Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-11-14

~ LII CLASS. L made 1T rather
q point TO attend classes, though 1T was
unnecessary, for 1 didn't suppose any
professor would have dared to make
trouble. Still, l was i'm college for the
purpose and besides. it was a bad
thlhg 1of us leaders to cut classes n
s.aft mat sort of business among the
student body. Lit. was q ghastly bore.
1t was nothing but a bunch Of obitu-
arles and a boost for a lot of books on
.he pack shelves of the libraries. Beo-
MulI was about as valuable to me as
.ie Duke of Buckingham's head would
nave been. n l didn't care a holey
soc whether Chaucer lived in the
nnif1eeh1h century or in hoe signo
Vlhces. l declined to bone on the stuff,
pu1 IT was easy to stall through it,
ana 1t was a good class in which to
study types. There were a lot of queer
lolks IN lt-people who seemed to think
: mat sort of thing was important-folks
of college life.
was sitting in Lit. class one day
late in November, with my feet
stretched out. thinking rather intently
on a little stunt l was working up
for the banjo club, when 1 suddenly
heard a silence-funny how loud a
silence can be. l looked up quickly.
Every eye was glued on me, and Pro
lessor Timmons was looking at me with
a queer smile.
Then l knew 1 had been called on. II
beg your PARDON said 1 to the profess
or. Did you call on me?" l was very
polite and considerable.
Il did" said Professor Timmons, still
smiling. The class laughed right out.
1t nettled me a little. but 1 let it pass.
What was it?" 1 asked.
The class laughed again. Professor
Timmons laughed too. I'm sorry to
disturb YOU, Mr.. Simmons said he,
.b,,+ ,r;11 1t,,l1,. %1J1 49,. ,,A, -l,o
the fame of Cowper chiefly rests?"
was perfectly frank. I'll be
hanged if l know" l said pleasantly.
If the class had had any sense it
would have laughed at my joke as we'll
as at the professors. But there wasn't
a giggle. Professor Timmons didn't say
anything for about 10 minuteS-or
maybe 10 seconds. Then he cleared
his throat
You haven't favored us with very
much knowledge this term, Mr.. Sim
MONS" he said in a disquietingly quiet
way. Are you planning to remain
with me permanently?"
That was all. But it was enough. 1t
finished Professor Timmons with me.
l didn't open my mouth, and when the
class was dismissed l stalked out
through that bunch as If they had
been red ants. l had been SO
mad in my life. I had been called
1 ttON II DCIOIS llIS ioo w L 10y $3.50
mons. it's president-called down by a
cheap professor, who wasn't anything
but "a cold storage warehouse for dates.
1 simply boiled. For a minute l thought
of quitting school. I dropped the idea.
however. 1t wasn't the colleges fault.
leader of the banjo club, 1 burned that
bunch up good and plenty. told him
lust what 1 thought about the whole
business. IF l hadn't been too much OF
a gentleman" l stormed. Il would nave
shown up that old fossil right before
what he was doing for the coll, besides
trying to funk the students who are
putting up a fight for it. But l didn't:
and it wasn't because l was afraid OF
the faculty either.
That was Ashcroft's chance to come
in with. a little sympathy. But he
didn't. When 1 nae finished there was
another of those %stillnesses that you
can almost chew up and swallow.
| l looked at Ashcroft. He was smiling
in a sort Of queer way. Finally he
reached over and patted me-me-on
the back just as If l had been a yell
low dog.
Never mind, Petey," he said. I'VE all
have our brain storms. You'll be bet
ter pretty soon"
Nice thing to hand out to a fellow,
wasn't it? I was furious. Ashcroft
wasn't so much. anyway. If l hadn't
come into his old banjo club that fall
it would ave had hard pulling on the
solo part. 1 just turned on my heel as
ccnspicuously as l could and left him.
l figured that about five months of cold
p%oliteness on my part would teach him
a few things about courtesy.
l strolled Over to the football field.
where the team was having final prac,
tice before the Thanksgiving game, and
I got sorrier for myself at every step.
No matter What a fellow does in the
world, he isn't appreciated. He can
work himself n the grave for his
school, and the yaps who stand around
the first chance they get. BY the time
I had reached the field 1 had a right
good notion to cease all my activities
for a few monts and just let the school
sweat along. In fact, 1 decided to do
it. 1t made me feel better. I began to
picture to myself the pleasure 1 would
take in explaining my reasons to the
delegations from the banjo club and
the rooters' chorus and the freshman
class and the cotillion club. l would be
just as pleasant as I could be, but firm.
And when they had wormed the rea-
son out of me they would see what
comes Of being too darned fresh.
I thought 1t all out and it made me
good-natured. l strolled over to the
side lines, carefully unconscious Of the
fact that every n was looking at me.
and nodding here and there at the fell
lows of our crowd and the other stu
dents whom I knew. 1 always made it
a point to speak to a large number Of
students because I wanted to be DEM
~ocratic. Rogboom. the captain, was
out of practice that day with a lame
ankle and was sitting on the side lines.
l strolled over to him, pushed his hat
over his eyes. kicked him in the ribs.
and finally tackled him about the knees
and mt him down neatly a q Won plea GO