The Sauk Centre herald., 1907-12-26

mad tended to pervert 4 natural super
SenSitiyeneSS into an awkward and
painful self consciousness in the pres
ence of women. His mother having
died i'll his infancy. his acQuaintancc
with the feminine sex in hi; childhood
had been almost entirely confined to
the negro servants OF his fathers house
hold. With his incip;clt manhood he
had developed, through unfamiliarity
OF intercourse, an awe OF girls that
had caused him untold sufferings if
bilities with them.
The social ease and tluency of his
younger brother, Burton. seemed to Pc
ter in those days height of achieve
ment to which he looked up with envy
and admiration. But Burton'S view Of
the variation between them was rue
fully expressed one day to Miss VOL
colt, their nearest family neighbor.
"Pete plants himself in a corner at a
party, ScowlS, hasn't Il word to say,
can't dance and can't play cards. And
he'll make an average of six crushes
at every party that dad makes him go
to. l can dance, play cards, converse
and make myself agreeable, and l
don't average one crush month. How
would you explain it,"
"CrUSh:" Genteelly inquired Miss
WolcOtt. Il 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 GiSagreeab!e to them they
say lie is original and 'magnetic.' You
wouldn't suppose, would you, they'd
take TO 4 stiii like Peter
''It would be much more reasonable
of them to take to polished and ac-
cOmplished gentleman like you, Bur
tOn,' said Miss WolcOtt cOnsolingly.
And Burton accepted her sympathetic
view with compiacency and with a
high opinion of Miss WOlcott's judg-
ment.
AS Peter grew older he succeeded in
cOnquering after long and eXtraordi-
nary struggles with himself at least
the external signs of his inward per-
turbatiOn in the society of young la
dies. But his mental attitude toward
the sex continued to be mixture of
suspicion, contempt, curiosity, myStifi-
cation and attraction, which SO bafiied
and irritated him that he had come to
look upon any contact with girls as an
element disturbing to all intellectual
labor Or any ching else in his life that
was really worth hiie.
His social life at Meckville COLLEGE
had been a continual battle in trying
ION the whole yainlyD to elude the fat
terins attentions society was defer
mined TO heap upon the good looilil
new young professor who had the yc.'y
unusual attraction of a 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
IL recognized by himself, an ideal love,
a passionate yearning TO be met. to
find a 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 cOnceiving 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 it, he exclaimed,
and his shout Of laughter at the Origi-
nal amusement he foresaw in his
scheme echoed through the woods.
''It will give ne a chance" he re-
fected, ito study the psychology of the
youthful feminine such as rarely
comes to philosopher! An Opportu
nifty to observe it at first hand when
it is off its guard and quite unveiled!
Here's SPORT
But the young ladies would arrive
at noon. There was no time to he lost.
He sprang from the ground, gathered
up the books that were his daily COM
panions in his ramhles and started foi'
the farm.
On his way he speculated as to
whether the Morningstars would bear
him out in his plot He fOresaw the
stupefaction of their unimaginative
minds before his behavior And Er-
nice-would this galvanize her into
some signs of animation? If, before
the role he was about to play, that
girl could possibly maintain the aloof-
ness, the apparent uncOnsciOusness of
what was under her eyes, the blind,
deaf and dumb demeanor that she had
kept up ever since he had come to
this place-if she kept it up now
well, in that case there would be moth
ing left to do but cast off all reserve
and demand that she explain herself.
CHAPTER III.
Y YHEN he reached the farm,
IA overheated from his rapid
wv walk in the sun, he stopped