St. Tammany farmer., 1922-04-01

EA4
sort of thing is contagious Others will
think they ought to go if he does hes
popular and quite leader Can't you
do anything with him p
She waited for him to answer
"Can't your she insisted.
The grin had disappeared and Ram
sey grew red again.
He seemed to wish to speak, tC
heave with speech that declined to be
spoken and would not rouse up from
his inwards. Finally he uttered words
."II-well, L"
"Oh, know" she said. "a man
or boy always hates to be intrud.
Ing his own convictions uron other
men, especially in a case like this
where he might be afraid Of some
idiots thinking him unmanike. But
Ramsey" Suddenly she broke off
and looked at him attentively; his dis
comfort had become so obvious that
suspicion struck her. She spoke sharp
~ Ramsey, you aren't dreaming OF
xSing such thing, are your"
"ssSaat such thing?'
Erred hasn't influenced you, has he
You aren't planning to go with him,
are your"
"Where?"
'To join the Canadian aviation"
mo; hadn't thought of doing It,"
She sighed again, relieved. II had q
queer feeling about you just then
that you were thinking OF doing some
such thing. You looked so odd-and
you're always so quiet, anybody might
not really know what to think But
I'm not wrong about you, am I, Ram
sey7"
They had come to the foot Of the
steps that led up to the entrance of
her dormitory, and their walk was at
an end. AS they stopped and faced
each other, she looked at him earnest
ly; but he did not meet the scrutiny,
his eyelids fell.
.''I'm not wrong, am I, Ramsey?'
"About what?' he murlnured. un.
comfortably.
'You are my friend, aren't you?"
Eyes"
"Then it's all right" she said. .'That
relieves me and makes me happier
than I was just now, for of course if
you're my friend you wouldn't let me
make any mistake about you. l be-
lieve you, and now, just before l 60
in and we won't see much of each
other for week-if you still want me
to go with you again next Sunday"
"Yes-won't you. please?"
"Yes, If you like But l want to tell
you now that count on you in all this,
even though you don't talk much,' as
you say; l count on you more than
I do on anybody else, and I trust you
when you say you're my friend, and 1t
makes me happy.
"And I think perhaps you're right
about Fred Mitchell. Talk isn't ev-
erything, nobody knows that better
than I, who talk SO much and !
think that, instead Of talking to Fred,
a steady, quiet influence like yours
would do more good than any amount
of arguing. So trust you, you see?
And I'm sorry had that queer doubt
of you" She held out her hand. Gun
less happen to see you on the campus
for a minute, in the meantime, it's
goodbye until week from today. So
well, so, goodbye until then!"
wait" said Ramsey.
what is it?'
He made great struggle. I'm not
influencing Fred not to co. he said.
"I-don't want you to trust me to do
anything like that"
"N!hnt?'
VI think it's all right for him to 60
IL he wants to-" Ramsey said, mis-.
erably.
"You do? For him to go to fight?"
He swallowed. "Yes."
"Oh!" she cried, turned even redder
than he, and ran up the stone steps
But before the storm doors closed
upon her she looked down to where he
stood, with his eyes still lowered, a
lonely seeming figure, upon the pave
ment below. Her voice caught upon q
sob as she spoke.
IF you feel like that, you might az
we'll 60 and enlist, yourself she said