jnn?"TOCCOT CTODAY JOtTRNAt, " POUTUITD SUNDAY MORNTNO 8BPTBJJTBCR 13
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' ...... 4 .
Btf Marguerite Stabler i
IT wu several mltutes longer than? usual before ,
the girls of Nordmlnster could aettla down for
the "quiet fifteen,as the evening prayers were.
termed. Excitement betrayed itself In the craned '
necks and Inquiring glances on every side until
at last a tall girl rustled Into the assembly ball and
. took hr place among the seniors. ".With a general
sigh of satisfaction; the girls turned to the reading
of their responses, ; the singing of "Lead, Kindly
Light." and, with many secret glances toward the
senior row, bowed their beads to be dismissed.
Reversing her usual order. Miss Briscombe dis
missed the younger girls first, beginning with the
"preps," and ending by calling the, senior class to
the front seats and asking the last unwilling Junior
to close the door behind her. Although Miss Bris
combe had made the-same remarks on, the same
occasion the last. twenty years, there was always an
air of hesitancy and solemnity la Tier manner as she
addressed the girls as "young women about to be,
rewarded for their- diligence by receiving a diploma
from Nordmlnster College." ''it was now four 'weeks'
before commencement. The girls were from this
Cstlme to be excused from, tie evening study hour,
The essays were to be handed in without fail by the
end of the week. The class day play must be pre
pared during the second week, and the assembly
concert for the undergraduates, the graduating gowns,
the class picture and all the minor details must be
ready by the end of the third week. Each girl sat
rigidly upright as she listened to these Instructions,
for the weight of dignity about to descend upon, her
maie her a personage of great importance-' la the
eyes of the school, . . , I
J "And for any suggestions any youngr lady may
need from me," continued Miss Briscombe, "regard
' ing the affairs that most concern her now, she will
j find me in my study every day from 9 o'clock until
; 11. And now, young ladies, good night Will Miss
'Barrowes stop at the, desk, after the others have
passed out. to explain her tardiness .to prayers?"
The other girls trooped out. Miss Barrowes had x
been up to New York three times this term, and on
, this occasion had overstayed her time and returned
on a late train. The" class of '09 was proud of having
Miss Barrowes, or "Miss Arrogance," as she, was se
cretly called, as a member, for; as Mary Powers, the
class president, had said, "such a girl is rare." But,
notwithstanding this admission, the feeling toward
her was noi friendly. A girl whose education had
begun under an English governess In Australia, con
tinued In a French convent, followed by the Leland
Stanford Junior University in California, was bound
to be regarded with a certain disapproval by .girls'-
"who bad scarcely been out of their own State.
Early ia the term, Elisabeth -Bates, seeing her
position as social leader might easUy be disputed by
the new senior, bad given a luncheon to the "old
set," which amounfed to a class luncheon with the
. new-comer left outand had taken the opportunity
J to announce that while Miss Barrowes was, no doubt,
a nice girl, her manner was certainly very arrogant,
and she, for her part thought it would be Just as
well to let her see that she was not such a very
Important factor in the class. This speech had had a
telling effect the new girl was promptly dubbed
"Miss Arrogance," and treated with what was in
tended to be a chilling dignity by all but Luoy Cobb, .
who didn't seem capable of rising to the situation.
She hung in open-mouthed admiration on everything
THe Purs of the Stranger
BY CHARLES LOVE BENJAMIN
THREE months had the purse of the stranger
hung in the tent, of Jameel; three months
had Jameel and his wife's brother, Ebn
Malek, debated its division without reaching
an. agreement; and three months had the
sheep-herders of Oman fruitlessly discussed the ques
tion among themselves until -!the purse of the
- stranger" had become a by-word with the tribe, slg
' Blfying a problem passing the. wit of maa to decide.
There were but sixteen paltry bits of silver ia the
rurae la all Of these Jameel claimed seven, whereas
his brother-in-law, Eba-Malk, maintained that ha
(Jameel) was Justly entitled to but six,
"Not 'that I berrndge t bee the extra eoln." stld
Eba, "for thou art welcome to the whole purse. If
thou wilt .take It; but right U right!"
