Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1916-04-14
HIS TWO
HOBBIES
By F. A. mitchell

NSu SOTW1u WINE III COIlOS6, CuOuSH
good fellow and by no means grind,
was a fine scholar and developed a
marked taste for zoology. Extinct ami
mails were his hobby-that is, one of
his hobbies, the one next in Importance
with him being girls. Singular it Is
that bones thousands Of years old and
the most beautiful Of living things-to
men-should reign side by side in the
breast of q man.
Later on Ned became a professor in
his alma mater.
One day a newspaper announced that
in an interior county of the state, not
far from the college, farmer had,
while digging, turned up stony sub
stance that was beyond his comprehen-
sion. 1t was about two feet square
and rounded on the edges. The farmer
could not make out whether it was
bone or stone or indeed what was its
substance.
Ned saw the notice and inferred that
it was probably vertebra of an ex-
tinct animal. He at once went to the
location designated, with a view to an
investigation. On arrival he was re-
ceived by the daughter of the farmer,
She was a very pretty rustic, and for
the moment Ned forgot all about the
bones in his admiration of the girl.
However, his admiring glances were
interspersed with the reasons for his
being there, and it was not long be-
fore she gave way to surprise that he
had come all the way from the univer-
sity to examine piece of stone. She
told him where he could find it and,
after having made a little incipient
love to her, which he we'll knew how
to do with his eyes without using his
tongue, he took a spade from an out
house and went to examine the stone.
When the young professor returned
from his investigations he was greatly
changed He had been under the in
1uence Of one of his two natures, now
he was under the other. He had been
absorbed in girl, now he was absorb
ed in the petri1ed remains of an ich-
thyosaurus. He talked to the girl, but
his mind was on the ichthyosaurus.
''It's carnivorous," he said. 'They all
were"
"Whaty' exclaimed the girl, opening
her eyes. ii
1.-THE snout Of a porpoise; the teeth
Of crocodile
There was no reply to this. nothing
but look of wonder.
'The sternum of an ornithorhynchus
combined with the paddles Of a whale"
"Oh, my good gracious" exclaimed
the girl, ''he's crazyw -
Fish vertebrate. lizards head"
! Father cried the girl In terror.
But her father was out in the fields
and did not hear.
-Four paddles and an enormous tail
Must have surely been aquatic"
This was quite enough for the farm
er's daughter. She had no doubt that
the visitor was mad, and it behooved
her to beat retreat. She dare not
run for fear of being followed and
murdered. She was Of good pluck, and,
fixing her eyes on Ned's, she backed
toward the house, On reaching the
door she slipped inside, boiling it be-
hind her.
What the dickens is the matter with
that girl?" said Ned to himself, sud-
denly aroused from his reverie about
the ichthyosaurus. The farmers daugh-
ter fed through the house, out by the
back door and, keeping in line with
outhouses and trees to screen her from
the maniac, found her father at the
plow.
what in the world is the matter,
Cynthie?" he asked, stopping the horses
and looking at her in establishment.
"Have you seen a ghostw
Worse than that, dad. There's
crazy man on t'other side of the
house."
"How do you know he's crazy2'
"Fust off he looked as If he wanted
to kiss me; then he borrowed a spade
and went to where you turned up the
rock t'other When he come back