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Show X Why the Professor X X Changed His Mind 3Y HTJD0LPH S. SCHULDER, JR. THE Professor's long suit is original origi-nal research. He has never been known to, take thc word of another absolutely for anything. Every new theory or problem advanced he must demonstrate for himself. So, of course, I was not at all surprised when, one evening while wc were lying in our tent, he said: "One thing that I am especially desirous de-sirous of demonstrating to my complete satisfaction, on this trip, is whether skunk meat is palatable. We had held ourselves to one of the wooded canyons of this State for our summer outing; we were close to the heart of .nature, as the proffesor put it, away from civilization, its bans, pretensions pre-tensions and hypocrisies. Our tent was pitched on the bank of a rustling, sparkling little mountain stream, where the speckled trout was only too anxious anx-ious to rise to the proper fly. Then, there was game too, in that locality. When the professor announced that our menu card would read skunk a la mode one of these fine days, I merely answered that the meat might be very palatable to one deprived of the sense of smell, but I resolved to keep my weather eye peeled for one of the animals. ani-mals. It was my fondness for thc beauties of nature that got me out the following follow-ing morning before sunrise. Pulling myself from tho warm blankets into the brisk and frosty early morning air, I slipped away, leaving tho professor sleeping soundly in tho tent. To the peak of the mountain from where the richest colors and daintiest tlntings of the sun's first rays might best be observed, ob-served, it was an hour's climb. I usually remained up there what was perhaps another hour, making it, consequently con-sequently nearly three hours before I got back again to camp. "The professor has overslept," thinks I, noticing no fire or stir about thc tent when I approached camp this morning. My conjecture was far from being correct. The professor was just about as wide awake, and had been for about two hours, as he ever was. Cracking sticks and twigs beneath I my heavy shoes as I came through the timber, I made no little noise. A short distance from the camp I stopped, thinking I had seen a skunk moving about in the tent. I waited, and sure enough one of the little fetid animals stepped out while I stood there gazing. I made no movement, hoping he would trot off; but he evidently was in no hurry to leave us. The professor could stand the -suspense no longer; he made one flying loap through the door of the tent and, with a long club in his hand and vengeance In his heart, he made straight for that rancid little beast. Fortunately, the skunk beat a short (retreat before the professor landed; thnt Is, It was fortunate for us and our belongings. Well, tho atmosphere became dense and hazy, with a slightly yellowish tinge around the edges, and finally began to sizzle in the center when the professor gave vent to his feelings in the most forcible expletives of his vocabulary. "That little", insignificant creature," said the professor to me, after he had finished him, "has held mo captive in my own tent for three long hours. 1 never passed through such a miserable suspense in all my. life. I must have been shortly after you left," he continued con-tinued more soberly, "when I opened my eyes to see that black-and-white monster with its tall cocked high and Impudent over its back peering in at the door. Uninvited, he walked over my feet, and then proceeded to trample tram-ple all over me in the most audacious manner. What could I do but lie there like a stick? "He next made a careful examination examina-tion of everything in the tent." the professor continued. "I couldn't stand to watch him, and stealthily pulled the blankets up over my head and waited for tho worst Well, becoming tired of poking around, the little bunch of foul impudence curled up for a nap right alongside of my head. You probably can Imagine my feelings an I lay there bearing to move a muscle and hardly able or daring to take a breath. Those hourH were the most trying and uncomfortable un-comfortable I ever spent. That little beast never stirred until he heard you approaching." "Professor, the sunrise was beautiful beauti-ful this morning," I said. "It must have been grand," he answered; an-swered; "you were up there so long. I should liked to have seen, it." We deemed It advisable to chunge the scenery about our camp by moving it to a less highly odoriferous atmosphere, a few hundred yards farther up the creek. It was the first time the professor pro-fessor ever admitted defeat, but he said that night: "Skunk meat may be palatable, but I have changed my mind about demonstrating dem-onstrating the matter." |