The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-01
IRE BLANK IN PTLKTNS'S LIFE.
OffrRRED N Az OvER-SCNDAf
T8TP TO ATLANTIC CITY.
ma, Mas on saturday Nsht-Taies o.
Dreadful Deinss WIN which Fhs sese"
pv,ends and the Hotel Prepr'e'ert ,"e"
On the Hank on SUNDAY, "or"'"s'

o...s.u, pe,us. WIN which His seven
Vr,.ce. and the Hotel Proprietor Fs''ed
In the Hank on sunda, Mor"'"s'
For n good many years Pilkins which Is
nothing like his patronynic- mas uc-n
y~carded by his associates a. the qule'eS''
mh~t even.tempered man on the oot."n
Fschanee. But for four days last ~eek
Piihins was on end. n Il we're. There ~Hs
haunted look in his eyes. He che~eo
on his angcr-nails. and hat away AZ ms
scr,bby mustache. He could not. or wou'd
not. look his friends In the face
All this came about through an over
sunday trip 20 Atlantic CITY which fiikins
made with seven Of his Cotton Exchange
mails. when they reached Atlantic Cny
ebsv drove to q Boardwalk hotel run ny
New York man. and the best under the
roof wasn't good enough for them Tor tne
propnetor knew the whole crowd wei
II was lust tho dinner hour when they
10. 20 the hotel. and :hs proprietor dined
with them. The damp trimmings were
pretty profuss. Pilkins. a most temperate
man, did his best TO sidestep most OF them'
hut II was no use. IL vas really not q vast
quantity OF sauterne and chablis and cham
payne tina he got away with: but u was
vast for Pilkins. When the party rose
nom the table Pilkins was seeing more
iixhts than ever illuminated the electrical
building at the Buffalo fair. and he had a
feeling that N he opened his mouth to cay
% much a. a word he would he bound to
make a hopeless idiot Of himself. 10 he
kept still, and followed on with his seven
pals and the hotel proprietor. who were
mighty chipp~r and conversational.
They took in the grottoes on the board
valk-tbe blue. green. pink. yellow purple
Rrottoes-all Of them. They all looked
alike q Pilkins. who. after An hour or so
of this sort 81 thing, with the accompany
ing Scotch and sodas which they coerced
him INTO taking 10y dark glances and even
glares, though, iongingiy Of the quiet little
been passing part Of his Saturdays and his
sundays. By Q o'clock. before the satur-
day night surge up and down the board
walk w9s well under way, h music OF the
bands and orchestras and ne monotone OF
the near sea had made Pflkins somnolent,
He was all out.
When Pilkins came To on the following
morning the sunlight was streaming into
the room, In which he lay. He ganed at the
unfamiliar, green-t,nted o~inns 20, : fohs
had happened to get the spiked iron. band
that was pressing into his head. He
couldn't make |, out az all.
He sat up In bed. pressing his hands To
"A. forehead. and looked about tho room
His clothing was scattered everywer".
His walking stick was stuck on end IN the
wash pitcher. His Panama, hent into an
imitation Of a Salvation Army poke bonnet:
was Imprisoned under a rocker OF one OF
che rocking chairs. His string necktie
va. tied in four hard knots around the gas
future. One OF his socks was laid ~tenderiy
on tho bureau and the other wasn't my
where. One Of his shoes was at the foot
Of the bed and the other had been placed
on A small Japanese shaving rack In a
corner. HI. madras shirt was carefully
pinned 20 the green window shade His
trousers. in grotesque disarray. were In the
middle Of the floor:
PiIkins. with his hands AZ his head. rocked
from aide TO side Of the bed In his misery.
Then he got u~p-thoee spikes OF the iron
hand seeming now 20 have begun to re
volyp In the other direction: and went 20
one of the windows and looked out. He
Jaw the conventional Atlantic City hotel
court with the s~andy-looking bathing
stockinp and the rusted bathing corsete
hanging from the windows OF feminine
occupants Of rooms across the court. and
ks remembered. He groaned with the
remembrance.
Pilkins tottercd over to the button and
gave IL the regular three pushes for ice.
water. Then he sat on the edge OF the bed
and waited and groancd some more. II
seemed an age before he heard the boys
footsteps down the hall and then the rap
on his door. Pilkins reached out To take
the pitcher extended by the grinning bell
hoy and drew his hand back with great
audiences. h pitcher was hot. The
boy had brought him shaving water. Pill
kins moaned.
-Didn't yo' ring To- times. subj In
ouired the black hoy In a surprised tone.
-Ice-water, for the love OF God. and
ouicki- almost sobbed Pilkins. and then
he closed the door and tottered back 20
the bed.
He thought Of this poem Of Eugene Fields
IN which " narrated the incident OF the boy
with the longed-for ice water passing by
the door Of the man longing for IL. Pilkins
had often laughed over that poem. But,
now, Il didn't strike him A. being humorous
Q little bit. II was more like tragedy In
blank ver-e.
After the lap.e OF a period during which
n seemed to Pilkins that the hoy must
h. manufacturing the ice. he got the cher.
iehed pitcher, told the hoy 10 wait n minute
drank the pitcherful At a gulp. and told
the hoy 20 fetch another. The second tenn
missed the bell hoy and was alone with
his grief.
piIkins sozyled n towel In the wash pitcher,
handed Il about his head. and Law down.
We wondered what time u was. And then
he remembered tina he hadnt sen hi.
NHtfn. Tt EOl Wv oAb aA'a'N W ~ Aifi
found II underneath the bureau. with the
ca.e snapped open. but ticking away mer'
rIly. Pilkins envicd the watch its normal
cheerful works. His own works. he thought
and then he mcsn~l again and fell becL
into ted. -.
Al this hour, quarter past 0. he reflected
N he hadn't listened to the rrrsuasions ol
tbo.e ruffan friends Of his and embarked
upon the atlantic City trip-at this hour
he'd have been on the porch 81 that quiet
little Long Island place. eating cantalouTs
and no, mullins and chops and his regular
omelette, with a couple ~ cup- of fine cofes
20 make a foundation for the enjoyabls
sunday arer-breakfast cigar-and herr
he vas with a siomach made Of molten steel
s,op-piece like a captive balloon. and a
Dammit. : gpoaned Piikins. turning ov-'
hopelessly. they sh~Rnghaied me. that
what thew did shAnghaied me-
There was a knock on his door and Pilkin,
without moving yelled to the knocker e
ent\r.
ISwas ono 81 the seven. He wore n YER,
sad expression Of countenance sr he Wake
n tipto~ across Tho NON To Pilkins's led
rilkins hadn't moved.
We'll. poor old chap wss the way Phi
lins's pal opened up, IN the tone IL ON.