Cheraw chronicle. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, 1922-04-06
CHAPTER X.


Fred Mitchell, and usually his conf
dences were immediate upon the occa-
sion of them; but allowed several
weeks TO elapse before sketching for
his roommate the outlines Of this adj
venture.
"One thing that was kind o. funny
about it, Fred" he said, IL didn't
know what to call her"
Mr.. Mitchell, stretched upon the
window seat in their study" and look
ing out over the town street below
and the campus beyond the street had
already thought it tactful to ambush
his profound amusement by turning
upon his side, SO that his face was
companion. "What did you want TO
call herr" he inquired in serious
voice "Names?"
mo. You know what l mean. l
mean l had to- keep calling her you {;
and that gets kind of freaky when
you're taikin' to anybody good while
like that. When she'd be 'lOOkin' away
from me, for instance, or down at the
river, or somewhere. and I'd want 70
start Sayin' something to her, you
know, Why, l wouldn't know how to
get started exactly, without callin her
something. A person doesn't want to
be always startiL' off with See here
or things like that"
81 don't see why you let 1t trouble
you," said Fred "FrOm how you've
always talked about her, you had a
perfectly handy way to start off with
anything you wanted to say to her"
''What with?"
"Why didn't you just say, oh, you
Teachers Petr That would"
"Get out! What l mean is, she
called me Ramsey without any both
er; it seems funny got stumped every
time l started to say Dora Some way
couldn't land it, and it certainly
would a sounded crazy to call her
Miss Yocum' after sittin' in the same
room with her every day from the
baby class clear OH up through the end
of high school. That would "a made
me out an idiOtn'
"T'hat did you call her." Fred
asked.
Just nothin' at all. started to call
her something or other a hundred
times, l guess, and then I'd balk. I'd
get all ready, and kind of make sort
Of sound, and then I'd have to quit"
"She may have thought you had
cold" said Fred, still keeping his back
turned.
Il expect maybe she did-though
don't know; MOST the time she didn't
seem to notice me much, kind Of"
"She didn't?'
mo. She was too upset, guess, by
what she was thinkin' about"
"But if it hadn't been for that"
Fred suggested you mean she'd have
certainly paid more attention 10 who
was sitting on the bench with herr"
"Get out, You know how it was.
Everybody those few days thought we
were goin' to have war, and she was
iust sure of it, and 1t upset her. OF
course most people were lot more
upset by what those Dutchmen did to
the Lusitania than by the idea Of war;
and she seemed to feel as broken up as
\ anybody could be about the Lusitania.
but what got her the worst was the
notion of her country wantin' to fight,
hn raallN nnspt ron
Fred: there wasn't no putin on
about II. | guess that ole girl GER
tainly must have a good deal OF feel
ing, because, doggoned, after we'd
been sittin' there while If she didn't
have TO get out her handkerchief She
kept her face turned away from me
Just the same as you're doin' now to
keep from laughin'-but honestly, she
cried like somebody at a funeral. /
felt like the darndeSt fOOl!"
I'm not laughing" said Fred, but
he did not prove 1t by turning so that
his face could be seen. What did she
Say?'
"Oh. she didn't say such an awful
lot. She said one kind o funny thing
though: she said she was sorry she
couldn't quite control herself, but If
ANYBODY had to see her cry she minded
II less because 1t was an old school
mate. What struck me So kind O.
funny about that is-why, it looks as
II she never knew the way l always
hated her So"
Yes" said Fred. 1T wasn't fiat
tering"
"Wen, sir, 1t isn't, kind Of" RAIN
sey agreed, musmgly. ut certainly
isn't when you look at 1t that way"
"What did you say when she said
that? Fred asked.
"Nothin'. l started to, but l sort Of
balked again. Well, we kept on sitting
there. and afterwhile she began to
talk again and got kind of excited
ohOut how no war could do anything
or ANYBODY any good, and all war was
wicked no matter what it was about,
ond nOthin' could be good that was
founded on fear and hate, and every
war that ever was fought was always
founded on fear and hate. She said
if the Germans wanted to fight us we
ought to 20 to meet them and tell
them we wouldn't fight"
What did You say:
"NOthin'. ! kind o started to-but
what's the use? She's got that in her
head. Besides, how are YOU goin' to
....,,n ,hn,,t N thinm with Il nprSOn