Washington telegraph., 1922-05-26

trayed him.
go on and taught Wen, so we
stayed there quite a while, but before
we left she got kind Of more like every
day, you know, the way people do. 1t
was half-past nine when we walked
back to town, and / was commencin'
to feel kind OF hungry, so ! asked her
II she wasn't, and she sort Of laughed
and seemed TO be ashamed Of IT, as II
It was a disgrace or something, but
she said she guessed she was; so l
left her by that hedge Of lilacs near
the observatory and went on over TO
the Terra and the fruit store, and got
some stuffed eggs and olives and half
a-dozen peanut butter sandwiches and
box o. strawberries-kind of girl
food. YOU know-and went on back
there. and we ate the stuff up. So
then she said she was afraid she'd
taken me away from my dinner and
made me a lot of trouble, and so on.
and she was sorry, and she told me
goodnight"
"What did you say thenT
-'Noth- Oh, shut up So then she
skipped out to her Dorm, and l came
NoS home"
"when did you see her next, Ram
sey?"
81 haven't seen her next" said Ram
sew. 81 haven't seen her at all-not to
speak to. saw her on Main street
twice since then, but both times she
was with some other girls, and they
were across the street. and / couldn't
tell IL she was lookln' at mel kind Of
thought not l thought 1t might look
sort o. nutty to bow to her If she
wasn't, so didn't"
"And you didn't tell her you wouldn't
be one of the ones to help her with her
pacifsm and anti-war stuff and all
thatT
mo. started to, but Shut upl"
Fred sat up, giggllng $50 she thinks
you will help her. You didn't say any
thing at all, and she must think that
means she converted you. Why didn't
/, lyou speak upl"
swell, / wouldn't argue with her"
said Ramsey. Then, after a silence, he
seemed to be In need of sympathetic
comprehension. at was kind O. funny
Though, wasn't it?" he said, appealing
4 ,Jly.
- "What was?"
: "The whole business"
"What whole bus"
"Oh, get out Her stoppln' me, and
me goin' pokin' along with her. and
her-well, her crying and everything,
and me being around with her while
she felt so upset, mean. 1t seems
well, 1t does seem all kind O. funny to
me-"
"Why does it," Fred inquired pre-
serving his gravity. "Why should 1t
seem funny to your"
81 don't mean funny like something's
funny you laugh at" Ramsey explained
Alaboriously. II mean funny like some
II<wolNlef- nov II ever happened 10 nap
pen. | mean II seems funny I'd ever
be sittin' there on a bench with that
ole girl | never spoke to in my life or
had anything to do with, and talkin'
about the United States goin' to war.
What we were talkin' about, why, that
seems just as funny as the rest of It,.
Lookin' back to our class picnic, f'r
instance, second year of high school,
that day jumped in the creek after
Well, you know, it was when started
maxim fool of myself over a girl.
Thank goodness, got that out O. my
system 1t makes me just sick to look
back on those days and think of the
fool things 1 did, and all I thought
about that girl. Why, She Well, I've
got old enough to see now she was
just about as ordinary girl as there
ever was, and II l saw her now
wouldn't even think she was pretty !;
I'd prob'ly think she was sort of loud
lookin'. Well, what's passed is past,
and 1t isn't either here nor there.
What l started to say was this: that
the way 1t begins to look to me, Il
looks as If nobody can tell In this life
darn thing about what's goln' to hap
pen. and the things that do happen are
the very ones you'd swear we're the
last that could. mean-you look back
to that day of the plcnlc-myl but !
was rube then-well, mean you look
back to that day, and what do you
suppose I'd have thought then If some
body'd told me the time would ever
come when I'd be way off here at col
lege sittin' on bench with Dora Yo-
cum-with Dora Yocum, in the first
place-and her crying and both of us
talking about the United States goln'
to war with Germany Don't it seem
pretty funny to you, Fred. too?"
But as near as | can make out"
Fred said, that isn't what happened"
why isn't it7"
you say and both of us talking
and so on. AS near as can make out,
you didn't say anything at ALL"
We'll, ! didn't-much," Ramsey ad-
mltted, and returned to his point with
almost pathetic persistence. but
doesn't II seem kind O. funny to you,
Fred7"
well, / don't know"
ut does to me-" Ramsey insisted. "It
certainly does to me-"
Yes" said Fred cruelty. I've no
81. a A,,t IA