Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-10-21
Evening Star 5
Daily Story
THE WAYS OF YOUTH
ny EMILY BEE,
81 EMILY BEE.
Copyright. 1914, by the Mcclure News
paper Syndicate

cured them within leather roll.
They called him PROFESSIONAL the
girls studying at the conservatory
as was eminently proper. Indeed, as
the catalogue of the institute stated,
he was doctor of music. Withal, he
was scarcely more than a boy, n
young man, who, having lived the
childhood of musical prodigy, never
had had time to be boy, and was
now at twenty-four acutely conscious
of the boyhood he had missed.
Miss Natalie he said-and from
the saying 1t was clear that she was
cherished not because of her talent
you have artistic feeling, true feel
ing for music, but you will never ex-
press 1t until through hard work, de-
voted work, your hands become the
perfectly automatic instruments Of
your mind
The young girl looked at him with
a mischievous smile. 1t was not
necessary for her to state in so many
words that she thought his advice
not worth while. The smile went to
his head. Rashly he brought his fist
down upon the plano. The blood
leaped in his veins, ran scarlet in his
cheeks, hammered at his temples. .
'Why should l tell you to work.
he demanded. why work? This
what is it? This He swept a
pile of music disdainfully to the
floor, over which the breeze from the
open windows scattered the sheets
like leaves. This is not life!"
The girl gasped. Like the rest of
her light hearted companions, she en-
loved tantalizing, or trying TO tan
talize. the young musical genius tenn
porarily in their midst. But until
this moment she had never seen him
anything but the musician.
Miss Natalie" he continued, in a
voice of actual desperation. / am
sick of being professor. l am young:
/ am like all of you. |, too, would
like now and then to play-to have
fun! Your senior class is to have a
dance next week. May ! go with
you? May / be--your escort?"
He had made his awkward request
with a painful intensity, most dis
concerning TO Natalie, who looked in
every direction as though for escape.
The color flooded her sensitive face.
.'I am very sorry,'' she stammered,
VERY sorry, Professor Straker. l.
really-I cannot You are too kind. ;"
She had seized her music rool and
was making for the door. Thank
you so much, even though l cannot
possibly"
He reached the door before her and
opened 1t. She hardly knew why she
paused at the threshold. Natalie"
he said with faint smile, lis it be-
cause am your teacher that you
will not dance with me? Is that
wl1y?"
She nodded, overwhelmed with en-
barrassnent.
"And yet you are eighteen" He
looked at her with quiet wistfulness.
"And I am twenty four"
He bowed and She hurriedly start
ed away, colliding at once with
little Edna Gay, who was the most
talented and at the same time the
most unfortunate pupil of the con-
servatory. With a murmured apollo
gy she went on, her eyes bright and
unseeing, the professors last words
ringing in her ears.
Absurd that he should be only
twenty-four. Ridiculous to go TO a
dance with ones professor. How
amused the girls would bel A ner-
vous laugh escaped her of which she
was instantly ashamed. And how
very, very nice he was. Mentally she
ran over the list of those young men
who she knew had been invited to
the party. What girl would have a
more distinguished cavalier? If only
he were not a professor. But the
other girls They all liked their
lessons with him. With the cruelty
of schoolgirls they made game of him
and practiced their budding wiles
upon him. Had he ever called one
of them by her first name as he had
her? Natalie he had said. She re-
membered the very intonation. How
much expression could be put into
single word Perhaps-he liked her.
A little pride stirred in her virgin
heart. She shrugged her shoulders
and airily entered a classroom.
Meanwhile Edna Gay was staring
at Professor Straker with eyes of
brilliant anger Anger for him, not
toward him. Her eyes understood SO
well, championed him so profoundly,
that they impaired sympathy at the
same time that they exposed his
shame.
"such girls!" she exclaimed with
an intensity that viorated through
her cruelty deformed little body.
"Such girls! 1t is the same with me
as with you. They allot us our roles
and are astonished if we would escape
the bounds. You are to play the
piano-you are piano-playins ma
chine. Woe, if the machine develops
a hearti | am to play the violin.
She stretched out her Ions, awkward
arms. 81 may be clever as possible
with my head and carry off prizes
with these ugly hands. But I am not
to have feetl No! Nor any love OF
rhythm to be expressed by the mo-
ton of the body! MOI" She stopped
In passionate silence.
"Are you fond of dancingg' he in
quired slowly. And in spite of him
self incredulity had not been kept
wholly from his tone.
Even you are surprised" she an
swered bitterly. "Since you ask, I
love it. Yet who expects me to
dance? Nobody"
Nobody knows that you care to
dance" he began,
Nobody shall know" she retorted.
81 should only be rebuffed, in an
other way, just as you have been.
You are a professor. l am a de-
formed girl. Therefore, we do not
dance"
Suddenly she laughed ruefully. as
though sorry for her outbreak. But
have my enjoyment" she added,
gently. '"There is a dark turn in the
big hail above the dancing room.
There I go and hide me, early; and
while the orchestra plays, dance
and dance and dance, all to my own
self. And | am very happy" Her
face became softly TRANSPORTED. 'Tf
YOU care to find my little nook she
offered, snyly, land, like me, can
dance alone, for love of it, 7 shall
not turn you out-we two undesir-
ables-'
Being q temperamental young man.
the professor felt his heart nearly
turn in pity. my dear Miss Cay"
he said. with gravest courtesy, ''if
lou will do me the honor Of dancing
with me, and extend me an invitation
to this affair of your senior class,
we certainly shall not secrete our
selves in your little nook. Let us
come cut and dance in the open with
the others and be equally gay"
The girl was dumfounded. DO