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Show Doubloday, Pa 4 Company. CHAPTER X. Continued. 13 And, Jumping down from the window seat, he began to dunce round his mueh perturbed comrade, bellowlug. Ramsey bore with httu fur a moment, then sprang upon him; they wrestled vigorously, broke a chair and went to the floor with a crush lluit save the chnndeller in Mr3. Mei.es' parlor, below, be-low, an attack of Jingles. "You let me up!" Kred gasped. "You take your solemn until to shut up? You gotn' to swear it?" "All rlht. 1 give my solemn oath," said Kred; and they rose, arranging their tousled attire. "Well," said Kred, "when you goin' to mil on her?" "You look here !" Ramsey approached him dangerously. "You Just gave me your sol " "I beg!" Kred cried, retreating. "1 mean, aside from all that. why. 1 Just thought maybe after such an evening you'd feel as a gentleman you ought to go and ask after her health.' "Now. see here " "No, I mean It ; you ought to," Kred Insisted, earnestly, and as his roommate room-mate glared at him with complete suspicion, sus-picion, he added, in explanation. "You ought to go next Callers' Night, and send In your card, and say you felt you ought to ask If she'd suffered any from the night air. Even If you couldn't manage to say that, you ought to start to say it, anyhow, because yon Keep off o' me ! I'm only tryin' to do you a good turn, ain't I?" "Y"ou save your good turns for yourself," Ramsey growled, still advancing ad-vancing upon him. But the insidious Mitchell, evading him, fled to the other end of the room, picked up his cap and changed his manner. "Come on, ole bag o' tieans. let's be on our way to the 'frnt house' ; it's time. We'll call this all off." "You better!" Ramsey warned him; and they trotted out together. But as they went along. Kred took Ramsey's arm confidentially, and said : "Now, honestly, Ram, ole man, when are you goin' to " Ramsey was still red. "You look here! Just say one more word " "Oh, no," Fred expostulated. "1 mean seriously, Ramsey. Honestly, I mean seriously.- Aren't you seriously goin' to call on her some Callers' Night?" "No. I'm not!" "But why not?" "Because 1 dnn't want to." "Well, seriously, Ramsey, there's only one Callers' Night before vacation, vaca-tion, and so I suppose it hardly will be worth while; but I expect you'll see quite a little of her at home this summer?" sum-mer?" "No, I won't. I won't see her at all. She isn't goin' to he home this summer, sum-mer, and I wouldu't see any tiling of her if she was." "Where's she goin' to be?" "In Chicago." "She is?" said Kred, slyly. "When'd cho fol I x-nn Ramsey turned on him. "You look out! She didn't tell me. I Just happened hap-pened to see In the Bnlletin she's signed up with some other girls to go and do settlement work in Chicago. Anybody could see It. It was printed out plain. You could have seen it Just as well as I could, if you'd read tLe Bulletin." "Oh," said Kred. "Now look here " "Good heavens! Can't I even say 'oh'?" "It depends on the way you say It." "Ill be careful," Kred assurod him, earnestly. "I really and honestly don't mean to get you excited about all this, Ramsey. I can see myself you haven't changed from your old opinion of Dora Yocum a bit. I was only try-In' try-In' to get a little rise out of you for a 1 minute, because of course, seriously, why, I can see you hate her Just the : same as yon always did." j "Yes," said Ramsey, disarmed and j guileless in the face of diplomacy. "I i only told you about all this. Kred, because be-cause it seemed well, it seemed so kind o' funny to me." Fred affected not to hear. "What did you say, Ramsey?" Ramsey looked vaguely disturbed. "I paid why, I said it all seemed kind o' " He paused, then repeated plaintively: plain-tively: "Well, to me, it all seemed kind o' kind o' funny." "What did?" Kred Inquired, but as he glanced in seeming naivete at his companion, something he saw In the letter's eye warned him, and suddenly Fred thought it would be better to run. Ramsey chased hiin all the way to the "fiat house." t CHAPTER XI. Ramsey