The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-02-23
Page Three

had become angelic.
lie spent the rest Of the day daw-
ding hrlplrSsly about her; wherever
she went hc was near, ms near as pos
sihle, hut ~ no deliberate volitlon OF
ais own Something seemed to tie him
To- her. and Mlla was nothing 10th.
lie seldom looked ut her directly, or
for longer than an instant, and more
rarely stlll dld he speak 10 her except
~ n reply what few remarks he
yentured upon his own initiative near
ly all concerned the landscape, which
hp commended repeatedly in weak
voice, as kind of pretty" though once
he said he guessed there might be- bugs
iu tho bark Of lug On which they sat;
and he became so immuderntely per
soual a~ To- declare that IT the bugs
had To get ON anybody he'd rather
fhc, got ou him than uu Mila. She
said that was "iu,t perfectly lovely
e him asked where hc got his sweet
nature. and iu other ways encouraged
him To- cuutUu, HE revelation. but
Ramsey was unable to get forward
with TO-. though uu Opened aud closed
DIS mouth great many times in the
effort fu do So.
AZ five O'Clock everybody was sum
morrd again ro the rendezvous for
ceremony preliminary to departure;
the class found itself IN large circle,
standing. and sang The star SpangIed
Banner ordinarily, on such an open
air and out-of-school occasion Ramsey
would have Joined the chorus uproar-
iouSly with the utmost blatancy Of
which his vocal apparatus was capa-
/ Bile: and most of the other boys ex-
pressed their humOr by drowning out
/ the serious efforts Of the girls: hut
/ he sang feebly. not much more than
| humming through his teeth. Standing
/ beside Milla. he was incapable of his
former Inelegancies and his voice was
In -paralyzed condition. like the
rest Of him.
/ Opposite him. across the circle, Dora
Yocum stood little In advance OF
those near her for Of course she led
the singing Her clear and earnest
voice was dstlnguishable from all
others, and though she did not glance
toward Ramsey he had queer feeling
that she was assuming more superior
ity than ever, and that she was icily
scornful OF him and Milla. The old
resentment rOse-he'd "show" that girl
yet, some day
When the song was over, cheers
we're given for the class. "the good ole
class Of Nineteen Fourteen" the
school, the teachers, and for the pic
mic, thus officially concluded; and then
the picnickers, carrying their baskets
and faded wild flowers and other SOU
venirs and burdens. moved toward the
big express wagons" which were to
take them back into the town. Ram
sey got his guitar case, and turned to
Milla.
"Well-g'by."
"Why, no." said Milla. Anyway,
not yet. You can go back In the same
wagon with me. It's going to stop at
the school and let us all out there,
and then you could walk home with
me II you felt like It."
"Well-well, I'd be perfectly will
Ing" Ramsey said. "Only l heard we
all had to go back In whatever wagon
we came out In, and didn't come in
the same one with you. So"
Mile laughed and leaned toward him
a little. II already tended to that"
she said confidentially. II asked
Johnnie Fiske, that came out in my
wagon. to go back in yours, so that
makes room for you
"Well-then | guess l could do It,"
He moved toward the wagon with her.
81 expect II don't make much differ
ence one way or the other"
"And you can carry my basket n
you want to-" she said. adding solicit
ously, unless it's too heavy when you
already got your guitar case to carry.
Ramsey"
This thoughtfulness Of hers almost
overcame him; she seemed divine.
I-Tll be glad to carry the basket,
too" he faltered. "lt-it don't weigh
anything much"
swell. let's hurry, SOS We can get
places together"
Then, as she Unanswered him
through the little crowd about the
wagon. with a soft push this way and
a gentle pull that, and hurried him up
, the improvised steps and found place
where there was room for them both
, to sit. Ramsey had another GREATNESS
/, sensation heretofore unknown to him.
He found himself taken under dove
like protectorship; wonderful, mex
; pressible Being seemed to have become
his proprietor.
isn't this just perfectly lovelyr
she said cozily, close To his ear.
lie swallowed but found no words,
for he had no thoughts; he was only
an incoherent tumuIt. This was his
first love
isn't II, Ramsey?" she urged. The
coy voice had just the hint Of re-
proach. Don't you think it's just
perfectly lovely, Ramseyf"
"lesm"
, ITO be continued)