The Spectator., 1915-04-27
THROUGH MANY DOORS By JANE OSBORN.
Copyright, 1915, by the Mcclure News
 paper Syndicate.)

paper Syndicate.)
 The first door was the front door and Lee Bateman passed that thresh. old one day toward the middle of that memorable senior year at college.
 Molly was different from the other girls in the college town. None of the boys knew her. It was said that Doctor Dare had refused to allow Mol ly to waste her time with the college boys, and wasn't this very fact added to the golden hair and the bewitching smile, enough to fire any college seniors spirit of adventure?
 But that first door-the front door of the rambling old mansion was the wrong way to find Molly. To be sure, Lee Bateman was received into the stately old mahogany drawing room and Mrs. Dare talked to him with unenthusiastic courtesy and had even made out the check that patron esses were expected to contribute to the senior dance. But Lees expecta- tions of seeing Molly were disap- pointed His only glimpse of her was a feeting vision through the window as she went out for an afternoon drive.
 Still there are other doors" he thought Molly doesn't come out of that door when she goes driving. She uses the side door" But the next day when Lee tried to approach that door in the disguise of book agent he found that the door was guarded by Molly's pet bulldog, who treated Lee with the usual canine cordiality toward book agents.
 Then there was the back door. All houses had back doors. Lee knew, and perhaps if he made his entrance that way he might find Molly making fudge in the kitchen. Luck had been against him so far and it was bound to turn. It was not hard to induce the grocer boy to let him deliver the rice and tea and coffee. and little change in the way of a cap and coat transformed him to the part. But Molly wasn't making fudge that afternoon. To be sure the cook was kind but Lee had no satisfaction in the encounter.
 The fourth door seemed the most difficult It was the doctors office door But somehow Lee went directly into the doctors private office. and before he realized what had happened he found himself being questioned by the doctor as to the trouble which had brought him there.
 "Sprained ankle" said Lee on the spot and the doctor immediately got to work with bandage and liniment. Ten minutes later, when Lee paid the doctor his fee, there was a twin kle in the old doctors eye.
 Lee jumped out through the pas sage into the hall of the house and there-the fates had relented at last he saw Molly. the gold hair and the sweet smile and the merry gray eyes. and even the pet dog who accepted Molly's recognition of Lee as sufficient reason to abandon hostilities.
 Molly Knew Mir. Bateman, and she was sorry that he had sprained his ankle and she opened the front door and watched him with concern as he limped down the front steps. It was only two minutes encounter. but 1t was enough to fire the ardor of Lees devotion.
 Lee limped-when he thought of it around the campus for the day and the next day he was one of the first afternoon patients waiting for the doctors professional services. There hon mi. ment, and then there was that won- derful passage through the house to the front door, where Molly again ap- peared The next day the ankle was no better. The doctor agreed with Lee that it needed daily attention. and Lees limp was so affecting that Molly drove him back to the campus in her pony cart
 The ankle had to recover. Bandages and Imminent would, of course, have their results. But there were other complaints that a senior might in- vent. There were sprained wrists and strained eyes and strange unaccount- able pains, and always the kindly doctor discovered symptoms that Lee had not even dreamed of, and always he accepted Lees spot payment with the same apparent satisfaction in money we'll earned. And always there was the passage through the house. and always there was Molly who seemed to hover near the passage way at office hours. Still Molly did not ask him to come by the side door or the front door, and Lee did not dare to ask her for the privilege. Some times Lee stayed a half hour and some times he felt that in Mollys smile he caught faint reflection of the devo- tion that had inspired his daily visits
 Then one day--it was nearing final examination time and Molly had been especially eager to know Lees plans for the future-I.ee had the tonga ticipated opportunity to tell Molly of L H. T -o1 S,. L- -, \,