The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1922-04-21
CHAPTER x.
--12-..-.

sien Of them; but allowed several
weeks to elapse before sketching for
his roommate the outlines of this adj
venture.
Zone thing that was kind o. funny
about it, Fred" he said, II didn't
know what to call her."
Mr.. Mitchell, stretched upon the
window seat in their Study" and look
ing out over the town street below
and the campus beyond the street, had
already thought 1t tactful to ambush
his profound amusement by turning
upon his side, so that his face was
toward the window and away from his
companion. "What did you want to
call herr" he inquired In serious
voice. "Names?"
mo. You know what / mean.
mean / had to keep calling her YOU !;
and that gets kind Of freaky when
you're talkin' to anybody good while
like that. When she'd be lookin' away
from me, for instance, or down at the
river, or somewhere, and I'd want to
start sayin' something to her, you
know, why, wouldn't know how to
get started exactly, without calm her
something. A person doesn't want to
be always startin' off with See here
or things like that"
81 don't see why you let it trouble
you," said Fred. "From how you've
always talked about her, you had a
perfectly handy way to start off with
anything you wanted to say to her."
"What with?"
"Why didn't you just say, oh, you
Teachers .Pet!' That would"
"Get out! What I mean is, she
called me Ramsey without any both
er; it seems funny got stumped every
time started to say Dora Some way
1 couldn't land it, and it certainly
would "a sounded crazy to call her
Miss Yocum' after sittin in the same
room with her every day from the
baby class clear on up through the end
of high school. That would "a made
me out an idiot"
"What did you call herr" Fred
asked.
"Just nothin' at all. started to call
her something or other . hundred
times, 1 guess, and then I'd balk. I'd
get all ready, and kind Of make sort
of sound, and then I'd have to quit"
"She may have thought you had a
cold" said Fred, still keeping his back
turned
II expect maybe she did-though /
don't know; most the time she didn't
seem to notice me much, kind Of"
"She didnt?"
"No. She was too upset, I guess, by
what she was thinkin' about"
"But if it hadn't been for that"
Fred suggested, "you mean she'd have
certainly paid more attention to who
was sitting on the bench with herr"
sect out! You know how it was.
Everybody those few days thought we
were goin' to have war, and she was
just sure Of it, and it upset her. OF
course most people were lot more
upset by what those Dutchmen did to
the Lusitania than by the idea Of war !;
and she seemed to feel as broken up as
anybody could be about the Lusitania
but what got her the worst was the
notion of her country wantin' to fight,
she said. She really was upset, too,
Fred; there wasn't no putin on
about it. I guess that ole girl GER
tainly must have a good deal Of feel
ing, because, doggoned, after we'd
been sittin' there while If she didn't
have to get out her handkerchief! She
kept her face turned away from me-
just the same as you're doin' now to
keep from laughin'-but honestly, she
cried like somebody at funeral. I
felt like the darndest fool"
"rm not laughing" said Fred, but
he did not prove it by turning so that
his face could be seen. 'What did she
sayY
"Oh, she didn't say such an awful
lot. She said one kind o. funny thing
though: she said she was sorry she
couldn't quite control herself, but If
anybody had to see her cry she minded
1t less because it was an old school,
mate. What struck me so kind O.
funny about that is-why, it looks as
if she never knew the way always
hated her So"
"Yes." said Fred. sit wasn't fat
teringl"
"well, sir, it isn't. kind Of" RAM
sey agreed, musingly. ut certainly
isn't when you look at it that way"
"What did you say when she. said
that?" Fred asked.
"Nothin'. l started to, but sort of
baked again. Well, we kept on sitting
there, and afterwhile she began to
talk again and got kind Of excited
about how no war could do anything
or anybody any good, and all war was
wicked, no matter what 1t was about,
and nothin' could be good that was
founded on fear and hate, and every
war that ever. was fought was ALWAYS