The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1922-04-14

the idea Colburn isn't that way, and
back at school there wasn't single
boy that was anything like that"
"'What ~" She stopped, and turned
suddenly to face him.
whats the matter?" he said, stop
ping, too. Something he said had
startled her, evidently.
"How can you say such a thingT"
she cried. "You love to fight"
"MeT
"You do! You love fighting. You
always have loved fighting"
L He was dumfounded. "Why, never
had fight in my life!"
She cried out in protest Of such pre-
varication.
swell, l never did," he insisted,
mildly.
"Why. you had fight about mel"
"No, l didn't"
"With Wesley Bender!''
Ramsey chuckled. THAT wasn't a
fght!".
sit wasn't?"
Nothing like one. We we're just
guyfn' him about-about gettin slicked
up. kind of, because he sat in front of
you; and he hit me with his book strap
and chased him off. Gracious, no !;
that wasn't a fght!"
"But you fought Linski only last
fall"
Ramsey chuckled again. "That
wasn't even as much like fight as the
one with Wesley. 4 just told this
Linski was goin' to give him punch
in the sn- just told him to look
out because was goin' to hit him, and
then l did it, and waited to see if he
wanted to do anything about it, and he
didn't. That's all there was to it, and
it wasn't any more like fighting than
than feeding chickens is"
She laughed dolefully. SIT seems
to me rather more like 1t than that!"
swell, it wasn't"
They had begun to walk on again.
and Ramsey was aware that they had
passed the frat house." where his
dinner was probably growing cold. He
was aware of this, but not sharply or
insistently. Curiously enough, he did
not think about it. He had begun to
find something pleasant in the odd in
terview, and in walking beside girl
even though the girl was Dora Yocum
He made no attempt to account to
himself for anything so peculiar.
For a while they went slowly to-
gether, not speaking, and without des-
tination, though Ramsey vaguely took
it for granted that Dora was going
somewhere. But she, wasn't They
emerged from the part of the small
town closely built about the university
and came out upon bit of parked
land overlooking the river; and here
Dora's steps slowed to an indeter-
inmate halt near a bench beneath a
maple tree.
II think I'll stay here a WHILE" she
said; and as he made no response, she
asked: Hadn't you better be going
back to your frat house for your din
ner? l didn't mean for you to come
out Of your way with me; only wants
ed to get an answer to my question.
You'd better be running back"
"Well-"
He stood irresolute, not sure that he
wanted his dinner just then. 1t would
have amazed him to face the fact de-
liberately that perhaps he preferred
being with Dora Yocum to eating.
However, he faced no such fact, nor
any fact, but fingered.
"Well-" he said again.
"You'd better 60"
II guess can get my dinner pretty
near any time. l don't" He mad a
thought. "Did you"
did I what?"
did you have your dinner before !
met your"
mo"
swell, aren't you"
She shook her head. 81 don't want
any,"
"Why not?'
81 don't think people have very much
appetite today and yesterday" she
said. with the hint of sad laugh, "all
over America"
No; guess that's So"
Its too terrible!" she said. 81
can't sit and eat when think of the
Lusitania-of all those poor, poor peo-
pie strangllng in the water"
mo; guess nobody can eat much,
if they think about that"
sand of what it's going to bring, if
we let it," she went on. "As If this
killing weren't enough, we want to add
our killing! Oh, that's the most ter
rible thing of all-the thing it makes
within us! Don't you understands"
She turned to him appealingly. and
he felt queerer than ever. Dusk had
fallen. Where they stood. under the
young-leaved maple tree, there was but
a faint lingering of afterglow, and in
this mystery her face glimmered wan
and sweet; so that Ramsey, just then,
was like one who discovers an old
pan, used in the kitchen, to be made of
chased silver.
swell, don't feel much like dinner
right now" he said. "We-we could
sit here awhile on this bench, prob'Iy."