Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-01-04

limit. ! was at Delmonico's only twenty
minutes late.
Sam, who had been late also, as usual
was having a cocktail and was ordering
the dinner. I smoked a cigaret and
watched him. 1t business or at any
thing serious his mind was all but use
less. but at ordering dinner and things
of that sort, he shone. Those small ac-
complishments Of his had often moved
me to a sort of plying contempt, as If
one saw a man of talent devoting him
self to engraving the Lords prayer on
gold dollars. That evening, however,
as | saw how comfortable and content
ed he looked, with not a care In the
world, since he was TO have a good
dinner and q good cigar afterward; as
| | saw how much genuine pleasure he
was getting out Of selecting the dishes
and giving the waiter minute direc-
tions for the chef, l envied him.
What Langdon had once said came
back to me: we are under the tyranny
Of tomorrow, and happiness is impos-
sible.' And / thought how true that
was. But, for the Sammys, high and
low, there is no tomorrow. He was
somehow impressing me with a sense
that he vas my superior. HIS race
was weak, and, in "A weak way. bad;
but there was a certain enc or
quality IN II, ~ SOIl VI DoAlAOuSt loOns
as If he had been sheltered all his life,
and brought up on especially selected
food. Men like me-" thought / with
a certain envy, rise and fall. But his
sort of men have got something that
can't be taken away, that enables them
to carry off with grace, poverty or the
degradation of being spongers n beg
CARS" This shows how far | had let
that attack of snobbishness eat into me.
n - 800, . 49, hn nIE No 1nli-
cateness there; certainly those fingers,
though White enough nowadays, and
long enough, too, were not made for
fancy work and parlor tricks. They
would have looked in place round the
handle of a spade or the throttle of an
engine, while Sans seemed made for
the keyboard Of a piano.
You must come over to my rooms
after dinner. and give me some music, :
said /.
Thanks" he replied, but I've prom
Used to go home and play bridge. Moth
er's got a few in to dinner. and more
are coming afterward, / believe"
Then I'll go with you. n talk TO
your sister-she doesn't play"
He glanced at me in a way that made
me pass my hand over my face. |
learned at least part OF the reason for
my feeling at disadvantage before him.
| had forgotten to shave; and as my
beard is heavy and black, 1t has to be
looked after twice a day. "Oh. / can
stop at my rooms and get my face into
condition lin a few minutes said /.
And put on evening dress, too" he
suggested. You wouldn't want to go
In a dinner jacket
l can't say why this was the last
straw but it was. sjay,
Bother" said L, my common sense
smashing the spell of sn~obbishness that
had begun to reassert itself as soon as l
got into his unnatural, unhealthy at
mosphere. I'll go as ] am, beard n
all. | only make myself ridiculous, try
ing to be a sheep. I'm a goat, and a
goat I'll stay"
That shut him into himself. When
he re-emerged. it was to say Some
thing doing down town today. ehg'
A sharpness in his voice and i'll his
eyes, too. made me put my mind on
him more closely, and then I saw what
/ should have seen before-that he was
moody and slightly distant.
Seen Tom Langdon this afternoon
i asked carelessly.
He colored. "Yes-had lunch with
him. was his answer.
/ s~miled-for his benefit. "Aha!"
thought /. $50 Tom Langdon has been
fool enough to take this paroquet into
his confidence Then / sale to him:
lis Tom making the rounds, warning
the rats to leave the sinking ship"
What do you NEAR Matte he de-
manded, as if / had accused him.
L looked steadily at him. and I i'm
agine my nshaven jaw did not make
my aspect alluring.
THAT I'm thinking of driving the
rats overheard replied /. The ships
sound. but IL would be sounder If there
were fewer of them"
You don't imagine anything Tom
could say would change my feeling to-
ward you?" he pleaded.
II don't know, and ! don't care a
damn replied I coolly. But / do
know, before the Langdons or any
body else can have Blackjack pie,
they'll have first TO catch their
Blackjack
/ saw Langdon had made him un-
easy, despite his belief in my strength.
And he was cropping for confirmation
or But" thought /, IF
he thinks | may be going up the spout,
why isn't he more upset? He prob
ably hates me because I've befriended
him. but no matter how much he hated
me, wouldn't his fear of being cut off
from supplies drive him almost craZyg'
l studied him in vain for sign of deep
anxiety. Either Tom didn't tell him
| mucI1, L ucCtdtu, vi it uiou DChcN
Tom knew what he was talking about.
What did Tom say about me?" l
inquired.
"Oh, almost nothing. We We're talk
ing chiefly of-club Matters he an
swered. in a fair imitation of his usual
offhand n
when does my name come up
there?' said /.
He flushed and shifted. Il was just
about to tell you." he stammered. But
perhaps you know"
Know what?"
That Hasn't Tom told you? He
has withdrawn-and-you1l have ia
get another second-if o think-that
is-unless you'll suppose you'd have
told me, if you'd changed your mind?'
Since / had become so deeply inter-
ested In Anita, my ambition-ambition
Ito join the Travellers had all but
dropped out of my mind.
Il had forgotten about it, said !
but, now that you remind me, ! want
my name withdrawn. 1t was a pass
ing fancy. TWAS part and parcelsof
lot OF damn foolishness I've been In
dulging I'm for the last few months
But rye come to my senses-and its
me TO the wild where l belong. Sam
my, from this time on"
He looked tremendously r~elieveds ant
a little puzzled, too. I thought / wa
reading him like an illuminated Sign
He's eager to keep friends with me.
thought 1, until he's absolutely sure
there's nothing more in 1t xpr him ans