The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-01-02
EUening Story
Pledge to Old Orion
BY MARIE LA ROGUE


| galow there had just been vacated.
| Altho it was a cold New Years day,
the door and windows were open,
papers and excelsior were streWn over
! the porch and path Helen mounted
/ the porch steps and walked in the
| open door. She found a rather dis
consulate looking young man within
piling some books from a built-in
! bookcase into a hamper on the floor.
Il found you just in time said
4 of the collectors for She paused
and looked at the man, who had
turned and faced her with a quizzi-
cal smile en- his good looking face
| You're Mr.. Robert Jones, [ believe ?''
He nodded as if not too proud to
boast the identity. More bills he
sighed, digging a hand mechanically
into his pocket.
Its not exactly a bill As said
II am one of the volunteer collectors
for the orion university alumni fund
| Your name was given to me as one
of the men who had pledged money
for the fund, to be paid before Christ5
hmas and hadn't She hesitated, not
Mixing to give offense, land hadn't
come across" she added quickly.
How much had 1 pledged?" asked
the man with a sigh.
! Helen consulted a noteboolS~in her
| handbag. "A hundred dollars" she
read from the list of delinquents. I'm
sorry-but that was the amount"
| That's quite a large sum for a
poor devil that has had to sell his
| furniture and books to pay his credi-
tors 1 didn't realize it was as much
as that"
'Then I'm glad I came" she said
| jubilantly. "Of course you won't like
| to go back on your pledge-none of
| the Orion men ever do. But you see
! they gave me this list of the mer who
hadn't sent in their pledge money be-
cause I thought 1 could make it easy
| for them to pay. Some of the men
have families and all that, and it
really is hard. You're. down as a
bachelor" she said looking again at
her list.
yes" said the man, I'm all of
that-but what are you going to do
to make it easier for me to pay?"
why, you see, when college wom-
en- have to raise money for their alma
4 mater, they do something to earn the
money. Y on knOw-make sealing wax
beads or batik blouses or baskets or
something. I even know a girl that
baked bread for her pledge money. So
it seemed to me that the men who find
| it hard to raise their money could do
| Something in their spare time and get
their money that way without really
| having to scrimp for it Of course
you couldn't do just that same sort of
thing, but there are all sort of things
a man could do
What, for instance?" The man
| looked in vain for chair. I'm sorry
to keep you standing. Let's sit down
and talk things over on the stairs" So
they sat on the bottom tread of the
/ narrow bungalow stairs that led to the
! attic above the ground floor and talked
| matters over. If a man lived in the
| country, Helen suggested, he could
raise mushrooms. One man she knew
was going to raise guinea pigs and
rabbits for the college laboratory. The
professors in the biology department
at Orion had promised to patronize
| him.
/ "T don't know as that would appeal
to me-" laughed the delinquent alum
nus. I'D probably get so attached to
| the poor creatures after I'd raised
\ them that I'd be unwilling to ship
seriously, what do you think a fellow
like me could do. to raise money that
way?"
Helen looked him over with careful
scrutiny.
that you We're moving out of town
L would suggest that you come over
to our place in the spring and summer
| whenever you have any spare time
and pick berries and fruit. Anybody
| can do that, end We always have more
work than we can find men to do it.
L
it, do your"
why, not in the least" His smile
| showed that the proposition both
pleased and amused him. Besides,
I'm not really moving away-that is,
not far away
! 1T isn't as If you would be doing
| it for strangers" Helen explained. My
| father and brothers and unc1es ana
grandfathers back as far as anybody
\ can remember have gone to orion
| But 1 wouldn't want to meet them
while I was picking berries and
| cherries and things I'd only do it on
/ condition that they didn't see me-
| That could be arranged beautiful
| "" soothed the girl. They have
| given me charge of the farm. When
I'm not>busy collecting pledges for Or
| ton I'm out in the country inspecting
crops and trees and pigs and things.
! Really, I'm quite a farmer"
| Arrangements having been made for
| this Orion alumnus to report for work
| at her country place the third Satur-
| day afternoon in May for strawberry
picking, Helen started away.
Every Saturday afternoon and often
! whole days during the week the young
/ man reported for work at the Granger
! estate. Always he worked under
! HeIen's personal supervision and never
once did he encounter any of the
members of her family who might
! Know the secret Way IN winch ne was
making good his pledge to their alma
! mater.
One warm day in August, during
peach picking, Helen was not at hand
when her fruit picker arrived; but he
found his ladder in the accustomed
place and proceeded to work, unchal-
lenged by the farm hands in adjoining
| orchards
When Helen did appear she came
running breathless ana ordered her
employe to come down from the lad
der. An open letter fluttered in her
| hand. What in the world does this
| mean ?" she said accusing1y. Here is
| a letter signed Robert Jones, class of
/ 1918, but it's not your writing And
it couldn't be from you, anyway, be-
/ cause it contains a check for a hun
bred dollars. The note says: I am
sorry to send in my pledge money at
this late date. but last year suffered
/ financial reverses and have only just