"Now is my time" thought I, and was just about
to assume my most entrancing attitude and pour
forth the most vehement expressions of my affec
tion, when like a thunderbolt it flashed upon ene—
my grandfather's will. My knees shook beneath
me ; my very blood froze in my veins ; my whole
body seemed convulsed with agony as I sank back
in a chair and muttered all the German I knew.
"Ziemlich gut, Katrina.' '
"What I Fred are you mad," she exclaimed
angrily stepping back.
My hair rose on end, the blood left my face,
great beads of perspiration broke out upon my fore
head. "Ziemlich gut—yah gewiss—Ziemlich gut,
I cried in agony as I grasped my hat and tore
madly from the house.
Down the street I flew as if pursued by all the
demons of the infernal regions ; past astounded
policemen ; past astonished pedestrians ; street cars
stopped and their occupants crowded to the plat
forms to wonder at my mad flight. At first but a
small crowd followed me, but as I proceeded I
heard their yells grow louder and louder until I
felt that a small army was in pursuit, all crying "A
madman I a madman I "
"Ziemlich gut 1 Ziemlich gut 1" I answered
and rushed on the harder. In my excitement I
had dropped my overcoat. Oh how often since
then have I wished that I had it ; not only as a pro
tection against cold, but as a means of hiding this
abominable dress coat during the morning hours.
A mad frenzy had seized me. I could not stop.
On I went down a steep hill at fearful speed ; struck
a level at a break neck pace heeding nothing--
when horrors—l shot through the air in utter dark
ness. The next instant I struck the water of the
river ; felt it closing over my head with a mad
rush ; tittered a loud cry of "Ziemlich gut" and
went down. •
Not until' I reached the bottom did I realize
what was wrong. I had run off the loth street dock
into the river.
There I have been ever since, a ghost, a victim
of the german course of this institution. I find the
ti-tE FREE LANCE.
society in the river pretty poor as most of the
ghosts were originally ferrymen or wharf-rats but,
however, we do have a few swells.
How did I come here you ask. Well you see
the ice broke on the river and as it was just twenty
years to-night since I left college I determined to
pay a little visit to the old place and here I am."
And then the ghost blew out a puff of smoke and
heaved a sigh. We sat in silence for a few minutes
when suddenly a few faint streaks of early dawn
crept through the window.
"Well ! Well ! I must be going. Excellent
tobacco this. Merry Christmas to you," he 'ex
claimed then hastily put on his hat, wiped his
brow, and a:; if by force of habit calmly put my to
bacco box in his pocket, bowed and disappeared
among the chaos in my closet.
I did not wake until the bright light of Christ
mas Day had burst into the rooal and at fir.it the
recollection of my night's adventure struck me as
a dream. Mistily I looked abolt me. There W. 13 the
closet door splintered into fragments, there was
Faust in the distort corner and mi pipe and to
bacco had disappeared.
I went to the college registra, and obtained per
mission to look into the record, of twenty years
previous ; there, I found the name of Frederick Von
Bunderstein and opposite the note that he had two
conditions in German unremoved. I hastily took
the next train home.
0 IFN ON ITER . OWN RESOURCES.
He was a tall manly looking fellow at the time
our story opens, and just entering, his senior year
at college. As he walked, into the train two or
three of his old friends ,who were returning to col
lege called out to him and he joined them. For
a time they kept up such a chattering that one could
not help listening. They talked of the pleasant..
times they had had during the long summer vaca—
tion and all admitted that although they enjoyed;