To which Jameel responded Chat right was right;
wherefore he Insisted open the seventh coin, thouih,
for his (art, be said, had the puree contained a
thonnaad coin, and of gold instead of silver, be
would rather that Eba should take all than that such
erou should breed bitter feeling between brethren.
Bo It happened that as telthn- could agree with )
the other, and as none of the tribe could decide the
question for tbem. Jametl bang the puree op la his -tent
earls" "That whJch men cannot decide ts left
beet to Allah, who ia good time makes all tbiags
(.Ufa.-
fioms Urn after tils R dance that aa aged f3-
, ' i 4
the new senior said, always managed to get a seat
behind her la recitations so she could watch her,
and made herself otherwise too humble. The first
' time she mustered up the courage to speak to her
she had barely saved herself from disgracing the
whole class. "Miss Arrogance" had lost a school
text-hook, and Lucy, seeing an opportunity to serve
her, had, in spite of the action taken by the class,
eagerly offered her own, saying:
"Oh, I can let you take mine. Miss Arro " Then
stopped, colored to the roote of her hair, and looked
appeallngly at Mary Powers, who sat opposite and
listening to the offer, rigid with indignation.
Whether "Miss Arrogance" knew her nickname or
not, she could not help seeing the dismay Lucy's
remark had caused.' but she looked up and said
simply:-
"Thank you, Miss Cobb; I shoua be so glad. But
my name is not v Miss Arrow, but Barowes-rCon-stance
Barrowes; 'and I wish you'd call me t Con
stance." Poor little Lucy was so overcome by her mistake
HERB ON THE FLOOR CONSTANCE FOUND HER, RED-EYED AND MISERABLE.
and this unexpected mark of favor that she merely
looked at her champion and couldn't think of a thing
to say; but from that time' there grew up a Tery
kindly feeling between "Miss Arrogance" and plain
little Lucy Cobb-. ' ,
Finally, three of the weeks preceding the com-''
mencement bad passed. The essays were in and
approved. The class day play was over, and had
been a great success; Constance Barrowes' had played
the leading role, and had received showers of . ap
plause after every act The class picture was framed
and hung in the recreation room; and after Bacca
laureate Sunday the graduating gowns were to be
Inspected, For this event the rooms were put In
"Inspection order"-th'e table was pushed back
against the wall, the little iron bedstead moved out
grim, Journeying to Mecca, craved refreshment at the
tent of JameeL
"My bouse Is thy house, good father," said Jameel.
"Enter!" -
Then, while Ebn-Malek brewed a steaming cup of
coffee for the pilgrim, and Ayeshah (his slater) set
forth a savory repast of goat's flesh, dates stewed la
butter and cakes of millet baked on the glowing
embers, Jameel filled the narghUe the water-pipe
for his guest and aswered to the best of his ability
the pilgrim's tniny questions concerning the roads,
the trails across the desert and the chances of falling
In with a caravan or band of pilgrims traveling
Mecca-ward.
At length, when he had eaten, the pilgrim rose and '
asld:
"I will not linger, my eon, for if I can reach the
desert trail ere sundown I may perchance meet with
this caravan of which thou tellest me. I thank thee
for 'thy hospitality, and I win remember thee and
thy household la my prayers at the boly dry 4f it be
the wlU of Allah I should attars thither. This la the
sole recompense I can offer for thy kindness to aa
old aad broken maa."
It 1 the best of recompense," said Jameel; I
desire ao other. For, mark thou, the last stranrer
that lodged with us left us the parse thou eeest
bang there I would the gaJe of the Red Desert
bad finwa away with him era be bad done so for
since that Uxns nothing but tresbls hath come of it.
' Into the center of the room, and thereupon the grad
uating gown was spread 'ia state. First the Juniors
and sophs made the tour in wide-eyed "admiration.
