Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1922-03-16
NY
, couple O. hundred people!

ion cackled, weakly. you can't get
out of it. You're goner, ole Buddy"
'I'll be sick, I'll be sick as dogl
TIL be sick as the sickest dog that
ever"
mo use, ole man. The frat
seniors1l be on the job. They'll know
whether you're sick or not, and they'll
have you there, right on the spot to
the minute!"
The prediction was accurate The
800 fatherly frat seniors" did all that
Fred said they would, and more. For
the honor OF the frat" they coached
the desperate Ramsey in the technic
of Lumen debate, told him many more
things to say than could be said in
six minutes, and produced him, de-
spairing, CHASTITY and believed, in the
large hall of the Lumen society at
eight o'clock on Friday evening.
Four other "twelve-minute debates"
preceded his and the sound of these,
| in Ramsey's ears, was the sound or
| Gabriel practising on his horn in the
! early morning of Judgment day. The
members of the society sat, three rows
| deep along the walls of the room,
leaving a clear oblong of green car
pet in the center, where were two
small desks, twenty feet apart, the
rostrumS of the debaters. Upon
platform at the head of the room sat
dreadful seniors, the officers of the
society, and, upon benches near the
platform the debaterS Of the evening
we're aligned. One of the trnternal
seniors sat with swetering Ramsey;
! and the latter. as his time relentlessly
! came nearer. made last miserable
squirm.
Look here, Brother Colburn, l got
to get out O here"
mo, you don't, young fellow"
Eyes, l do" Ramsey whispered, pas
sionately. Honest, I do. Honest,
Brother Colburn, l got to get drink
Of water. l got tor
mo. You can't"
Honest, Colburn, l GOT"
"'Hushr'
Ramsey cast his dilating eyes along
the rows of faces. Most of them were
aware Che thought of formidable
and horrible impressive scrutiny Of
himself, a glare seeming to pierce
through him to the back of the belt
round his waist, so that he began to
have fearful doubts about that belt,
about every fastening and adjustment
of his garments, about the expression
| of L; nt
things jumbling together in his con-
seriousness. Over and over he whis-
pered gaspingly to himself the open
ing words of the sentence with which
a senior had advised him to begin his
| argument. And as the moment of SUI
preme agony drew close this whisper
ing became continuous: "In making
my first appearance before this honor
bic membership | feel constrained to
say in making my first appearance be-
fore this hOnOr'ble membership | feel
constrained to say in making my first
appearance before this honOr'ble mem
=. 1t had come. The chairman
announced the subject OF the fourth
freshman twelve-minute debate; and
Dora YOcum hitherto unperceived by
Ramsey, rose and went forward to one
of the small desks in the open space,
where she stood compOsedly, a slim,
pretty figure in white. Members in
Ramsey's neighborhood were aware Of
a brief and hushed commotion, and a
fierce whisper, you can't! You get
up there.' And the blanched Ramsey
came forth and placed himself at the
other desk.
He stood before the silent popu-
lace Of that mOrgue, and it seemed to
him that his features had forgotten
that he was supposed To be their own
er and in control Of them he felt that
they were slipping all over his face,
regardless Of his wishes. His head
as a whole, was subject to an agita-
ton not before known by him; 1t de-
sired to move rustily in eccentric ways
of it's own devising; his legs alternate
| ly 1imbered and Strengthened under no
direction but their own; and his hands
clutched each other fercely behind his
|
evidently, but an assembled collection
of parts which had relapsed each into
| it's own individuality. In spite of them,
he somehow cOntrived the sembance
Of bow toward the chairman and the
semblance of another toward Dora, of
whom he was but hazily conscious.
| Then he opened his mouth and, not
knowing how he had started his voice
going, heard it as If from distance.
I'm making my first appearance be-
fore this honor'ble membership / feel
restrained to say" He stopped
short, and thenceforward shook visi-
bly,. After a long pause, he managed
to repeat his opening, stopped again,
swallowed many times, produced
handkerchief and wiped his face, an
act of necessity-then had an inspira-
ton