The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-06-02
TIE EGIS AND INTELLIGENCE.
The Case Of
Mr.. Mason.
BEL AIR MD. JUNE 2. 1899.
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Sir. Mason seemed to all of us who
know him at Burkilc a perfectly inofi,n-
siv" man. He had come to Burkvilla frnH
-son.cwhcrc The fact that he tailed
ittlr or not at MI :bnut his own prcviuus
history may nave somewhat prciudinrl
him in the estimation OF our citizens, fox
Burlivilc people. there is no denying. arc
nquisitivc-.-liko to know all about new
comCrs.
In . purely business sense Everett X
Mas III was unimpr3:chahI" Ii WAS social
| ly, and only socially, that his personality
was ii little overcast by his never alludiug
to any other place where he may have re
sided before he came to hang ont i'll the
thriving anu growing town Of BurkViilr
| the sign, "Evcrett K Mason, Real Estate "
As any one may remark. this was a very
notable exception to the rule that silence
is golden. Mr.. Mason, it seemed. could
smile on the Just and unjust, the high and
the low alike, though nobody ever saw
him hilarious, but it seemed that he had
made it to himself an inflexible rule to
talk only Of indifferent and impersonal
! matters when he was not talking business
Nevertheless his fate came to him mt
last, for all his not talking
1t was IL deal i'll Burkvllc real estate
that brought him into friendly relations
with Deacon s'turgc, the father of Lydia
Sturgc.
We'll, now" said the deacon, coming
home in II good humor one afternoon,
| 'about this Mason. What's the matter
with Mason? That's what / want to
know"
Hes all right" young Bobby yelled,
thinking of last election.
keep still, Bobby" said Mrs. Surge
"What do you mean, Pa? Who said any
thing against this Mr.. Mason? I'm sure
he comes to church regularly, and you
ought to know if he puts anything III the
plate. What about him.
"Wcll, just this about him--hc strikes
me as a good, square. up and down bust
ness man, and l think this community
ought to be glad to have him"
True, to be sure, some wOncn-church
members too-tried to make us believe
that Mrs. Surge was trying to get sub
stantial, reliable sonin-law vAlen she be-
came hospir;ible to this Mr.. Mason, but.
then there Is no end to the small malice
of some women who are church members.
1t can hardly be said that Mir. Mason
Showed any great enthusiasm in his way
of accepting the Surge invitation. He
came with what you may call polite alac-
rity-just pleased to show ha censidera-
ton for the Surge family. When he
came, he smiled on everybody and on the
supper, which was good supper. Lydia
did not take any marked dislike to him.
He made himself agreeable to Mrs. Sturgc.
He talked chCcriiy with tho deacon about
the outlook for Burkville real estate As
for mel happened to be one of tho party
it struck me that poor Mason was not
nearly so delighted with the entertain
luGnt as his set smile would have indicHr-
ed, and / know that he once stole IA sly
look at the clock when it was not yet
quite half AN hour to the right going home
time
But before Mr.. mason c0ula p.op"ly
bring his visit to a close something hap
pened.
1t all came of Bobby's inortlinatc fond
ness for dried pruncI. Bobby would run
back for tho second time since leaving the
supper table to the dining room to get
mere prunes He sat OH the floor in ii cor
ncr, between the grand piano and the fen
der, and worked his jaws and 1iicked pruro
stones into tho crate, Unobsurvud by his
parents until suddenly he paused, locked
alarmed and gave hideous, strangled
cough.
Hes chokCd!' Mrs SturTc cried aloud.
IT'S those primes! ! know it," Lydia
got up from the piaIio seat, caught her
younger brother by the arins, ioricd him
to his feet and began humping his back.
IF you will allow me-" said MI. Ma
son in exactly the same even, urcXcitCd
tones i'll which he had just been unfolding
II plan for the expansion of Burkrillc III
enc particular direction, II think l see
what is wrong"
Then he quietly but firmly took Bobby
from Lydia's violent hands set him in
straight backed chair and seized Japan
csc or Chinese whalcbonc back scrutcher
which helped to ornament orc end OF the
mantcpiccr.
Just let me hold your head back as far
rs you can. Bobby said Mr.. Mason, plac-
ing his left hand Oh Bobby's red and per-
spring brow and with his right adroitiy
concca)ing the back scratcher.
Bobby. half exhausted already, did as
he was told. while his mouth icll open
automatically. Then Mr.. Mason, with the
swiftness and precision of II juggler, it
seemed to Inc, sent the butt end of the
whaleDone straight down Bobby gull
let. A turn of Mr.. Mason's wrist, and up
came the whalebonc again. Mr. Mason
y,
let Bobby escape and turned to Mrs.
Surge with, No cause for alarm, as
sure you-nunr whatever"
1t took some time to conE.mce Mrs.
Surge that the prune stone, which had
stuck crosSwisc in Bobbys siiroat, had
been pushed intoa proper end on position.
which Mr. Mason said, made its Gcgluti-
ton easy" Bobby himself would not be-
licve it for IL hours after, but the profuse
gratitude shuwcrcd on Mr.. Mason and all
the confusion following the incident gave
him an opportunity to run away, which,
l thought, he was evidently glad to seize.
"Now, what do you think of that man
and his 'dcglutition? Lydia said to nc
after he had left. ''Do you think he
learned to perform surgical operations just
20 90 into the real estate busincss?"
Hardly" said.
Il wonder who Mr.. Mason is:" she
unused.
just, Mr. Mason" said
Lydia shook her head with conviction.
''That man has had past lifc," she
said, because he is over 30. lie never
talks about that past life There must be
q reason why he never talks about that
past life. That rcas on must be discover
ed. The Vehmgericht must take hand
here
Now, l know what Lydia's Eehmgo-
RIGHT was. 1t was half iocose club, with
Il membership of five girls and two young
matrons of Burkyillc 1t never held
formal meetings that anybody knew Of,
had no badges that anybody ever saw, and
yet the society boys and girls of the
place were somehow more than half afraid
of the Fehmgericht. For myself l had
never believed very seriously i'll the tcrrors
of this Eecret organization, and yet when
Lydia mentioned it in connection with |
Mr.. Mason 1 could not help half expect
ing, half wishing that something might |
come of her threat.
That winter passed away, and the spring |
followed it and the Summer. l met Lydia |
Surge at the county fair in the fail. She |
had been away ut the seaside
You are particularly welcome" she |
said in answer to my greeting. You arc |
just the man."
oh" 1 said, ''have you found that ont |
at iast?''
sit only took me enc minute to make |
up my mind she said You see, yen |
were there when l resolved to enter scri
ously into this matter
what Inattcr-gartlcn truck or quilts2'
You We're there when | said it was u
subject for the Yehmgcricht, she went
OF, ignoring my righteousness
You don't mean about Mason: Iiayt