. The "freshles" and "preps" always saw the gowns
- somehow, but. they were not' supposed to. "
On ths morning of the t5th-4nspectioa day the
north corridor was In a flutter of excitement 1 Each
i" girl arranged her own things and flew across to see
, her neighbor's. There, were organdies and suisses
( with, crackling silk linings, lace frills and floating
ribbons, till each little Iron1 bedstead Hooked as' If
some fleecy white cloud might have lost Its way and
settled down to rest a moment there. The last room
on the left Bide of the corridor was Constance Bar
rowes, and . as each inspection party reached her
'door a little scream of ecstasy went up; they had all
expected "Miss Arrogance" would have a beautiful
gown, for nobody In the school dressed as well as
she did, but nothing so lovely had ever been seen In
the halls of Nordmlnster as the filmy heap of lace
and'frills that rested upon her bed. Instinctively, as
Inquisitive fingers were put out to touch it they were
drawn back out of sheer reverence for this marvel of
a graduating gown. . '
Then it appeared why Miss Barrowes hack-made so
many trips up to New York. A famous milliner had
made it one who designed N the wedding gowns of
duchesses and of countesses bad made this gown for
y the '99 commencement" of Nordmlnster. 4"he foot-
steps that passed Constance's door Were almost muf
fled in awe, and Constance herself seemed ' to lose
her supposed arrogance, and- chatted and sparkled
with delight at the prospect of wearing this exquisite
creation on commencement day. '
The next room across the hall belonged to Lucy
Cobb. Poor Lucy I Never In all her plain little life
had she felt so plain and so unlike the other girls
as now! If only her room had been farther down
the corridor things would not have been quite so
bad; but to have the girls come direct from Con
stance Barrowes room, with the. linage of her gown
still shimmering in their eyes, was the bitterest ex
perience of her life. When her box bad come she
had been all excitement and anticipation; but when
it was opened her heart had turned sck with dis
appointment Muslin! plain, common muslin, with
plain hems such a thing as one might wear any day
In the week.
Unconsciously a little surprised "Oh!" escaped from
every girl who looked at it lying so apologetically
upon Lucy's bed, and the repetition of that little
"Oh!" at last broke down every bit of flagging cour-
seeing that my brother Ebn, here, and I cannot agree
on it division, nor can any of our tribe decide the
question for us."
"Strange," mused the pilgrim, eying the purse
"Tell me the story, my son. I was in my day ac
counted a elever band at ciphering ay, even to cal
culations of star distances and magnitudes; it may be
I can solve this problem for thee."
- ' "An thou" canst do so," said Ebn, "we shall ever
bless the day thou earnest among us. Tell him the
story Jameel first thy contention, then will I recite
my argument
"Well,- said Jameel. "this, then, Is the story: It
was in the shearing month. Ebn and I Journeyed
together in search of our flocks, and pitched our tent
on Jebel-Akhdar, the green - mountain thou seest
yonder. Here, while we sought our strayed sheep, .
a stranger came and eraved lodgment in our tent
We took him In, and, in his honor, killed each day
a lamb sometimes a lamb from Ebn's flock, some
times one from mine, whichever came readiest to
band. Bo for seven days we fared, and oa the eighth
day the stranger disappeared. vBut Ayeshah, who
came that day to visit us, bAorht word of him. He
sent by her band this purse, containing sixteen pieces
of silver, which, he said, was in payment for the
lambs; as to the eighth lamtv which bad that morn
ing been killed he bade Eba and me divide between
us, since be would not return to share it Ayeshah
prepared our meal that. day. aad while we feasted
Eba and I reckoned the lambs that were from his
flock aad thoee that were from mine fa order that
we might fairly divide the purse. Thns we found
that oa the first fourth and seventh days my flock
bad furnished the feast wherefore I took six of the
slxteea pieces of silver la payment of my three lambs.
Ia like manner I' gars to Ebn eight pieces of silver
'la payment of the lambs his flock had famished oa
jthe . second, third, fifth and sixth days of : the
stranger's stay, and of the remaining two pieces of
silver I gave one to Ebn and kept one myself, s.'aee
COPYRrGHT BY THE CENTURY COMPANY, T
llmVLtj . I t an
- age the poor child had been trying to summon to
her aid.
Throwing herself on the floor when the ordeal of
inspection was at last over, she crushed Into her belt
' the home letter that had come with it, and sobbed
out her disappointment against the hated muslin
gown, without a thought of how she was ruining Its
neat muslin frills. She could have stood anything
but the tone of those thoughtless "Ohs!" for her
overwrought nerves put much more meaning into
their tones than the girls had felt. She read the
crumpled letter over several times:
VI hope you will like your dress. I know you will
, look sweet in it and do us all credit; I only wish we
could be there to see you wear It, but we will have a
nice treat for you when you come home, for your
father at last sees his way clear to putting up an
east porch. We are going to begin it next week, and
Nita has already planted a clematis where it will be
ready to vine as soon as the posts are up."
