The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1922-06-08

quietly.
"By George" And now Fred halted
In front of him, both being huskily
solemn. "I think I understand little
of what that means to you, old Ram
sey; l think I do. I think l know
something of what It costs you to
make that resolution for your coun-
try's sake" Impulsively he extended
his hand. "1t's a pretty big thing for
you to do. VIII you shake hands?"
But Ramsey shook his head. II
didn't do It. l wouldn't ever have done
anything Just on account Of her talk
in that way. She shut the door on
met was good while ago"
"She did What for?"
swell, I'm not much of a talker, you
know, Fred" said Ramsey, staring at
the pen he played with. I'm not much
of anything, for that matter, prob1y
but 1-well-I-"
"You what?"
"Well. I had to tell her didn't feel
about things the way she did. She'd
thought I had, all along, guess. Any
way, it made her hate me or some
thing, I guess; and she called 1t all
off expect there wasn't much to call
off, so far as she was concerned, any
how" He laughed feehly. "She told
me better go and enlist"
pleasant of her!" Fred muttered.
Especially as we know what she
thinks enlisting MEANS" He raised his
voice cheerfully. well, that's settled;
and, thank God, old Mr.. Bernstorlfs on
his way to his sweet little vne-clad
cottage homel They're getting guns
on the ships, and the big shows liable
to commence any day. We can hold
up our heads now, and we're going to
see some great times, old Ramsey boy
It's hard on the home folks-Gosh /
don't like to think of that! And l
guess it's going to be hard on lot of
boys that haven't understood what it's
all about, and hard on some that their
family affairs, and business, and so on,
have got 'em tied up so it's hard to 70
and of course there's plenty that just
can't, and some that aren't husky
enough-but the rest of us are going
to have the big time in our lives. We
got an awful lot to learn it scares me
to think of what l don't know about
being any sort of a rear-rank pri-
vate. Why, it's n regular profession,
like practicing law, or selling for
drug house on the road
"Golly! Do you remember how we
talked about that, way back in fresh
man year, what we We're going to do
when we got out of college? You were
going to be practicing law, for In
stance, and well, FIR instance, re-
member Colburn he was going to be
a doctor, and he did go to some medi-
cal school for one year. Now he's In
the Red Cross, somewhere in Persia
Golly!"
He paused, then chartered briskly
on. "Well, there's one good old boy
was with our class for n while, back
in freshman year; bet we won't see
him IN any good old army! Old rough
neck Linski that you put the Knob on
his nose for. Tommie Hopper says he
saw him last summer in Chicago soap
boxin', yellin' his head off cussin' every
government under the sun, but mostly
ours and the allies, you bot, and going
to run the earth by revolution and rep
reSentatives of unsllilled labor immi-
grants, nobody that can read or write
allowed to vote, except Linski. Tom
ME Hopper says he knows all about
LinSlli: he never did days work In
his life-too busy trying to get the
workingmen stirred UP against the peo-
pie that exploit 'emi TommIe says he
had big crowd to hear him, though,
and took up quite little money for
cause or something. Well, let him
holler! l guess we can attend to him
when we get back from over yonder.
BY George, old RAM I'm gettin' kind
of floppy In the gills!" He admins
tered Il resoundlng slap to his COM
radc's shoulder ut certainly looks as
If our big days were walking toward
us
He was right. The portcntous days
came on apace, and each one brought
new and greater portent. The, faces
of men lost driven look besetting
them in the days of badgcred waiting,
and instead of that heavy apprehen-
sion one saw the look mems faces must
have worn In 177G and 1861, and the
history of the old days grew clearer
in the new. The President went to
the congress, and the true indictment
he made there reached soothing Pots
dam with an unspoken prophecy some
what chilling even to Potsdam, one
guesseS-and then through an April
night went almost quietly the steady
word: we We're at war with Germany.
The bugles sounded across the CONT
nent; drums and flies played up and
down the city streets and in town and
village squares and through the conn.
trysides. Family in all ears there was
a multitudinous noise like distant.
hOarse cheering and a sound
like that was what Dora Yocum heard,
one night, as she sat lonely In her
room. The bugles and flies and drums
had been heard about the streets Of