Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-10-07

Bancroft did not care to so the rounds
with Jenny; he wanted to see Nancy home
from ME theater, but he had no good excuse
to offer Jenny.
Say. what's tn big idea?" demanded
jenny. breathlessly. A..
What idea?" said Bancroft.
This yankin' me across alleys . II you
thought a truck was comm out"
Did II" . t.
You did, an l felt my sleeve seams rip.
1t aln't ony. t'night; you've been doin' it
right along. Some bill collector chasin'
your" -WT
Jenny, I'm afraid of alleys
Yes you are!"
I'm not Joking. My horoscope says"
What kind Of a scope is that's"
The things that are going to happen to
you sometime in the future
40, you amt tellin' me you've been WIS.,
itin' mediums? can see. you with tn
ouija board on your knees-nix! You're
goin' t. be rich some day, an marry q lovely
girl. Lived in peace an died in grease an
buried In mutton taller That's what thay
used t say when I was a Kid" She began
to sing. . ,5."
Some little bug is eoin' t get you-u-u
Some ddu!,
y He laughed. Jenny was good company.
She was never still, physically or vocally.
and occasionally, when something touched
her heart, she was almost as beautiful as
Nancy.
II am honestly afraid OF dark ~alleyways.
Some day the little bug you speak about ts
going to jump out at me; and If I have time
1'm'going to beat It as fast as ever I can."
"Too fshy for mel Say, amt Nancy
regular, though? YouUon't realize what |
smash she's had. She's always been a bug on
grand opera, an old Sorrentino tells lier t
forget it. an stick t. tn sob. she's sol. Next
War she'll be TIL best Coincidence in Amer.
lea. She is low, but tn public amt wise
yet. That mechanical doll stunt has got
tn critics comm back, What d. you know
about that?" -
The elevated, rearing above them-f,r
they were mounting the stairs-saved him
from commenting. II was a queer feeling,
but he did not like to discuss Nancy with
Jenny. ID,
AS they finally ehte9ed the hallway of the
il house in Ninth street there happened one
of those t~ragi-comedies that are always tread
ing upon the heels Of youth. Without the
least prernonitibn of what he was going 20
do Bancroft threw his arms clurnsily around
Jenny's neck and kissed her.
Jenny stood perfectly still, the Color. gene
from her face, her mouth partly open. and
a something in her eyes as perhaps would
come there had the handsome boyish face
vanished, and a Japanese devil.lnask re-
placed it. ~
Jenny, Jenny! I didn't mean to do that,
I'm sorry! But you looked SO sweet. I'm
sorry. I didn't mean TO do itr'
That was to be Jenny's tragedy, forever
after. He was sorry. He hadn't meant to
kiss her.
A kiss is a perfectly foolish thing. But
what are you scientific old graybeards going
to- do about it? There it is; dissect it,
analyze it how you will. but where do you
60 from taerc?. Nowhere. Who taught 'hu.
man be!ngs-white human: beings-to kiss
one another? Nobody. It was the Begin
ming Of Things: it Is with US Now; it will
always be Here Bugs: Who cares?
Two pairs of lips. male and female
watch out! There. it Is, come and one
hence or whence nobody knows. Damnation
: sometimes; always a revelation. 1t is often
like two clouds meeting, there is thunder
: and lightning; again, it is as the falling leaf
touching the stream. light and inconse1uent.
Sometimes there is the inconsequence of the
, leaf on one side and thunder and stark light
ming on the other. Take care! A queer un-
nanneable reaction upon the senses. The
first gift we receive, and the last, with in.
Vulnerable intermediate instances.
The whites alone possess 1t, the act and
arr Oh klSSlNS. XAS oop, fAC"Ai1, "AA'sS wv
ers on the screen. is moved to laughter al
the sight of a man putting his lips to- those
Of a woman. The Jap does not understand
what it means. Neither do we! 1t is the
act, the desire, that is incomprehensible
but heaven help us with the aftermath, thai
is clear enough to us. We ind ourselves
trapped in the middle Of all manner Of emo
tons, good and evil. joyous and miserable
ecstatic and despairing.
y. - Aud vry},o - ~ Ihrnv7 Tn rcaciy,tnr thai
kiss, she, too, made a discovery: that she
loved this queer boy better than life itself
TnundcrNand lightning. That he was as fai
out Of her orbit as the farthest star. Tha1
she had not the intellect to trap and engage
his affections beyond the point of friendship
That. with the loyalty and willingness Of 6
dog, she would have come to his heel up ant
down the world, to the end Of time. All in 9
moment like that!
Tenebriic-the darkness that followed tn.
s~pangles of that oscnlatory contact.
And never to kiss him again! she thought
For she had kissed him.
First to recover, she said, defensively
Z" jeremiah. + ought Z hand you one on, tn
Jaw for that" s
made me do 1t. A God is witness, I neve
did such a thing before" n
you don't have Z tell your Aunt Mar.
that, Aloysium! It's no fun, bein' choked an
kissed all. at once" She could smile! !
was wonderful what you could do with you
face, whensyou had to.
win you forgive me"
q sure-if your promise never T. slip on
over like that again" Hoping he would
hoping with all the healthy nre Of her hear
thRt he would, ana knowing that, for tn
peace ofSher mind, she must not let hirn!>
o. my sword OF honorl You're such
J good connrade . I've been 80 lionel
all my life. 1.ss. !"
"Fergat II, Jeremiah, an toddle along.
bad. That's whore I'm gqin'., I'm tires
Say write out that Jennytkisscd-me thiA
an I'll call It SQUARE.
Shesgavef him d gentle push toward tn
stairs, and followed. It was hours hefor
sleep came To- her.
'aoh. Jeremiah whispered Jenny to- hel
self, ponder;nz on her problem before sh
finally fell aslasp. poor old Jenny kisse
you, all right s,