And so on all the little home gossip about Tom's
fine colt and her own little guinea-hens, and loving
thoughts from them all for Lucy. But Mrs. Cobb .
had never been graduated frOm Nordmlnster, and to
her the simple white muslin seemed fine enough;
her plain, practical soul could never appreciate the
scjiool-girl tragedy that lurked in the folds of that
muslin frock. Then Lucy tried to think of the other
children, of the expense of their education and
clothes, for she knew that if she sent her dress back
and told them It would not do, it might defer the
building of the east jporch another year; and the
whole family had counted so much Upon having it
Here on the "floor Constance found her, red-eyed
and miserable, when she ran across to show Lucy a
box of roses that bad been sent to her. In an Instant
"Miss Arrogance" was on ner knees and had the girl'
in her arms, where the whole pitiful story was
sobbed out. Without a word about the gown, Con
stance changed the subject to her own life, and told
Lucy a story that brought the tears to both their
eyes, but not "hlte-muslln tears," as Lucy after
ward smilingly called them. To her amazement
Constance told her that she would give everything ,
she possessed for Just one such letter as had come
with that muslin gown; that she had not one relative
near enough to care whether she looked sweet and
did them credit or not; that she had no home at
all, not even so much as an east porch, to go to,
and when she left Nordmlnster she had no one to
receive her but a - great-aunt, who traveled contin
ually, hoping to recover her health, and never stayed
more than a month In a place, or an uncle who was
a mining man in the heart of South Africa.
The plain little gown was folded carefully away,
and Constance slipped down quietly and arranged to
be put In line next Lucy in the graduation exercises,
now only a few days off. During the remaining time
"Miss Arrogance" was treated with a marked defer
ence. That exquisite gown would make the class of
'99 famous for all time, and, either because her
manner was changed or because the sight of the
gown had changed their point of view, each girl
decided secretly in her own heart that she was not
so arrogant, after all. Then, before the last day,
Constance made another hurried trip to New York,
which made four that term, and It was rumored v
that she went to see her guardian about securing her
passage on one of the great steamships to Join her
aunt on a trip around the world.
At last the great day came. The assembly hall
was crowded with the parents and friends of the
girls. The class of '99 marched proudly through the
halls and up on to the platform. Suddenly, as the
girls looked shyly down the line, the same uncon
scious little "Oh!" that had broken down Lucy's brave
resolves went up In fifteen different gasps. For there
at the end of the line. In the most prominent place,
stood Constance Barrowes, dressednot In the won
drous creation that was going to make the class of
'99 go down In the annals of Nordmlnster dlstin-
guished as no other class had ever been, but In a
plain white muslin gown as nearly like Lucy Cobb's
as she had been able to find on that last hurried trip
to New York.
the stranger had said that this, the eighth lamb, we
were to share half and half. Such was the division
I proposed, and fair it certainly seemeth to me. But
thou shalt hear Ebn's contention."
"I am listening." said the pilgrim, turning to Ebn.
"I am a plain man." said Ebn. "and not versed In
calculations, and, I confess, when I listen to J a nisei's
argument it seemeth sound, for since the stranger's
silver paid for the lamb, surely it was his right to
say half shalt thou hare and half thou. Yet this
lamb was also from my flock, so that of the eight
lambs I furnished five and Jameel but three. There
fore, though I lack the wit to lay my finger on the
flaw in J au eel's argument I feel that if he recelveth
six pieces of silver for his three lambs, it is but
Just that I should receive ten pieces for my five. Is"
it not sor
"What hast thou to say to this, my sonr said th
pilgrim, turning to Jameel
"I hart said my say," replied Jsraeel; "U is tor
thee to decide which of us is right"
The pilgrim mused a moment In silence. Then,
with a smile, he said: "What if neither of you
should be right r
At this question, so startling and unexpected,.
Jameel and Ebn-Malek stared at each other In open
mouthed astonishment
"What If neither of us Is right!" exclaimed JameeL
presently. That is not possible! It is clear one .
of us is wrong, but it sppears to tne that it is equally
certain that the other must be right" '
"Nevertheless." rejoined tie pilgrim, quietly, "I
ask again, what if neither of roe should be right?"