was not quite athlete nough for any of the 'varsity teams; beither was he an antagonist safely encountered, whether In play or In earnest, and during the next few days he taught Fred Mitchell to be cau-Uoua. cau-Uoua. The chaffer learned that hli , own agility could not save him from Ramsey, and so found It wiser to contain con-tain an effervescence- which sometimes threatened to burst him. Ramsey us a victim was u continuous temptation, he was so goiHl-nalured und yet so furious. After Coiunn'i'.ceiiHint, when the roommates had goi.e home. Mr. Mitchell's Mitch-ell's caution extended over the long sunshiny months of summer vacation; lie broke It hut once and then In well-advised well-advised safety, for the occasion was semi-public. The two were out for a stroll on July Sunday afternoon; aud up and dou n the street young couples lolled along, young families and baby carriages straggled to and from the houses of older relatives, and the rest of the world of that growing city was rocking and fanning itself vii lis front veranda. "Here's a right pretty place, isn't It, Ramsey, don't you think?" Kred remarked re-marked Innocently, as they were passing pass-ing a lav H of short-clipped, br.glit green grass before a gc:ii:tl-lo.king house, fresh In white paint aud cool In green-aud-i liite awnings. A broad veranda, well populated Just now. crossed the front of the house; tine .trees helped the awnings to give comfort com-fort against t lie sun ; and Fred's remark re-mark was warranted. Nevertheless, he fell under the suspicion of his companion, com-panion, who had begun to evince some nervousness before Kred spoke. "What place you mean?" "The Yocum place." said Mr. Mitchell. Mitch-ell. "I hear the old gentleman's mighty prosperous these days. They keep things up to the mark, don't they, Ruinsey ?" "I don't know whether thev do or whether they don't," Ramsey returned shortly. Kred appeared to muse regretfully "It looks kiud of empty now, though," he said, "with only Mr. and Mrs. Yt cum and their married daughters, and eight or niue children on the front porch !" "You wait till I pet you where they can't see us!" RHUisey warned him hercelv. "You can't do it !" said Kred, manifesting mani-festing triumph. "We'll both stop ridit here in plain sight of the whole Yocum Yo-cum family connection till you promise not to touch me." And he halted, leaning back implacably im-placably against the Yocum's iron fence. Ramsey was scandalized. "Come on !" he said hoarsely. "Don't Stop here I" "I will, and if you go on alone I'll yell at you. tou got to stand right here with all of 'eni lookin' at you until " "I promise ! My heavens, come on !" Kred consented to end the moment of agony ; and for the rest of the summer sum-mer found it impossible to persuade Ramsey to pass that house In his company. com-pany. "I won't do It !"' Ramsey told him. "Your word ( honor means noth-!n' noth-!n' to me; you're liable to do any tiling that comes Into your head, and I'm gettin' old enough to not get a leputa- I c t J Ramsey Chased Him All the Way to the "Frat House." tlon for beln' seen with people that act the Idiot on the public streets. No, sir; we'll walk around the block at least, we will if you're goin' with me !" And to Fred's delight, though he concealed it, they would make this detour. de-tour. The evening after their return to the university both were busy with their trunks and various orderings and dlsorderlngs of their apartment, hut Kred several times expressed surprise that his roommate shonld be content to remain at home; and Anally Ramsey Ram-sey comprehended these Implications. Mrs. Meigs' chandelier Immediately Jingled with the shock of another crash upon the floor above. "You let nir up!" Kred eouiinnnded thickly, bis voice muillcd by the pile of tlanncls, Nw catci's, undei'w m r and raincoats, wherein his head was being forced to burrow. "You let me up, darn you! I didn't say unyllilng." And upon ld.i release he complained that the attack was unprovoked. "1 didn't say anything on earth to even bint you might want lo go out anil see If