When I had in part recovered myself I lost no time in calling up the
manager of the exchange, my intent being to explain the entire
circumstance to him, with a view to demanding condign punishment of the
person in his inspection department, whoever she might be, who with
wilful design had sought to debase the organisation of his office to
purposes of ill-timed merrymaking. He cut me short to say he had no such
testing department whatsoever. From his tone I was impelled to accept
his statement as a truthful one, all of which but served to confirm my
suspicions without in the least explaining the mystery which at this
hour remains unsolved. I am puzzled--nay, more, I am nettled, and did I
not possess the power of holding my emotions under a well-nigh perfect
control, I would go so far as to say that I have been outright
irritated.

* * * * *

APRIL THE TWENTY-THIRD.--My earlier suspicions stand confirmed. To-day,
as I was passing through a corridor of the main building, I twice heard
the word "coo-coo" repeated in a sibilant undertone. Spinning upon my
heel, I detected a group of our seniors who with difficulty stifled
their merriment; and I saw, too, Miss Hamm, her face illumined by a
smile, with one hand upraised as though in gentle admonition of them.
This helped to explain much. The raillery could not have been intended
for me, since already I had passed on. Moreover, none here knows of the
experience through which I passed, and the _contretemps_ averted by my
own presence of mind. Therefore, it is quite plain that the would-be
joker has been playing similar pranks upon others at Fernbridge.

I wonder whether Miss Hamm herself could have been a victim of such
outrageous imposition?

Botanized alone this afternoon, feeling strongly the desire for
congenial companionship. Why does this longing so frequently beset me
when I go forth to commune with Nature in her gentler moods? I know not,
unless it be the influence of the vernal season.

Secured several desirable specimens. Returning through the gloaming I
felt a desire to indulge in poetic composition, and did in fact compose
several well-balanced lines, being finally balked by an inability to
recall a word which would rhyme with a certain female name I had in
mind.

In its entirety a disappointing day, albeit not without its moments of
what I may term a softly soothing melancholy.

* * * * *

AP