The age-herald., 1899-03-12
PELHAM, THE GErl. <
By Margaret Pulling

get you into difficulties, young man." said Clarence in his most pedagogical manner We had been walking together fer the k of our digestions, and had been talking up a young man we both knew, who, as viewed the case, was starting out on the road that leads to failure in this life ana perdition hereafter. ,
 ''Try to break yourself of the habit, Clarence went on, seeing that haa noun, ing to say in my own defense. "l suHereu from it once. I can't say, as should hke to, that it ever got me into trouble, mate rially, but 1t did cause me good deai or vexation on more than one occasion.
 Then when we had seated ourselves for refreshments at small table by window, where one got satisfying view of the sidewalk traffic of Broadway, Clarence said, 'I feel very much inclined to tell you the story of Pelham"
 Thank you" I said, i've read it. Tell me another one."
 Read it? Oh, you're thinking of Buwer Lytton's novel. Pshaw! I'm thinking of incidents that happened right here in New York some ten or a dozen years ago. Just listen now"
 So I applied a match where it would do the most good and prepared to listen.
 'The house where I met Pelham" Clar- ence began, used to stand on lower Fifth avenue. A great piano warehose occupies the site now. It had already fallen from its original dignity, as the town mansion of well known family. and respectable. but not fashionable, people mostly of tistic ambitions, occupied rooms in it.
 T went there to look up young Gus Win show, whose elder brother I had known well, when Gus was a mere baby. Gus had then just settled down in New York, after drifting about in the west good deal. That was the time when Gus first began to really make a living with his pencil, rfxz better every year. No, he was not the sub ject of my mistaken prediction. Just wait.
 Gus introduced me to two very charm ing young women, whom he called his 'chums' and colleagues of the brush In those days the bachelor girl was not so fre quently met with she Is now, and these two sisters. with their dignified, but free and-easy self-reliance, interested me very much. They were a charming novelty.
 T was asked to call there again and went. And it was that evening that I met young man whom Gus introduced as the Gem. He was not a fashion-plate beauty by any means this Gen., but according to my way of judging, he was about as pre- possessing young man as I ever set eyes on-dark hair and fine gray eyes full of intelligence, with dark silky beard that he had allowed to grow altogether in its own way, as nature intended 1t. His man. ner. as I noted from the start, was the very perfection of ease and, to use for once French term-I don't often, you know .bien-seance.' He seemed to be always smiling smile of satisfaction, as If he found everything about him pleasant and proper, and his smile, like his whole man. ner, was quiet.
 What made the Gem all the more in- teresting-I may say at once that his name was Pelham-was the account Gus gave us of the way of their meeting. It was at San Francisco, at a hotel where Gus had wa n fror some friends in New York who had found work for him and were going to send him remittance to bring him across the con tinent. This remittance had been delayed, and the hotel clerk was beginning to give Gus unpleasant looks, when Pelham with whom he had a biliard-room acquaintance of only twelve hours, asked him in the pleasantest manner if he didn't think the fellow at the desk rather a cheeky GUS toner.
 You see, that was only Pelhams way of coaxing Gus into an admission of his awk- ward predicament, and after that the two became very friendly, and the Gem walk ed down the street to a bank, came back to the clerks desk with a bundle of big bills, and, after asking for his own account, casually added, By the way, you might well put my friends with it. settle it all in lump. That incident naturally formed good opening for friendship between Gus Winshow and the casual young man. When Gus asked what had made him do such an unusual thing, he answered, oh, l saw that the fellow would make himself nuisance, you know. I understand all about delayed remittances and that sort of thing. And you're an artist, aren't your
 Later on Pelham told Gus he had known him for an artist by the shape of his fin gers He was walking by music store with Gus the same day that he had settled the two hotel bills and was suddenly taken with a fancy to go in and try some pianos, and the end of that trial was very pleas ant piano recital by MT. Pelham at which all the statesmen and half dozen casual customers were present. The impromptu piano recital led to an earnest conversation between Pelham and foreign-looking gentleman, and that night Pelham old Gus he had been engaged to take the place of an accompanist in touring concert com pany, the original accompanist having fall en i'll.
 50, then, you're a musician?' says Gus.
 "'Oh, yes,' says Pelham. That's my style now, I suppose
 When I was introduced to Pelham he had just got through his tour with the con cert company. He had bushels of remnis- cences of half dozen cities in the west and south, told his stories charmingly and, noticed, with a keen appreciation of every detail of local coloring.
 Well, Pelham evidently made a great 1lnpTcSSlOH OH lnOS6 two DdCHelOT SlSleTS, and 1t was none the less plain that he joyed their company. He was constantly to be found in their rooms with Gus and in those days was a recognized member of the little coterie. That meant a great deal to me, for both from what Gus told me of their meeting in San Francisco and from present indications, 1t was beyond question that this MT. Pelham, whoever he might be, had unlimited letter of credit and could command all the amusement that money could buy in this village, if he had been so disposed
 "So far he had passed with us all simply as a rich traveller who was also an amateur musician of remarkable attainments It was an incident that showed us the deeper depths of the man.
 ''Gus and l came in one Saturday after noon to find Pelham strumming on a guitar and chanting a weird thing which, 1t was explained to us represented Cash mere love song. Gus was worried that af- ternoon because he had to have an illus tration ready by Monday morning and couldn't finish it. The trouble was with one figure--a figure of a boy in a Greek