were gallop-
ing through the snow, scattering 1t like
spray or course l knew we were fol-
| lowed, and, giving the horse n cut. we
started down our decline. scattering
| snow In the same fashion. But l
knew that one horse was no match for
two horses with an equal load. and it
occurred to me that cur plan would be
nipped unless could hit upon q STRAIT
| aSem.
"'Nancy.' said, I'm going to drop
you in drift
"'What forY she asked.
"'I'll do it when your father Is Oh
the other side of the rise and can't see
u.s.
"'But what will do thereY
"'Lie low till he has passed, then
walk home. He hasn't seen who is In
|
the robe behind is above our heads
"An right said Nancy This looks
like good place were coming to-
II pulled up beside drift more than
ten feet deep and. that l should moi
show any tracks, took Nancy up and
tossed her feet foremost into it. The
snow was light She went down three
quarters Of her length and wriggled
down the rest Of the way. / drove or
and when l got to the top Of the next
hill looked back. In a few minutes Tie
pursuing sleigh appeared. and l knew
I had not been seen dropping Nancy
kept up u good pace, hoping to draw
her father ON 40 fur that he wouldn't
run against her on the way back. l LED
him as far as the bridge, when slowed
up and let him overtake me. When be
saw no one In the sleigh he looked
somewhat mystified for moment, the1
said savagely:
"'You young rascal. what have yor
got under that robe?
Nothing
"'Yes, you have You students thini
you're a match for Satan In deviltry
but you can't fool me. Pull up thu
robe
II drew up the robe 80 that he coult
see tie bottom Of the sleigh He wa.
thunderstruck Eut. too disgruntied tt
apologize for his mistake. he turnet
about without a word and drove back
to town. It's four miles between thu
town and the junction, and since ! hat
dropped Nancy mile from the town
knew she would have plenty Of time t
get back home
when I saw her again she told M
that when her father came in he sal,
nothing to her about her ride, but late
asked her " here she had been.
"'To Aunt Sarah's,' she answered" !"
"The little liarr' put In Eleanor Not
} kins
.LiarY exclaimed the mother In
; dignantly. "Not at all. She STOPPED a
| Aunt Sarah's on her way home so tha
Aunt Sarah would confirm what sh
, intended to tell her father"
"Why. mother" asked Eleanor. "wha