The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-01-22
A SILL Y F 9 9 L


in my room at the boarding house
smoking my second best pipe and
thinking Of nothing when the door was
banged open and my chum, Bill Morse.
flung himself into the room. slammed
his valise on the floor, threw his hat on
the bed and. cursing himself as the
greatest fool alive, dropped into a
chair.
For two weeks I had been envyfng
that fellow. Engaged to a pretty girl.
who had not made the common mis-
take Of being born of poor parents. he
had gone to pass whole months va
cation in the same Connecticut village
where his sweetheart and her mother
were staying.
/ was too surprised to do more than
stare at Bill In establishment.
This morning." said he. "Alice and
some of her girl friends started up the
mountain for a hen picnic-Mount
Riga, the people in Salisbury call it. l
wish it was big hole In the ground.
About 10 l decided to take q walk and
accidentally meet them. l took a
roundabout way, because there was
sure to be more or less giggIing when
l made my appearance. no matter how
nicely it was managed"
Here Bill helped himself to my first
best pipe and heaped a few more bless
ings on his head.
WELL" said he after a few strong
pulls at the pipe. Il soon reached a
cursed little hill which sat up against
the mountain like pimple beside a
mammoth wart. and perched on the
side of the measly bunch of dirt was
an enormous rock-left there by gla-
cier, l suppose. The day it was drop
ped there was cold. but the day Bill
Morse found it was still colder. Climb
ing up to the lower side and leaning
back against 1t, I took look around.
Just then some one set off blast or
they began cannonading Off Mole ST.
Nicholas. Anyway the jar seemed to
shake the hill, and that stone moved.
braced myself against it instinctively.
The motion stopped. and then came
one of those flashes Of intelligence for
which I am famous, as you know, old
man.
You have seen a schoolteacher take
his class into the yard and demon
strate that one boy can keep a ladder
upright by looking out for the center
Of gravity. etc. and that 1t takes them
all to stop its falling when you let it
tip. oh. / knew all about it! Bill
Morse knew. II let that stone get
started. it would crush me. for it was
SO broad l could not spring out of the
way. 1 bored one shoulder into the
double dyed thing and finally twisted
round so as to face it. worked my way
to the edge, the cold sweat standing
out all over me, and jumped clear
Things were dark for a moment but
soon Strengthened out and looked to see
where the rock had fallen. 1t hadn't
budged."
1 was going to ask Bill il he was an
CRY. but he had jumped up and was
kicking his valise around the room.
and l thought 1t was unnecessary.
Bob" he cried between the kicks.
words are poor things. / agree with
the man who said language, was in
tended TO conceal your real thoughts"
After few more kicks and fresh
pipeful Bill resumed: Il rushed round
mined to push it over if it didn't in
tend to take a drop itself. / moved it
about an inch, and TO do more than
that would require all of the kings
horses. Oh, but Solomon was a wise
one. He said all men were fools.
That stone, Bob, was a rocking stone.
When l realized what it was. / won
dered why Solomon had not mention
ed me particularly. / began talking to
the stone and was just beginning to
do myself and that beastly chunk JUS
tice when that hen picnic came scream
ing down the mountain side They
had seen the whole circus. Alice gasp
ed out. .tOh. W-WilI, it's too fu-funny."
and then put her hand to her side and
absolutely shrieked with laughter.
gave her one look and then told her a
plain truth that l know she'll never
forgive. Then / rushed back TO the
hotel. got my things, and here l am.
It's all over. I'm fool, and a wretch
ed one, my boy"
/ agreed with him, but didn't men,
ton it.. Then the light was turned out