"In that case," cried Ebn, laughing, "take them the
puree!"
"What. sayest thos to this, Jameel?" asked ths
pilgrim.
"I say. with Eba. the puree Is thrni sy. wni'.orTy!
if thos cann prove that aelthrr lis djTUirn nor
mine Is right"
"Nay, my son," UUrrsptei ths pCgrtss, i!.'
A WISE PRECAUTION
""By E. L. Sylvester.
I'm taking my umbrella, 'cause perhaps" It's going
to rain; ,
I beard my papa read it in the paper, Just as plain, ,'
It said the indications were, for four an' twenty -hours,
' ' .
There'd be some local temperchure an' stationary j
showers.
"QUESS "
By Montrose J. Moses.
Ha stands against the wall and says,
Shaking his head in odd little ways:
"Guess what I've got behind my back?"
And then he laughs my youngster Jack.
f
"A doll?"
"No."
"A ball?" ,
"Ncv"
"A gun?"
"No."
"A bun?"
"No."
"A cat?" .
"No.'"
"A hat?"
"No." .
"A slate?"
"No." ,
"A skate?" '
"No."
."Well, IH confess,
I can't guess!"
And then he Jumps and laughs with glee.
auu uimas it a, sue jojte uoes ne;
With outstretched arms, this wee boy stands.
And says: "I only had my hands!"
FREDDY'S PROFESSIONS
By Montrose J. Moses.1
When I'm a man I'd like to be
Something big and great:
An admiral who lives at sea.
Or governor of my State;
I'd like to be an engineer
Who runs the State Express)
I'd like to be a brigadier.
And eat my mealr at mesa f T
I'd like to keep a candy store.
Or write a book or two
About the countries I explore '
From liere to Timbuktu;
And then I think it would be fine .
If I could b and by
Be a captain on a baseball nine, , '
A Sampson, or a Schley.
So now I think I ought to grow
The quickest way I ean;
For what I'd really like, yon know
Is first to be a man. ; - -
But when I ask my Uncle James
What he would most enjoy.
He laughs at me, and then exclalmaj
Td like to be a boy!"
Daughter," hs continued, addressing Ayeshah, "glva
me of the millet cakes that are left eight Behold,
here are the eight lambs. There art thou, Ebn, there
thou, Jameel and hers am I the stranger. On ths
first- day we three devour a lamb 4s it not so. Teat
Here, then, is thy third, Ebn, here thy third, Jameek
and here the stranger's portion." The pilgrim broke
a cake Into three pieces, as be spoke, and set the
fragments before the shepherds and himself.
.On the second day we eat another lamb so!" Hs
divided a second cake aa he had the first "On the
third day another," on the fourth another, and so on
the fifth, sixth and seventh days. On the eighth
t '., oonUnnd Prlm. "the last of the lambs
is killed, but the stranger does not eat of It Ayeshah
takes his place. Hers, then, Ebn. is thy third, and
nere, jameel, are two thirds thy portion and that
Ayeshah. thy wife. How many lambs were from
iur oocs, jameen Three, Is it not so? Couut then,
and tell me bow many bit of cake thou hast before
thee!" . '
"Nlns." said Jameel. counting.
"Even so." said ths pilgrim, "nine thirds! Thres
lambs thou gaveet Jameel. three thos bast consumed,
eeest thou. then, that thou hast bo claim cn tie
Purse? That Is wholly Ebn's." r
rsy, said Ebn, pressing the purse inln the t'l-
grim 8 Mlm. "It is thin. Kir da mnt ihnka t&r
bead: thou hast fairly earned It Take it an4 fir
we'l!" Fsr a long time after tie pflrHm fcai d-ar? !
re shepherds sat ia thocthffut silesr. At l-r- i
Ebn spoke: -"JaaetL
canst thos cake heal or bx f cf -"Not
V m"4 Jarrt "I t?.rrt t' t
I wee rirtt t"t rfw 1 ascw tt li I ia f '
thou, cr te. Nfl.'tg it t:ar "
"Ten."
!? u
r .-'.!
:i si v
- '4 r.lm fD'errarffrr ?.-i;
-r- rr t tn tf a t
. tr t r-.i cf a i 1
t a; si!"