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Show .iiiiiiitiiiinitTiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiini iii!iiiiiii!i!iiiiiiiiii:iii:iEUiiiciiiiiii;ci:TTTT:iii:niti:ii:iiiiinnL: f By BOOTH TARKINGTON f H Copyright by Doubleday, Pago 6 Company 2 FTl il tM 1 1 1 1 II 1 1 lit III 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 II 1 1 E 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 C 1 1 1 1 ! 1 1 U 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 ! 1 1 II 1 1 1 ! I ! 1 1 1 1 ! I E!1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ! 1 1 rri 1 1 ! 1 1 1 1 1 LI 1 1 m.t ; 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 L! L: II C 1 ES i' from Washington today ! I tell you, I've spent the meanest afternoon I ever (J'.u fn my life, and I guess It's been pretty much the same with all of us. The worst of It la, It looks as though there Isn't a thing In the world we can ck. The country's been betrayed be-trayed by a few blatherskites and boneheads that hud the power to do It, and all we can do we've just got to stand It. But there's some Americans that aren't just standing It, and I want to tell you a lot of 'em are men from the universities, Just like us. They're over there right now ; they haven't said much they just packed up and went. They're flying for France and for England and for Canada; they're fighting under every flag on the right side of the western front ; and they're driving ambulances at Verdun and ammunition trucks at the Somrae. Well, there's going to be a lot more American boys on all these jobs mighty soon, on account of what those men did in congress today. If they won't give us a chance to do something some-thing under our own flag, then we'll have to go and do It under some other flag; and I want to tell you I'm one that's going to go I I'll stick It out in college up to Easter, and then If there's still no chance to go under the Stars and Stripes I'll maybe nave to go under the flag my great-greatgrandfather fought against In 1770, but, anyhow, I'll go!" It was in speaking to Ramsey of this declaration that Dora said Fred was a "dangerous firebrand." They were taking another February walk, but the February was February, 1917; and the day was dry and sunny. "It's just about a year ago," she said. I "What is?" Ramsey asked, "That first time we went walking. Don't you remember?" "Oh, that day? Yes, I remember It was snowing." "And so coJd and blowy!" she added. "It seems a long time ago. I like walking walk-ing with you, Ramsey. You're so quiet and solid I've always felt I could talk "No," said Ramsey. "I never wafc much of a " He paused, fearlns that he might be repeating himself, and too hastily amended his Intention. "I never liked any girl enough to go and call on her." "Ramsey Milholland I" she cried. "Why, when we were In school half the room used to be talking about how you and that pretty Milla " "No, no!" Ramsey protested, again too hurriedly. "I never called on her. We just went walking." A moment later his color suddenly became fiery. "I don't mean I mean " he stammered. "It was walking, of course I mean we did go out walking, walk-ing, but It wasn't walking like like this." He concluded with a fit of coughing which seemed to rack him. Dora threw back her head and laughed delightedly. "Don't you apologize apolo-gize !" she said. "I didn't when I said it seemed to me that we've gone walking walk-ing so often, when In reality It's only four or five times altogether. I think I can explain, though : I think It came partly from a feeling I have that I can rely on you that you're a good, solid, reliable sort of person. I remember from the time we were little children, you always had a sort of worried, honest hon-est look In school, and you used to make a dent In your forehead you meant (t for a frown whenever I caught your eye. You hated me so honestly, hon-estly, and you were so honestly afraid I wouldn't see If!" "Oh, no no " "Oh, yes yes!" she laughed, then grew serious. "My feeling about you that you were a person to be relied on, I mean I think It began that evening eve-ning In our freshman year, after the Lusltania, when I stopped you on the campus and you went with me, and I couldn't help crping, and you were so nice and quiet. I hardly realized then that it was the first time we'd ever really talked together of course I did all the talking! and yet we'd known each other so many years. I thought of it afterward. But what gave me such a different view of you, I'd always al-ways thought you were one of that truculent sort of boys, always just bursting for a fight ; but you showed me you'd really never had a fight In your life and hated fighting, and that you sympathized with my feeling about war." She stopped speaking to draw in her breath with a sharp sigh.. "Ah, don't you remember what I've told you all along? How It keeps coining closer and closer1 and now It's almost here! Isn't It unthinkable? And what can we do to stop it, we poor few who feel that we must stop it?" "Well " Ramsey began uncomfortably. uncomfort-ably. "Of course I I " "You can't do much," she said. "I know. None of us can. What can any little group do? There are so few of us among the undergraduates and only one in the whole faculty. All the rest are for war. But we mustn't give up ; we must never feel afterward that we left anything undone; we must fight to the last breath !" "'Fight'?" he repented wonderingly, then chuckled. CHAPTER XII. Continued. 