Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1907-12-17

want to spend any TINE out here?
Why, they c;.;i't eat the cooking; it's
out Of the question. | couldn't myself
II didn't voluntarily suspend con-
sciousness while staving of starvation
"a small price to pay for such days Of
freedom as I've had! I'd think these
girls were pursuing me II didn't know
they were not. But" he groaned,
they'll think 1t jolly lark to find me
here! They'll get out Of 1t all there is
In it. Damnw He thumped the ground.
I'll take care that there'll be precious
little in 1t for them. I'm not going to
be bullyraggcd into spelling my vaca-
ton by two clucky girls!'
Such the misanthropic sentiments and
such the language with which Peter
Kinrcss faced u situation complicated
by the fact that the expected arrivals
were the daughter and niece respective
ly of the president Of the college In
which he himself was the professor Of
psychology.
DR.. Kinross, however, had never seen
either of these girls, inasmuch as dur
ing the past year since he had taken
the chair Of psychology they had both
been away Mt woman's college. But
he had heard great deal about Miss
Ellery, the presidents daughter. And
some of Kinross' fellow professors who
were apt to badger him on his hard
had predicted his speedy surrender to
the beauty. culture and wealth Of Miss
Ellery when she should return to col
lege.
1T will do me good to see her turn
you down." the professor of literature
had declared with feeling, speaking out
Of the depth of his own bitter expert.
ence at the hands of the fair Georgi-
ana.
But these predictions had made so
little impression upon Kinross that with
the immediate prospect Of meeting Miss
Ellery the only interest he felt in her
was u curiosity to understand the mys-
terry of her having chosen to come to
the Morningstar farm to spend her
summer vacation-a girl notoriously
fastidous in her tastes and so much OF
q belle among the clever men Of the
college faculty that her voluntarily
coming to bury herself in such an out
Of the way place as this farm seemed
to him second mystery thrust upon
his unwilling contemplation and cal
culated to supersede that other mys-
terry of the girl Eunice, which in the
past fortnight had been constantly ar
resting his attention.
The truth about Or. Kinross was that
he was afraid of young girls All the
circumstances of his boyhood and youth
aad tended to pervert natural super.
sensitiveuess into an awkward and
painful self consciousness in the pres
ence of women. His mother having
died in his infancy, his acquaintance
| with the feminine sex in lis childhood
had been almost entirely confined To
the negro servants of his fathers house
hold. With his incipicnt manhood he
had developed, through unfamll!arity
Of intercourse an awe OF girls that
had caused him untold suiferings II
forced into any conversational RESPONSE.
bilites with them.
The social ease and t!uency OF his
younger brother, Burton, seemed to Pc
ter in those days Il height of achieve
ment to which, he loo'.cd up with envy
and admiration. But Burton's view o!
the variation between them was rue
fully expressed one day to Miss VOL
colt, their nearest family ncighbor.
"Pete plants himself in corner at a
party, scow!s. hasn't word to say,
can't dance and can't play cards. And
he'll make an average OF six crush.s
at every party that dad makes him 70
to. can dance. play cards, converse
and make myself agreeable, and |
don't average one crush Il month. How
would you explain it?'
"Crush?" genteelly inquired Miss
Wolcott, a bachelor maiden of thirty
five.
BEG pardon. mean none of the
girls get stuck on me. But they pur-
sue Pete to his corner and when he is
rude and disagreeable TO them they
say he is original and magnetic You
wouldn't suppose, woGld you. they Il
take to stiff like Fe;eT
at would bc much more reasonable
of them to take to- polished and ac-
complished gentleman like you, Bur-
ton" said Miss Wolcott coasolingly.
And Burton accepted her sympathetic
view with complacency and with Il
high opinion of Miss Wolcott's judS-
ment.
AS Peter grew older he succeeded in
conquering after long and eXtraordi-
nary struggles with himself ut least
the external signs of his inward per-
turbation in the society OF young III
dies. But his mental attitude toward
the sex continued to be mixture or
suspicion, contempt. curiosity, mystih-
cation and attraction. which SO bafiicd
and irritated him that he had come to
look upon any contact with girls as an
element disturbing to all intellectual
labor or anything else In his life that
was really worth while.
His social life ut Meckville college
had been continual battle In trying
ION the whole vainly) to elude the hat-
tering attentions society was deter
mined to heap upon the good looking
new young professor who had the very
unusual attraction Of comparatively
large independent fortune. The fact
that he was difficult and elusive only
added Zest to the quest.
And yet there really lived In the
background Of his consciousness. hard
ly recognized by himself, an ideal love,
q passionate yearning to be met, to
find perfect comradeship. He did not
himself know how deep was the long
ing and the need in his soul for some
relation In life In which his strongly
emotional nature could find outlet.
So far was he from conceivlng the
possibility OF discovering In the nota'
bly, charming and gifted Miss Ellery
his souls inevitable companion that
there came to him as he lay on his
back gazing up into the trees OF the
old forest grotesque plot for eluding
the society Of the expected damsels
and insuring the continuance OF his
freedom.
81 swear I'll do itv' he exclaimed,
| ond bio sbout of laughter at the Origi-