The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1922-05-19

Ramsey Milholland
BY BOOTH HARRINGTON

BY BOOTH HARRINGTON

Observation-Disclosures
NO" said Ramsey. 81 never was
much Of " He paused. fearing
that he might be repeating himself,
| and too hastily amended his intention.
II never liked any girl enough to go
and call on her"
Ramsey Milholland!" she cried.
"Why, when we were in school half
the room used to be talking about how
you and that pretty Milla-"
I mo, mol" Ramsey protested, again
too hurriedly. II never called on her.
We just went walking"
A moment later his color suddenly
became fiery. 81 don't meant mean
-" he stammered. 'It was walking,
of course-I mean we did go out walk
ing, but it wasn't walking like-like
this" He concluded with a fit of
coughing which seemed to rack him.
Dora threw back her head and
laughed delightedly. Don't you apollo
gize!" she said. .I didn't when I said
it seemed to me that we've gone walk
ing so often, when in reality it's only
four or five times altogether. think 1
can explain, though: i think it came
partly from feeling rhave that can
rely ON you-that you're good, solid,
reliable sort of person. / remember
from the time we were little children,
you always had sort Of worried, hon.
est look In school. and you used to
make dent in your forehead-you
meant 1t for frown-whenever I
caught your eye. You hated me so hon.
estly, and you were so honestly afraid
1 wouldn't see it,"
ooh, Mono"
''Oh, yes-yes!' she laughed, then
grew serious. "My feeling about you
that you were person to be relied
on, meant think it began that eve
ming in our freshman year, after the
Lusitania, when stopped you on the
campus and you went with me, and
couldn't help crping, and you were SO
nice and quiet. hardly realized then
that it was the first time we'd ever
really talked together-of course did
all the talking land yet we'd known
each other SO many years. l thought
of it afterward But what gave me
such different view Of you, I'd al
ways thought you were one Of that
truculent sort of boys, always just
bursting for fight; but you showed
me you'd really never had fight in
your life and hated fighting, and that
you sympathized with my feeling about
war" She stopped speaking to draw
in her breath with sharp sigh. "Ah,
don't you remember what I've told you
all along? How it keeps coming
closer and closer-and now it's almost
here! Isn't it unthinkable? And what
can we do to stop it, we poor few who
feel that we must stop it,"
"Well-" Ramsey began uncomfort-
ably "Of course II"
"You can't do much" she said. II
know. None of us can. What can any
little group do? There are so few Of
us among the undergraduates
only one in the whole faculty. All the
rest are for war. But we mustn't give
up; we must never feel afterward that
we left anything undone; we must
fight to the last BREATH"
"'Fight'?' he repeated wonderingly,
then chuckled.
"Oh, as figure of speech" she said
impatiently. Our language is full Of
barbaric figures left over from the
dark ages. But, oh, Ramsey "-she
touched his sleeve-"Tve heard that
Fred Mitchell is saying that he's going
to Canada after Easter, to try to get
into the Canadian aviation corps. If
it's true, he's dangerous firebrand,
think Is it true?"
81 guess so. He's been talking that
way, some"
But why do you let him talk that
way?" she cried. "He's your roommate;
surely you have more influence with
him than anybody else has. Couldn't
you"
He shook his head slowly, while upon
his face the family indicated model
ings Of a grin limited of an inner
laughter at some surreptitious thought.
"Well, you know, Fred says himself
sometimes, l don't seem to be much of
a talker exactly"
81 know. But don't you see? That
sort Of thing is contagious. Others will
think they ought to go if he does; he's
popular and quite leader. Can't you
do anything with him."
She waited for him to answer.
"Can't you?" she insisted.
The grin had disappeared and Ram
sey grew red again.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)