The Professors House
his straw hat, if spring in the South-west was as
warm as this.
“Oh, no,” he replied. “May is usually chilly down there—bright sun, but a kind of edge in the wind, and cool nights. Last night reminded me of smothery May nights in Washington.”
Mrs. St. Peter glanced up. “You mean Washington City? I didn’t know you had ever been so far east.”
There was no denying that the young man looked uncomfortable. He frowned and said in a low voice: “Yes, I’ve been there. I suppose I don’t speak of it because I haven’t very pleasant recollections of it.”
“How long were you there?” his hostess asked.
“A winter and spring, more than six months. Long enough to get very home-sick.” He went away almost at once, as if he were afraid of being questioned further.
The subject come up again a few weeks later, however. After Tom’s graduation, two courses were open to him. He was offered an instructorship, with a small salary, in the Physics department under Dr. Crane, and a graduate scholarship at Johns Hopkins University. St. Peter strongly urged him to accept the latter. One evening when the family were discussing Tom’s prospects, the Professor summed up all the reasons why he ought to go to Baltimore and work in the laboratory made
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