The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-01-04
CHAPTER II.

same.
CHAPTER II.
Before Alec's arrival on the scene l
grieve to say that besides being one Of |
the greatest ounces in the school I
was also, so the master said, the most !
troublesome young scapegrace he ever
had the misfortune ito cane. He told
my father that he could not conScien- |
tiously take any blame to himself for
my deplorable ignorance and deprav-
ity, as he would warrant that there
was scarcely a square inch of my I'M
calmly carcass that his ferule or birch
broom had not scored. I was innately
wicked, he declared, and my poor ia
| Their groaned and said he feared the
schoolmaster was right
There was really some justification
for this belief of my fathers, for all
my ten brothers q was the youngest of
LIZ were either doing, well or giving
promise of it, and / was the only one
who had ever given my worthy par
ents the least trouble The others
/, were mostly parsons. or on the way to
become parsons; so, as my father, too.
was in the church, there was plenty of
piety in the family, but l am very
much afraid that the collective good
ness of all my relatives was more than
balanced by my individual depravity.
I have heard my mother say-and it
has never occurred to me to doubt it
Il that the first use made of my legs
afterI learned the art of locOmotion
was to walk straight into scrape. 1t
is a habit | have not dropped with in
crease of years.
Now, however, I had for the first
time companion who, like myself, APP
peared to be happiest when in trouble,
! and for the next two years Alec and l
continued to live in state of intermit-
tent rebellion with those in authority.
We both hankered after excitement,
and the pursuit of it continually led us
: into hot water Now it would be a
scuffle with his lordships men for snar-
ing his lordships grouse. now brawl
!. in tavern and now, again, threat of
\ severe punishment for soaring half the
town with turnip lantern on a dark
: winters night Once we went off fol-
4 q whole week and lived like comics
! among the hills, and on another occa
d sion we hid ourselves in a ships hold
and sailed down to Scarboro in hel
i and then tramped the whole way back
over the mCOrs on foot.
f Adventures like these cemented oul
e friendship and taught us to be quici
and ready in emergencies, but they dit
IS not tend to increase our popularit.
e with those in authority, and to such al
n extent did our i'll repute spread tina
1t when anything went wrong or any evi
'e was committed of which the perpetra
tors were not at once discovered ever.
I, finger pointed to Alexander Irelan
ID and John Topp as the culprits. And
II, truth to tell. these judicial digits di
not often point askew.
Alec indeed, pursued his studio
with some amount of diligence; but a
for me the perpetual war which,
! waged with the schoolmaster was ia
z too bitter to admit of my profiting b
I his efforts to instruct me. / increased
therefore, in very little except stature
II, but in that bid fair TO be pre-eminer
] in Whitby.
MY eventual sudden departure frol
\ the town was caused by the unexpec
| ed boiling over of pan of water, an
this is how it came about:
/ had gone to see my sweethea
Inez, and Alec had as usual, accoI
panied me. He still took great plea
ure in the sea songs she used to sir
to us, and besides, his presence was
help to our lovemaking, as he was 6
ways willing to converse with Dan
CARAT and so divert her, attentit
~ from Inez t. me when we happened
IN wish to speak of anything of an esp
- cially private nature. We had a pl
- arranged system of signals by which
~ could always let him Know when
wanted him to talk louder than usu
w.. .a and, to tell the truth, our knowledge
.ne the code was in no danger of growi
-, rusty from want of use.
~ On this particular night, howey
the conversation had been Of 9th
n.i times and places than our own.
'lie had been discussing the marvelo
a. wealth of the new world, and Alec a
hei ] had fought wordy battle about
u relative merits Of glory and gold.
~ was all for glory and l was for g
t'ie first and glory only as an afterthoue
when the gold was safe below hatch
heu Jack" said Inez to me when A
and had. in our despair of convert
ack ona onothor coma to a controyers
uld doodlook ..tbare arc other WAYS
nss making gold than by fighting for 1t.
yes, sweetheart, l know there ar
uhs l answered, but you would not hi
rni- me to become Snug faced merchan
net mo. but there are other ways still
rrat "How?"
uo' by alchemy"