Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-09-30
President Drade's
Hard Test
BY AID scHUSTER
(Copyrlght.)

n
~ president of small college,
sensed his responsibilities and impor-
lance to the full. The fact that some
three hundred young men and women
looked up TO him as scholor and au.
thOrity filled him with pleasure
which he reelected In his appearance,
and yet he had his worries.
The college needed money and the
trustees were looking to the young
and handsome president to interest
wealthy parents in an endowment
campaign. In little book in the
presidents office were the nun.es of
those students whose fathers might be
considered as prospects, but President
Drade had no need to refer to II.
Mastering Information of this kind
was to him second nature until It was
said he had little distinctions In greet.
Ing which ranged from the formal to
the unctuous with Bill Plum at one ex-
IRENE and Elizabeth Lane at the 9th.
err. Ellzabeth's father was the richest
man In the state and Bill-well Bill
was good athlete.
Drade was undismayed at the finan.
cial problem, or would have been were
1t not for this same Bill Plum. Sup
pose, he asked himself, Elizabeth
should become engaged to PLUMP
What would the father sayi The
only possible answer would be for the
father to order the girl to leave col.
lege and then would disappear the
chance for any of the Lane money
finding its way into the Golfers Of
Brook college. Added to this was the
fact that Drade, himself, was In love
poets.
While the president was wishing
that Bill would violate one of the
many rules Of the school and so ex-
pose himself to expulsion, Bill was
making love to Elizabeth and the girl,
Gattered at the attention of star ath-
lete and college president, was deter.
mined to enjoy the double triumph AS
long US possible. This was the sltua-
tlon until she had to forget 1t to pre-.
pare for the annual essay award.
At Brook the essay award Is classl-
cal. Those who stood high In the lists
were regarded as made and the win
ner was looked upon as one who held
secure a mortgage on enduring fame.
As the manuscripts were sent In with
out signatures, 1t was President
Drades pleasure to say that there
were no opportunities for fayoritism
or previous records In scholarship to
influence the choice.
Elizabeth, nearing the end of her
college years, held the dream Of Il
triumphant graduation as the posses
sor Of the essay prize and she knew
while she labored on her manuscript
that the man who was to judge II
would be sorely tempted. She won
dered II Cecil Drade, despite his evil
dent culture and handsome appear
ance would allow thoughts Of her and
her fathers money to influence the
decision, and as she wondered she
knew she must find the answer. Cecil
was the sort Of man of whom her
father would approve. She shuddered
to think how her parents would re-
gard Bill. Yet 1t was to the younger
man she turned.
Suppose" she suggested, "you copy
my essay and copy yours. In that
way there will be no chance for Cecil,
the Judge, to play favorlte.
Bill grlnned with understanding
Suits me-" he answered, "but II he
spots my writing, yOu'll stand no
show"
SO the test was put up to Cecil
Drade who read half hundred manu-
scripts and narrowed the possibilities
to two. He smiled as he thought OF
his rule against typewriter manu-
scripts and at the ease with which,
under his plan, he could indemnity the
writer's, but he sat in his library until
early morning with the two papers be-
fore him. The one done In the hand
writing which could be none other
than Elizabeth Lanes, he knew, was
impossible. And what was worse, the
other revealed Bill Plum as a writer
VI ~ WOhiN w "'s-
pie to deny Bill the prize, for no one
read the discarded manuscripts. The
scholar In President Drade hesltated
before he could award the honor 20
the paper which, save for the telltale
script would not have been consld-
cred. He thought OF Elizabeth, OF
her pleasure and Of the advancement
Of his suit He knew her father
would be pleased, that this little hon
or might bring the endowment The
lover and business man conquered and
President Drade made his decision.
When he read the result to the
classes announcing the title and num-
Der of the essay, he held out the med
al, and looked at the seated students
waiting for Elizabeth to respond. BIZ
Plum rose and advanced and Presi-
dent Drade, grooming within himself
gave the prize to the writer Of the
worst essay In the lot. And what
was worse, he caught the quick glance
Of understanding exchanged by BIZ
and Elizabeth and knew his defeat
was cOmDlete