15 Ramsey looked dogged. ''I'm not goln' around always arguin' about everything when arguin' would just hurt people's feelings about something they're all excited about, and wouldn't do a bit o' good in the world and you know yourself Just talk hardly ever settles anything so I don't " "Aha !" Fred cried. "I thought so ! Now you listen to me " "I won't. I" But at this moment they were Interrupted. Inter-rupted. Someone slyly opened a door, and a snowball deftly thrown from without caught Ramsey upon the back of the neck and head, where it flattened flat-tened and displayed Itself as an ornamental orna-mental star. Shouting fiercely, both boys sprang up, ran to the door, were caught there in a barrage of snowballs, ducked through It In spite of all damage, dam-age, charged upon a dozen besweatered figures awaiting them and began a mad battle In the blizzard. Some of their opponents treacherously Joined them and turned upon the arubushers. In the dusk the merry conflict waged up and down the snow-covered lawn, and the combatants threw and threw, or surged back and forth, or clenched and toppled over into snowbanks, snow-banks, yet all coming to chant an ex- temporized battle-cry in chorus, even ' as they fought the most wildly. ' "Who? Who? Who?" they chanted. "Who? Who? Who says there ain't goLu' to be no war?" CHAPTER XIIJ. So everywhere over the country, that winter of 1916, there were light-hearted boys skylarking at college, or on the farms; and in the towns the young machinists snowballed one another an-other as they came from the shops; while on this Sunday ef the "frat" snow fight probably several hundreds of thousands of youthful bachelors, between be-tween the two oceans, went walking, like Ramsey, each with a girl who could forget the weather. Yet boys of nineteen and in the twenties were cot light-hearted all the time that winter win-ter and that spring and that summer. Host of them knew long, thoughtful moments, as Ramsey did, when they seemed to be thinking not of girls or wtirk or play nor of anything around them, but of some more vital matter or prospect. And at such times they were grave, but not "ungentle. For the long strain was on the country; coun-try; underneath aJJ Its outward seeming seem-ing of things going on as usual there shook a deep vibration, like the air trembling to vast organ pipes in dia-lutsons dia-lutsons too profound to reach the ear as sound ; one felt, not 'heard, thunder in tlie ground under one's feet. The succession of diplomatic notes came to an end after the torpedoing of the Sussex; and at last the tricky .ruling Germans In Berlin gave their word to murder no more, and people said, "This means peace for America, and .all is well for us," but everybody knew in his heart that nothing was well for us. that there was no peace. They said, "All is well," while .that V thunder in the ground never ceased "Oh, as a figure of speech," she said impatiently. "Our language is full of barbaric figures left over from the dark ages. But, oh, Ramsey !" she touched his sleeve "I've heard that Fred Mitchell is saying that he's going to Canada after Easter, to try to get into the Canadian aviation corps. If it's true, he's a dangerous firebrand, I think. Is It true?" v "I guess so. He's been talking that way, some." "But why do you let him talk that way?" she cried. "He's your rommate; surely you have more Influence with him than anybody else has. Couldn't you " He shook his head slowly, while upon his face the faintly indicated modelings model-ings of a grin hinted of an inner laughter at some surreptitious thought. "Well, you know, Fred says himself sometimes. I don't seem to he much of a talker exactly !" "I know. But don't you see? That sort of thing Is contagious. Others will think they ought to go If he does; he's popular and quite a leader. Can't you do anything with him?" She waited for him to answer. "Cun't you?" she Insisted. The grin had disappeared and Ram sey grew red again. (TO BE CONTINUED.) It grew deeper and heavier till all America shook with It and it became slowly audible as the voice of tine old American soil, a soil wherein lay those who had defended it aforetime, a soil that bred those who would defend it again, for It was theirs ; and the meaning mean-ing of It Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit Pur-suit of Happiness was theirs, and theirs to defend. And they knew they would defend It, and that more than the glory of a Nation was at stake. The Freedom of Man was at stake. So. gradually, the sacred thunder reached the ears of the young men and gave them those deep moments that came to them whether they sat In the classroom class-room or the counting-room, or walked with the plow, or stood to the machine, or behind the ribbon counter. Thus 7 the thunder shook them and tried them and slowly came Into their lives and changed everything for them. Hate of the Germans was not bred ; but a contempt for what Germany had shown In lieu of a national heart ; a contempt as mighty and as profound as the resolve that the German way and the German will should not prevail pre-vail in America, nor In any country of the world that would be free. And when the German kaiser laid bis command com-mand upon America, that no American should take his ship upon the free : "J Never Liked Any Girl Enough to ; Go and Call on Her." j to you just anyhow I pleased, and yon , wouldn't mind. I'll miss these walks wilh you when we're out of college." He chuckled. "That's funny!" "Why?" "Because we've only taken four be- shl.es this: two last year, and another ; week before last, and another last ; week. This Is only the fifth." , "Good gracious! Is that nil? If j seemed to me we'd gone ever so often !" She laughed. "I'm afraid you won't think that seems much as If I'd liked going, but I really have. And. by the way. you've never called on me at all. Perhaps It's because I've forgotten for-gotten to ask you." "Oh. no," Ramsey said, and scuffed his shoes on the path, presently explaining ex-plaining rather huskily that he "never was much of a caller"; and he added, "or anything." "Well, you must come If yon ever care to," site said, with a blg-slster graclousness. "The Dorm chaperon sits there, of course, but ours Is a Jolly one and you'd like her. You've probably prob-ably met her Mrs. Hustings? when you've called on other girls our old shop." PSnnnnnnnnnnnnr seas, death being the penalty for any who disobeyed, then the German kaiser got his answer, not only to this new-law new-law he had made for us, but to many other thoughts of his. Yet the answer an-swer was for some time delayed. There was a bitter Sunday, and ItB bitterness went everywhere, to every place in the whole world that held high and generous hearts. Its bitterness bitter-ness came to the special meeting In the "frat hall," where Miere were hearts, Indeed, of that rig it sort, and one of them became vocal a Its hltter-" hltter-" ness. This was the heart of Frto Mitchell, who was now an a-ithorlty, being president of the Junior class. efcairmn of the Prom committee, and other things pleasant to be and to live for at his age. "For toe, brothers," he said, "I think I'd great deal rather have been shot through th bead than heard the news |