The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-04-21
a positive relief if she'd

1t would be a positive relief if she'd
say no now"
The door of number four opened to
let the children in and he caught an
other flash of Hopes eyes He had
taken two steps in that direction, but
retreated hastily. Hanged if III
apologize. She's perfectly capable OF
taking care of herself. Shes pretty
when she's mad, thought By Jove,
she's always pretty. She has a smile
and voice that would coax a bird off
tree"
The school filled and quoted. Doors
closed and a song rang. The after
noon work was on.
In the next week it was wonderful
how head dressings took on waves and
puffs, flat heels grew inches high and
cheeks bloomed. Smiles were every
where-yet there was a certain eX-
clusiveness quite apparent among the
teachers, who regarded one another
with suspicious GOODNESS. None of this,
however, reached the puzzled prin-
cipal, who had never experienced such
overwhelming attention as he was
now receiving. PerpleXity turned to
wariness when Genevieve Travis
asked for private interview, and as
delicately as she could, suggested her
self as fitting life mate for him, stat
ing that she knew the ways of the
world and society, and. leaving senti-
ment out of the question, a man of his
would do him credit. He refused her
offer as kindly as he could, but firmly,
and when Mysteries threatened he
grabbed his hat, calling in the as
sistance of his secretary
The next day Charity Brown, plainly
and without any vanishing, popped
| the question. Prof. Aylmer retreated
instantly. thinking she had lost her
senses. But in the next fortnight he
/ had received fourteen perfectly good
! mr. 1e Of u,.,-ia f,f xxvhi Q ha
and humbly and gratefully declined
He would have thought it joke, but
the attitude of the teaching force to-
ward one another proclaimed that il
was no laughing matter. Things were
serious.
There was one person left. Hope
Landing had not come forth to offer
her heart and hand. Ihis puzzled him
more than anything else. She shut
herself in her room daily and he saw
little of her. When he did-those eyes
still flashed. 1t was curious-the
whole thing. To make life more in
teresting, Judith had made a decision
in the negative. He was free!
I'D resign and chuck the whole
thing il school wasn't so nearly over,
he declared. -Four weeks more. then
Canada for me all summer. BY fall,
maybe. these worthy danes will have
pieced together their broken hearts
and forgiven me. 1 can't understand
seem suddenly to possess and the
omission of room four to follow suit
with the rest"
One day after 4 o'clock he was TAX
ing requisition slips to the first floor
rooms. In number four, Hope Lamb
ing was sealing a letter at her desk.
but her eyes, inste.d of flashing de-
fiance, were full of real tears.
It's my resignation" she said brok-
J emily. Il can't stand it here any long
er. The whole place is hateful to me!
: I'll never play another practical joke
, as long as 1 live" vehemently. Then
2 followed a confession of her plan To
get even with her superior. And,
after all, it was only cruel to those
poor souls here" she went on. I'm
: ashamed of myself"
, You needn't bel' he declared
5 ''They are a lot of geese. Hope, dear
love you. Could you take me or
i eighteen hundred a gear and a hear
} full of devotion"
q" she 1esitated, then smiled sud
; denly. why, yes. 1 suppose could
! Then we'll just hand this resigna-
| ton in to the board meeting tonight
he misunderstanding 1916. by
Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate)