The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-01-04

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5 ryins 4 little OYER uay toilet and d
ntGSlng my casa&reay crowd The spes
:. limit. I MAS at p~ein9oatcos only twe2t
i minutes late,
: Sam. who had been tate also, as usua,
q WAS having 4 cocktail i Was Ordering
r the dinner, l smoked A ctgaret an,
Watched him, AT business or st any
{ thins serious his mind was all but use
: less. but at ordering dinner and thing
i OF that sort. he shone. Those small &C
! complishlmeats OF his had often moves
: me 10 3 sort OF plying contempt, as i
II saw q man OF talent deNoting him
self TO engraving the Lords prayer OF
, gold dollars. That evening. however
l as l saw how comfortable and content
ed he looked. With not q rare in tbs
world. since he was TO have a gooe
dinner and a 5000 cigar afterward: as
I saw how much genuine pleasure he
was getting out OF selecting the dishes
and giving the waiter minute dicec-
lions for the chef. l envied him.
What Langdon had once said came
back to me: w are under h tyranny
Of tomorrow, and happiness is impos-
Sible." And / thought how true that
was. But. for he Saramys. high and
low, there is no tomorrow. He -&s
somehow impressing me with a sense
hat he was my superior. His face
was weak. and. in a weak a bad;
but there was n certain fineness OF
quality in it. a sort of dollhouse look.
as If he had been sheltered all his life.
and brought up on especially selected
food. Men like me-" thought l with
a certain envy rise and fall. But his
sort of men ave got something that
can't be taken away. that enables them
to carry off with grace, poverty or the
degradation of being spongers and beg
CARS" This shows how far l had let
that attack of snobbishness eat n me.
I glanced down at my hands. No deli
%cateness there; certainly those fingers,
though white enough nowadays. and
long enough, too, We're not made for
fancy work nj 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"
aid 1.
Thanks" he replied, "but I've prom
ised to go home n play bridge. Moth
er's got a few in to dinner, and more
are coming a~fterward, 1 believe"
Then I'll &c with you. and ak to
your sister-she doesn't play"
He glanced at me in a way that made
me pass my hand over my face. L
learned at least part of the reason for
my feeling at disadvantage before. him.
I had forgotten to shave; and as my
beard is heavy and black, it has to be
looked after twice a day. "Oh. 1 can
stop at my rooms and get my face into
condition in a few minutes" said l.
And put on evening dress. too" he
suggested. You wouldn't want to go
in a dinner Jacket"
I can't say why this was the last
straw" but it was.
"Bother!!" said I. my common sense
smashing the spell of snobbishness that
Ial ~,,,1 " @-~ {A-~1Q -~ -~~. -r
got into his unnatural. unhealthy at
mosphere. TN go as I am. beard and
all. l only make myself ridiculous, try
irg 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, eh?"
A sharpness in his voice and in his
eyes. too, made me put my mind on
him more closely, and then / saw what
1 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.
1 smiled-for his benefit. "Aha!"
thought 1. so Tom Langdon has been
fool enough to take this paroquet into
his confidence Then 1 said to him:
rs Tom making the rounds, warning
the rats to leave the sinking ship"
"What do o mean. Matt?" he de-
manded. as if I had accused him.
1 looked steadily at him. and 1 i'm
agine my unshaven jaw did not make
my aspect alluring.
That I'm thinking of driving the
rats overheard" replied I. The ships
sound, but it would be ounde if there
were fewer of them"
You don't imagine anything Tom
could say would change my feeling to-
ward you?" he pleaded.
Il don't know. and don't care a
know, before the Langdons or any
body else can have Blackjack pie,
they'll have first to catch their
Blackjack"
1 saw Langdon had made him UNI
easy, despite his belief in my strength.
And he was cropping for confirmation
or reinsurance. But" thought l, "if
he thinks l may be going up the spout,
why isn't he more upset? He prob-
ably hates me because I've befriended
him, but 40 matter how much he hated
me, wouldn't his fear of being cut off
from supplies drive him almost crazy?"
1 studied him in vain for sign of deep
anxiety. Either Tom didn't tell him
much, 1 decided, or he didn't believe
Tom knew what he was talking about.
"Wha did Tom say about me-" 1
inquired.
On, almost nOth1ng. we were talk
ing chiefly of-club matters" he an
swered, lin a fair imitation Of his usual
offhand tanner.
When does my name come up
there?" SAT- 1.
He flushed and shifted. Il was just
about to tell you," he stalnmered. But
perhaps o know"
Know what?"
THAT Hasn't Ton told you? He
has withdrawn-and-youll have to
get another second-if you think-that
is-unless you'll suppose you'd have
told me, IL you'd changed your mind?"
Since l had become so deeply inter-
ested in Anita. my ambition-ambition!
to join the Travellers had all but
dropped out of my mind
II had forgotten about it," said l..
But, now that you remind me, l want
my name withdrawn. 1t was a pass
ing fancy. 1t was part and parcel of a
lot OF damn foolishness I've been in
dulging in for the last few months.
But I've come to my senses-and it's
me to the wild Where I belong. Sam
my, from this time on"
He looked tremendously relieved, and
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