The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-10-26
The Professors
Love
By EMELIE TRACY Y. PARKHulsr
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
copyright, by Joseph b; Bowles.)

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Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.)
He stepped briskly into the Office
of his most intimate friend one morn.
ing, and drawing a check from his
pocketbook, he said, in a subdued
tone, as if afraid that the walls would
hear:
John, I am going away for about
six months, and there are few lit
full to you for fulfilling during my alb
sence if you will. There is lady
in town, friend whom you do not
know. am in the habit of observing
all her little anniversaries. The
10th of July is her birthday, so I usu~
ally send her flower-piece of Russian
violets, made up into her initials, with
my initials in light blue violets under
meath You will do these things for
me, John?"
With all my heart! But who is
this girl that you, the dreamer, the
mystic, the man who lives among
the stars, has seen fit to bow down
to and adore? You in love? / can't
imagine you in such predicament.
1t is really too absurd. Come, tell
us your divinitys name, and tell US
where you found her,
Ned Finlay was tall, slender man,
pale like all scholars, with rather
small features, short cropped gray
hair and an ambling gait, like that Of
one accustomed to striding across
mountain roadways. He and John
Rowland had been close friends since
boyhood. They knew no reserve ex-
cept on the subject of the women of
their acquaintance-they both consid-
cred the subject too delicate for dis
cussion.
Ned hesitated moment as though
it were deed of black sacrilege to
INJURED, dreamily:
Her name is Mildred Mills. You
probably do not know her, as she lives
a most secluded life"
The DEVIL" exclaimed John How
land looking at NEG curiously, and
then stopping short. In a moment he
asked, as a hard expression took the
place of the curious one:~ who is
this Mildred did you say her
last name was? Has she accepted
You? Do you think that she really
loves you? Are you going to marry
her? Has she any money? Has she
any folks? How do they feel?"
stop, stop one moment, john" said
Findlay, seating himself on the cor
ner of the desk and dangling his long
legs helplessly in mid-air. Zone ques-
ton at time, and I will answer to
the best of my knowledge. I don't
wonder at your SURPRISE; am sur
prised at myself I have not spoken
to her yet: l had not the courage.
What's that? I thought you spoke
Pardon. She seemed to feel so re-
lieved to find that I did not bore her
to death with love-making. She has
a fine mind and I have been leading
her along'the paths of science-astron-
omy, Greek, archaeology-and all that.
She has been i'll lately. I thought
that she was going to die. I came to
the conclusion, after carefully weigh.
ing the matter, that I loved her."
Then you have not spoken to her
YETI"
"Oh, no, not yet, not yeti" said
Findlay, as though the very idea
struck terror to his soul.
"How-how long have you been
sending her-things?
Ever since knew her. Three years
about"
Rowland muttered something inco-
herent, and then turned toward the
great pile Of letters that waited his at
tention. One envelope caused him to
change color ominously. He olsen
gagged it from the rest of the pile
and thrust it savagely into his breast
pocket.
Findlay dropped down from the cor
ner of the desk and extended his hand
to his friend. Rowland grasped it
with grip of iron and said:
: Il hope you'll be happy with your
iMil-uEed M-Mills. I'll do all Won
rwish.''
. 41'::1adlay swung himself out of the
door, and when Rowland had seen him
disappear around corner, he drew
the letter out of his breast pocket,
turned it over and over three or four
times obviously, and then tore it open
at the end. Taking it out of the slip.
he read as follows:
Dear John: I am .awfully sorry about
this evening, but I am going to ask YOU
to release me from going to the theater,
My old friend and tutor, Prof Findlay
is going away tomorrow, and so this will
be the last chance I shall have to see
him for some time. Besides, what is one
evening more or less to you, when we are
going to be together all our lives, John?
know you will like the professor and
I'll try to arrange it for you two to meet
when he returns. Yours faithfully
M. NJ"
I fear John Howland's corresDond.
ence lacked clearness that day. He
seemed inclined to be reflective. At
times he rested his left elbow on the
desk, supported his cheek in his IN.
turned palm, and his eyes fairly
bulged and grew bloodshot with tho
H. L.