Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-04-06
CONTRARY
TO PRECEDENT

copyright, 1904, by T. C. MccIure.l
According to precedent, Professor
Stoughton should have been fat, bald
headed, nearsighted and shabbily dress
ed; he should have talked in a slow,
deliberate tone; he should have paid
heavy compliments to the young wom-
en-, and at all times and in all places he
should have been absurdly absentmind-
ed.
The men Of science whom Miss Gov
erly had met heretofore at the Bren-
tons country place had always been
very much of this description-staid
servants who sat a horse with as much
grace as they would have ridden a rail,
who infallibly lost themselves when
ever they went shooting and who spent
much of their time reading before the
library fire tones whose very titles
were depressing in their profundity.
The fact that Stoughton held the
chair Of biology at n of the big west
ern universities seemed irreconcilable
with his youthful face and his almost
boyish enthusiasm over the horses and
the shooting.
When he was presented to Miss Cow
erly just before dinner on the day of
his arrival, that self possessed young
woman frankly told him that he had
upset all her preconceived ideas of
him.
Stoughton laughed delightedly.
Tive fooled the world into thinking
I am a biologist, but between you and
me I don't mind confessing I'm an
overgrown boy" he whispered to her
az she went in to dinner on his arm.
1t was a dinner that Stoughton long
remembered-the mellow candlelight,
the gay banter, but most Of all the
quiet, gray eyed girl beside him, whose
few words were always to the point
and whose smile was something a god
from high Olympus might well sue for.
All through the dinner Stoughton,
under the spell Of that smile, was at
his best. His timely repartee and his
brilliant flashes Of wit kept the table
in a genial uproar, but when the men
were left to the decanters and the
cigars he fell into a brown study, idly
| twirling a spirit glass between his
thumb and finger and smiling quietly
| to himself as he recalled Miss Gov
erly's white throat and the pretty poise
of her head.
Stoughton managed to be much with
| Miss Coverly during his stay at the
| Brentons'. They rode together in the
crisp autumn mornings; together they
beat the neighboring coverts for grouse
and partridge; they strolled afield in
the gorgeous twilights.
Stoughton, who had never before
given the matter much thought, dis
covered be was possessed of a heart,
and the alternate flashes of hope and
despair this discovery brought about
gave him ample opportunity for stud
les in ant1theses.
At the end of the second week there
came a day of gray, monotonous rain.
In the billiard room the mel were striv-
ing to amuse themselves with much
smoke and an occasional bit of brilliant
play. The women were ~endeavoring to
kill time with the latest novels and long
neglected correspondence.
Stoughton sought the library, where
a big log sputtered cheerfully on the
hearth. He drew a chair before the
fire and, picking up a book at random,
began to read.
There was a sound of light footsteps
on the polished floor, and a quiet voice
said mockingly:
"At last you yield to precedent. All
the others read ponderous books be-
fore the fire."
S%toughton turned. Miss Coverly stood
at the other end of the fireplace regard
ing him gravely.
1.-The others" he said inquiringly
as he laid the book down.
"The other men of SCIENCE" she tx
planned.
did they read bound volumes of
German funny papers" he laughed.
Don't tell me-" she said in shocked
tones, you are reading the Fliegende
Blatter?:"
Caught red handed" he confessed.
you seem to have no respect for
precedent" she pouted.
You told me the other gentlemen Of
science who came were fat and bald
headed and vague as to ideas. Tell me,
have 1 grieved you very much in not
following the precedent in these
%things?"
mot tremendously" she laughed.
"Look here" he said suddenly. Did
any of those scientific fossils propose
to you"
Goodness! What an absurd ques-
tion!' said she.
Ibid they?' he persisted.
Certainly not!'
swell, you see, my-er-chief desire
is not to follow their established precc-
dent" he remarked pointedly.
The girl flushed; the professor came
q step nearer The girl retreated; the
professor advanced sturdily. In q cor
ner he caught her and held her fast.
Contrary to precedent" said he