Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1907-05-31
CHAPTER VII.-Continued
BLACKLOCk GOES INTO TRAIN
ING.


ING.
| shall never forget the smallest
detail of that dinner-it was a purely
Family" affair, only the Ellerslys and
I. | can feel now the oppressive at
mosphere, the look as. of impending
sacrilege upon the faces of the old
servants; / can see Mrs. Ellersly try
ing to condescend to be gracious.
and treating me as If were some sort
of museum freak or menagerie exhibit.
/ can see Anita She was like statue
of snow; she spoke not word; If she
lifted her eyes, failed to note it. And
when | was leaving with my collar
wilted from the fierce, nervous strain
I had been enduring-Mrs. Ellersly, in
that voice of hers into which | don't
believe any shade of real human
emotion ever penetrated. said: You
must come to see us, Mr.. Blackjack.
We are always at home after five"
1 looked at Miss Ellersly. She was
white to the lips now, and the span
giles on her white dress seemed bits
of ice glittering there. re said moth
ing; but | knew she felt my look, and
that it froze the ice the more closely
In around her heart. Thank you,'
muttered
| stumbled in the hall; | almost fell
down the broad steps. l stopped at
the first bar and took three drinks in
quick succession. went on down
the avenue, breathing like an exhaust
ed swimmer I'm give her up" |
cried aloud so upset was |.
| am a man of impulse; but l have
trained myself not to be a creature OF
impulse, at least not in matters of i'm
portance Without that patient and
painful schooling, l shouldn't have got
where now am; probably I'd still be
backing boots, or sheet-writing for
some bookmaker, or clerking it for
some broker. Before l got my rooms,
the night air and my habit of the
sober second thought" had cooled me
back to nationality.
81 want her, need her." l was say
ing to myself. 81 am worthier OF her
than are those mincing manikins she
has been bred to regard as men. She
is for me-she belongs to me. III
abandon her to no Sinking puppet
who'd wear her as a donkey would
diamond Why should l do myself
and her an injury simply because she
has been too badly brought up to
know her own INTEREST,""
When this was clear to me l sent
for my trainer He was one of those
spare, why Englishmen, with skin like
tanned and painted hide-brcwn ex-
cept where the bones seem about TO
push their sharp angles through, and
there frosty, winter apple red He
dressed like a Deadwood gambler, he |
talked like a stable boy; but for all
that, you couldn't fail to see he was
a gentleman born and bred. Yes, he |
was a gentleman, though he mixed |
profanity into his ordinary flow of
conversation more literally than did |
/ when in a rage.
l stood up before him, threw my |
coat back, thrust my thumbs into my /
trousers pockets and slowly turned I
about like ready-made tailors dunn
my. "Monson," said |, what do you
think of me?"
He looked me over as if were a
horse he was about to buy. Sound.
I'd say" was his verdict. Good
wind-uncommon good wind. A goer,
and slayer Not lump. Not a hair
out of place." He laughed. Action
a bit high perhaps-for the track. But
a grand reach
81 know all that" said I. you miss
my point Suppose you wanted to
enter me for-say. the Society Sweep
them"
"Um-um,' he muttered re1ectively.
That's different"
Don't | look-sort of-new-as il
the varnish was still sticky and might
come off on the ladies' dresses and on
the fine furniture?"
"Oh-that!" said he obviously. But
all those kinds of things are matters
Of taste"
"Out with it," commanded. Don't
be afraid. I'm not one of those damn
fools that ask for criticism when they
want only fattery, as you ought to
know by this time. I'm aware of my
good points, know how good they are
peter than anybody else in the world.
And | suspect my weak points-al- ]
Tays did. I've got on chiefly because {
made people tell me to my face what