Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19

~ 'F waite Office. had Kept
him waiting several
minutes, and during the delay the accumulated
passions and other emotions of a day had
been struggling for utterance- / shall never
forget the picture he presented-a tall. broad
shouidered man. heavy and sturdy as an OAK,
norId compile xion and half-sray hair; his shaver
face set in hard. determined lines. that had
been partly traced there by character ana
partly by close application to work for many
years; he sat with his hands gripping the arms
OF the chair into which he had thrown himself
and Rlared at me from under shaggy eyebrows.
We'll, Penn. / said quietly. for knew that
my old friend explosiveuess never boded any
thing that other people would conslder as Sc
rious. what is iI5 Has your cook struck
"Humpht" he snOrtei. Il should say nos
Hang the cook Won't Won take me seriously!
Listen: jim wants to get married
With this the lawyer banged himself against
the back Of his chair and looked at me as If he
expected me to throw up my hands or FAINT or
exclaini against fate, OF something OF the
sort. and wheu ! simply looked as sympathetic
as couli and cautiously remarked, "Nell!
ne worked himself into paroxysm OF excite
ment
'.WellY'' he exclaimed. 'It is not at all well,
sir !, COnfound It, do you understand me! Jim.
Jim, tell yoI, nv boy Jim has set his thun-
dering mind on getting married Now what
do you think of that, eh?
for his friends at times. What could l say?
Here was an episode in his career that appealed
TO HIM with infinite force, and to me II could
only seem as a very natural, probably COM
mendablc, episode in the career OF his son.
What had / to do with il? The question was
irritating. and the impulse was strong to dis
miss the affair one that concerned me not at
all; but the long intimacy with PendraSon. the
memory of his neyer-falling. never-faltering
loyalty to his friends, happily restrained the
inn siap NIT hat n the edges of
my lips From his point of view he was III
trouble; it was my part as a friend to counsel
with him patiently. and to the best OF my
ability did SO. If had not should not now
take the pleasure do in relating the romance
that came to pass: for. yielding to his imperIous
temper. heard the facts OF an interesting sit
uation and so came in the way of learning OF
subsequent events, although one or two links
in the chain OF circumstances were supplied At
a time long after the chief end of the story had
become known to everybody.
SO. my friend" l said, smothering my i'm
patience, 1T has come TO that, has II! Well.
you we-s married once you know"
AYE. so 1 was. God bless the day. he ex-
claimed; but as you well know, it was not until
i had fought my way unaided to a position in
the world where my ability to support a family
decently was unquestioned. l knew where /
stood had money in the bank. had good
clients. yoa among them. confound your I'M
sympathetic topknot! When was Jlms age
i was grubbing away like sin i'll a country law
Office 1 glad to be able to meet my board
bill and wear store clothes. and IL it hadn been
that you fellows in business are bound to get
into litigation I'd have been grubbng still, /
guess No matter. that's past and well done,
too. IL can figure my bank balance correctly
And by Sam Hill, amt still grubbing for your
i used to be glad to get 80 retaining fee
many's the time I've undertaken u case
with no fee at all-and now. if you
want John Pendragon you're sure to come
up with check for 5000 Haven't / earned
my right to command that kind OF fee? Lord
Harry! remember when poor, unfortunate
fellow wanted to sue his employer for S. his
weeks wages. He'd been helping dig cellar
and the underpinnIng On the spot ready to
be put in just went to work and laid an at
tachment on the underpinning, by thunder,
and got a settlement quicker scat. That's
having for you, huh, huh and old Pendragon
went of into a tempest of laughter at the remi-
niscence. Ii had done him good thus to recall
his struggles and he in a much better
frame of mind to listen to reason than when he
Came In After a moment he continued with "A
subdued earnestaess that was almost pathetic:
Now, Jim, you see, Is only twenty-fOur. I've
given him a college education and done every
thing else could to fit him properly for max
ing the battle in better shape than 1 did. You
may say that I've got enough to provide for
HIM. but l tell you, old man, it wouldn't be
fair to jim, ignorant little chap. to set him up
in the world without any idea of the value of a
dollar, and that's saying nothing of JIm's chill
dren- Thunder and Mars, man. haven't got
enough TO provide all posterity with a comfort
able living, much as I'd like to. No. sir nv
boys got to learn to fight his own way and
that's why put him at the bottom of the lad
der In my own office. When was his age
barred sentiment. / went to my attic room con-
tent to know that could pay dollar a week
for the rent of it 1 shut that thing we call
heart against all snares, and kept il shut until
was ready to consider something else besides
struggle and money. l hoped Jim would do
the same, and he won't. What am to do with
him.
Its hard to say" 1 responded; Il don't
know the circumstances Your son has always
impressed me as a sterling fellow. level headed
ana not prone to fooishuess To be plain
whom does he want to marry"
That's Just it., said Pendragon: Il don't
know her. 1 believe her name is Ingalls, From
what Jim saws judge her to be one Of these
porcelain girls. you know, nice and orna-
mental, but bound to break if YOU happen to
look at EN- accidentally. Her folks have got
just enough money to enable them to poke
their heads above the crowd, and no. enough
to do any more. They've given the girl all the
frills Of high life; she's accomplished, she can
play the piano, sing from the opera, paint
roses and make lace fligrees for the back of
your chair. i presume she reads Browning
and she could probably parley YOU, with a
Frenchman; but put up a loaf of bread. wash the
dishes. trundle babies round the block or do
any thing else usefuz i guess not, wouldn't
seriously mind. you know, If she was either i'm
mensely rich desperately poor. In either
case generation would be provided for. and
better. in my estimation, under the latter cir
curnstance."
So my dear old friend ratified on getting
calmer every moment, seeming to find "a CRATE
full relief in unbuTdening himself To a listener;
bat no quiet suggestions, no plea in behalf of
his sons young life and Its promise of happi-
hess and success. would avail to shake the de
termination which he had sought nv office to
clinch. TO oppose by every material means at
his command this marriage of his son.
Il don't want to meet the girl" he sail. II
know enough Jim may marry her and hustle
for himself II he'll wait patiently for a time
he can select for himself and may mature judg-
ment be the counsellor to his Affections
There was really nothing to oppose to this
II was sensible. even kindly. and Jim would
better take advantage OF his fathers genuinely
afectionate interest in his welfare. / was old
enough to see that the fancy of twenty-four
might be but q passing shadow. better 10 PASS
away now than remain a lifelong blight upon
career. That was the frame of mind In which
old Pendragon left me, and yet as / thought of
Jim, CHIP Of the old block IL ever theEe Was
one. dreaded TO learn of the outcome of -he
difference between father and son. That out
come i did learn and / will narrate il in the
order Of its occurrence rather than in the order
in which the facts were brought to my
knowledge
CHAPTER II