The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-04
CONTINUED from last Sundays News)
CHAPTER III

tor-in-chief of the Carlow County
Herald took his hand out Of his hair,
wiped his pen on his last notice from
the White Caps, put on his coat, swept
out the close little entry, and left the
sanctum for the bright June after
noon.
He chose the way to the west, stroll
ing thoughtfully out of town by the
white, hot. deserted Main street. and
thence onward by the country road
into which its proud half-mile of old
brick store buildings. tumble-dOwn
frame shops and thinly painted cot
tages degenerate ted. The sun was in his
face, where the road ran between the
summer fields, lying waveless. low,
gracious in promise; but, coming to
wood of hickory and beech and walnut
that stood beyond, he might turn his
down-bent hat-brim up and hold his
head erect. Here the shade fell deep
and cool on the green tangle of rag
and iron weed and long grass in the
corners of the snake fence. although
the sun beat upon the road so close
beside. There was no movement in the
crisp young leaves overhead: high in
the boughs there was a quick flirt of
crimson where two robins hoped
noiselessly. No insect raised resent
ment of the lonesomeness; the late af-
ternoon, when the air is quite still, had
come; yet there rested-somewhere
on the quiet day, faint, pleasant,
woody smell. 1t came to the editor Of
the Herald" as he climbed to the top
rail of the fence for a seat. and he
drew a long. deep breath to get the
elusive odor more luXuriously-and
then it was gone altogether.
"A habit of delicacies," he said aloud,
addressing the wide silence complain
ingly. He drew a faded tobacco-bag
and brier pipe from his coat pocket
and filed and lit the pipe. "One taste
and they quit" he finished gazing
solemnly upon the shining little town
down the road. He twirled the pouch
mechanically about his finger, and
then, suddenly regarding it, patted 1T
caressingly. 1t had been a giddy lit
tie bag, long ago, satin, and gay with
embroidery in the colors of the edi-
tors university; and although now 1t
was frayed to the verge of tatters. 1t
an air of which its owner in no wise
partook. He looked from it over the
fields toward the town in the clear
distance and sighed softly as he put
the pouch back in his pocket. and,
resting his arm on his knee and his
chin in his hand, sat blowing clouds Of
smoke out of the shade into the sun
shine, absently watching the ghostly
shadows dance on the white dust of
the road.
A little garter snake crept under the
fence beneath him and disappeared in
the underbrush: a rabbit progressing
timidly on his travels by a series Of
brilliant dashes and terror-smitten
halts, came within few yards of him,
sat up with quivering nose and eyes
alight with fearful imaginings-Van-
ished, a flash of fluffy brown and
white. Shadows grew longer; the brier
pipe sputtered feebly in depletion and
was rehlled. A cricket chirped and
heard answer: there was woodland
stir of breezes; and the pair of robins
left the branches overhead in eager
flight, vacating before the arrival of II
great flock of blaokbirds Fastening
thither ere the eventide should be upon
them The blaclVbirds came. chartered,
gossiped. quarrelled. and beat each
other with their wings above the
smoker sitting on the top fence rail.
But he had remembered-it was
Commencement. To-day. a thousand
miles to the east. a company of grave
young gentlemen sat in semi-circular
rows before a central altar. while
above them rose many tiers of mothers
and sisters and sweethearts. listening
to the final word. He colld see it all
very clearly the lines of freshly
c1o
gowns, the flowers and bright eyes
above. and the light that filtered in
through stained glass to fall softly
over them all. with, here and there,
a vivid splash of color, Gothic shaped.
He could see the throngs of whitehead
loungers under the elms without. I'M
der-classmen, bored by the Latin adj
dresses and escaped to the sward and
breeze of the campus. there were the
troops of FOSTERING graduates trotting
about arm in arm, and singing; he
heard the mandolins on the little ball
comics play an old refrain and the
university cheering afterward; saw the
old professor he had cared for most of
all, with the thin white hair struggling
over his silken hood. following the
band in the sparse ranks of his class.
And he saw his own Commencement
Day-and the station at the junction
where he stood the morning after,
looking across the valley at the old
towers for the last time; saw the brok-
en- groups of his class. standing upon
the platform on the other side of the
tracks, waiting for the south-bound
train as he and others waited for the
north bound-and they all sang
SHOULD auld acquaintance he forgot"
and, while they looked across at each
other. singing. the shining rails be-
tween them wavered and blurred as
the engine rushed in and separated
them and their lives thenceforth. He
filled his pipe again and spoke to the
phantoms gliding over the dust-"Sev-
en- years." He was occupied with the
realization that there had been a man
in his class whose ambition needed no
restraint. his promise was so complete
lin the strong belief of the university,
a belief he could not help knowing
and that seven years to day from his
Commencement this man was sitting
on a fence rail in Indiana.
Down the road a buggy came creak-
ing toward him, gray with dust, the
top canted permanently to one side.
old and frayed. like the fat, shaggy,
gray mare that drew it: her uncheck-
ed, respondent head lowering before
her, while her homogeneous tail waved
necessarily, like the banner of a
storming party. The editor did not
hear the flop of the mares feet nor the
sound of the wheels. so deep was his
reverie. till the vehicle was nearly
opposite him. The red faced and per-
spring driver drew rein. and the
journalist looked up and waved a long
white hand TO him in greeting.
"Howdy' do, Mr.. Harkess?" called
the man in the buggy. ''soakin' in the
as