Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-10-06
How HELMlCK Per.
formed a Social Duty

~ three years before he decided TO
take Mrs. Helmick and Johnny out to
s revisit the suburb where for 10 months
he had scraped and saved and denied
! himself all little luxuries to buy a house
on the installment plan. The house
eventually disappointed him. 1t prom
ised well at first and made a specious
show of being all that a suburban house
should be, but by degrees il dropped
the mask, and one by one it's faults and
) shortcomings became apparent, so that
1t was more in anger than in sorrow
! that Helmick sold his house and took a
fiat. If it had not been for Knox it is
doubtful whether he would ever have
gone back-even for day.
Knox aud Helmick had been neigh
bors, united in the frmest bonds of
s suburban brotherhood, which is to say
that they had borrowed each others
j garden implements without any feel
ling of restraint. had been partners at
whist every evening on the 5:45 train
: home, had voted as a unit in the viii
3 lage affairs. Their wives had found each
other extremely congenial, too.
For the first year after the Helmicks
eft the suburb the intimacy between
The two families was kept up to some
extent. The Knoxes visited the fat two
or three times, and once or twice the
ladies met downtown by appointment
for shopping and matinee purposes.
Then 1T gradually waned. Mrs. Hell
mick's health became delicate, and aft
er little Johnny was born she was. of
course, kept at home so much. Hell
mick used to say that he would go down
TO Laurelhurst some time, but there
was always something else to do. and
then Laurelhurst seemed to have be-
come about as remote as the pyra-
mids. Once He.mick had Dragged of
the short time il took TO reach the lit
tie suburb. "Thirty-six minutes in a
comfortable, roomy train, with piano.
rama unfolding itself before your eyes
at the rate of 40 miles an hour. and Won
are there" he would say. Away from
the dust and dirt and ceaseless hurry
and turmoil of the city. where you can
hear the glad throbbing of natures
heart responsive TO the mellow MARBLE
of the birds" Now he saws: "ob.
darn suburb. anyhowi"
One morning, however, Helmick met
Knox in the street and Knox re-
preached Helmick bitterly. "Of course,
II you've made up your mind that we
are no longer the sort of people YOU
care TO associate with, it's a different
matter" said Knox. 1--WE don't want to
contaminate anybody, and, another
thing, we don't want to show any nm
seemly haste about the matter. Let's
see, this is 1900, isn't it? Well. do Won
think you can manage to get down to
Laurelhurst about 1910? If that would
be inconvenient you might set a date
yourself, only my wife says she'd like
20 see ..aa-t BOY of yours before he goes
to college"
Why, that's So" said Helmick; won
haven't seen the boy, have YOU? Great
Scott, how time flies! Say, that's too
bad! Do you know. Knox. we've been
coming down so times, and every time
something or another has happened TO
prevent us. But I'll tell you what wen
DO Wen be down next Sunday, sure,
the whole tribe of us, if you're going
TO be home. Just to think that YOU
. haven't seen that kid yeti Well, I'll
tell you, you ought to see him; he's lust
ABOUT the smartest young man that ever
happened-and gritty. If you had boy
like that, Knox, you'd be fixed for life"
i suppose So" said Knox, rather in
Inherently. you know best about it.,
though"
Sure thing. I wouldn't trade John
ny for Laurelhurst. And You bet he
thinks papa's all right. He and papa
are old chums, l want to tell you. Say,
the other day he got loose and ran
away three blocks before they knew
where he was. Like to have scared
The wife into a fit. And when they
found him what do you think the lit
tie runt said? Said he was going to
md papa. What do you think of that
for two and a half?"
Children are great stuff" said
Knox. We'll, then, We'll expect Won
and the lady-and Johnny-down on
sunday. Now, understand that this
Is your last chance to square YOUR
self
Helmick told his wife about the
meeting with Knox and the engage,
meat he had made. But. do you know.
somehow Knox seems altered He
wasn't cool exactly and I know he
wants us TO come down the worst
way, and yet You know how en-
thusiastic and sympathetic Knox al
ways used to be about everything.
hat was one thing 1 always liked
about him. Well, he seems TO have
lost interest in some way-if YOU
Know what l mean. was telling him
s about Johnny, for instance, and he
seemed to be trying to keep from
yawning and he hurried away at last
quite abruptly. But that may have
been fancy and I'm pretty sure we
: shall enjoy our VISIT s1
People who haven't got children Of
their own very seldom take the inter
est in them that their own fathers
and mothers do" remarked Mrs.
Helmick, wisely.
That may have been IT, said Mr..
Helmick.i well, I'd kind of like 70. see
the old place again anyway" "a.
Acp0rdinnlU ON