anybody In particular had got hack lo college yet. I didn't even mention the name of Dora Yo Keep olT o' nu' I' My goodness, but you are sensitive!" sensi-tive!" As a matter of fact, neither of them saw Dora until the llrst meeting of the l.umcn, whither they went as sophomores sopho-mores to take their pleasure In the agony of freshmen debaters. Ramsey was now able to attend the l.umcn. not with complacence hut at least without shuddering over llie recollection of bis ow n spectacular llrst appearance there, lie hail made subsequent appearances, far from brilliant, jet not disgraceful, and as a spectator, at least, be usually felt rather at bis ease In the place. It cannot be asserted, however, that be appeared entirely at bis ease this evening after he bad rend the "Programme" "Pro-gramme" chalked upon the large easel blackboard beside the chairman's desk. Three "! resliman Deludes" were announced an-nounced and a "Sophomore Oration," this last being followed by the name. "D. Yocum, 'IS." Ramsey made Im mediate and conspicuous cft'oris to avoid silting next to bis roommate, but was not so adroit as to be successful. suc-cessful. However, Kred was merciful; the lluctuallons of bis friend's complexion com-plexion were an Inspiration more to pity than to badinage. The three debates all concerned the "Causes or the War In Kuropo," and honors appeared to rest with a small and stout, stolidly "pro-Gcrman" girl "Well, What I Say la: Dora Yocum, as an Orator, Is Juet an Actual Perfect Per-fect Wonder. Got Any Objections?" debater, who had brought wtth her and translated at sight absa-lo.it proofs (so she cuJIed lliem). printed iu tier-mini, tier-mini, that iermuny had been nttacked by Belgium at the low Inst igp.t inn of the envious F.nglish. Everybody knew it wasn't true: but she made an im-pp im-pp sm'MI and established herself as a (h-l aler, especially as her opponent was qnile confounded by her introduction introduc-tion of printeo matter. When the debates and the verdicts were concludei'., llie orator appeared, and Kred's compassion exlended Itself so far that ne een refrained from looking impnslllvely at the boy in the seat next to his; but he made one side of a wager, mentally that if Ramsey had consented to be thoroughly confidential con-fidential just then, he would have con fessed to feeling kind o' funny. Dora was charmingly dressed, and i sue was pale; but those notable eyelashes eye-lashes of hers were all the more notable no-table against her pallor. And as she spoke with lire, it was natural that I her color sliouXl come hack quite Ibim-ingly Ibim-ingly and that her eyes should Hash in -belter of the lashes. "The Christian Spii il and Iniei nationalism" was her subject, yet she showed no meek sample sam-ple of a Christian Spirit herself when she came to attacking war-makers L-epernlly, as well as all those "half-ueveJoped "half-ueveJoped tribesmen" and "victims of herd instinct" who believed that war might ever be Justified under any circumstances cir-cumstances of alrocity. She was eloquent elo-quent truly, and a picture of grace and girlish dignity, even when she was most vigorous. Nothing could have been more militant than her denunciation de-nunciation of militancy. "She's an actual wonder," Fred said, when the two had got hack to Mrs. Meigs' aflerward. "Don't you look at me Ifke that; I'm talkin" about her as a public character, and there's notion' personal about It. Y'ou let me nJone." Ramsey was not clear as to his duty. "Well " "If any person makes a public speech." Fred protested. "I got a perfect per-fect rigid to discuss 'em, no matter what you think of 'em" and he added hastily "or don't think of 'em !" "Look here" "Good henvos!" Kred exclaimed. "Y'ou aren't expecting to Interfere witli me if I say anything abont that little far Werder girl that argued for Germany, are you? Or any of the other speakers? I got a right to ta.k about 'em just as public speakers, haven't I? Well, what I. say Is: Dorn Yocum as an orator Is just an actual perfect wonder. Got any objections?" "N-no." tTO BE CONTINUED.) |