Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-02-20

IAueut VI lue SPliIl loSteTeu Dy CllS
beautiful game of ~yours-built for a
human chopping block or battering
ran. as the a may demand! BY the
exertion of those muscles for which he
is no more responsible than Thompson
there for his red hair he brings down
on his richly undeservi1fg head the
%frenzied cheers of a sport crazed
crowd. He sends a man less fortunate
ly endowed physically than himself
into a few moments of unhappy obliv-
ion and then grins al. you with Grass
satisfaction when you cheer him-not
for himself or because his name means
anything. but simply for what he has
done.
This Darlington comes out of no
where" Desbro continued, "a grace
less, coarse fibered clod, with a giants
strength and the broad ideas of a goat,
hungry for notoriety of the sort his
great muscles can command, and YOU
pamper his cheap cravings with inc
ton. You sit in the stands and shout
yourselves hoarse while he is battering
some poor fellow in the arena. and you
will go further. You vii, desire the
capture of this athletic lion in spite of
the fact that he is "a social impossi-
bility. and you will be crowding around
trying to put your fraternity pins on
his coat. Bah!
Il talked with the man, looked into
his great. oxlike eyes-dead, devoid of
the spark of real life"-
The unfinished sentence broke abrupt
Desbro's startled glance to the door
way, where, turning his cane in his
hands and staring at the speaker with
an expression wholly indescribable.
stood B~abbington. For a moment there
was the dead silence Of utter embar-
rassment; then one by n the men
turned to the tables, while Darlington
cleared his throat and spoke.
81 came to see if possibly l hadn't
misunderstood you," he said, turning
to Desbro. "That name you mention
ed was Morton, wasn't it?"
Desbro, redder than any man had
ever seen him, nodded without speak
ing.
81 thought possibly l hadn't under
Stood" Darlington explained. backing
awkwardly out of the door, land I did
know a man named Horton"
A few moments later Desbro passed
the door Of the billiard room, wearing
the raincoat and SLOUGH hat which he
invariably wore on the evening walks
-,JsaI, r-o,,> 1~ o,,1l - 49, "a It, -.
istence as his meals.
No man pretended to know the object
of these nightly walks of Desbro's. To
all inquiries he responded that they
| gave him a chance to think without in
terruption."
At the gate Desbro paused to light a
cigarette, and the flare of the match
as he shielded it from the snappy Oc-
tober wind brought his thin features
into prominence against the darkness.
Burlington, standing under a tree not
a dozen yards away, turned as the sui
phur sputtered and saw. His great
hand clinched instinctively into a fist,
and he had already taken a step for
ward when Desbro turned and started
quickly down the street.
Darlington waited q few moments.
then stepped lightly on to the sidewalk
and followed, quietly at first and then
without caution as Desbro paid no at
tention to the footballs behind him. He
glanced now and then at the receding
lights and then increased the length of
his strides as Desbro's phrases throb-
bed through his mind.
Social impossibilityw! he muttered,
gritting his teeth over the phrase. "IIl
teach the little whelp!!'
His eyes never left the little spark
every time he started to close the gap
between them something checked him.
His thoughts refused to run to any but
a given point-a fierce desire to get his
hands upon the man who had held his
ignorance up to u roomful of men
while he stood and listened helplessly.
AS he had stood under the tree in front
Of the house he had felt. only a sense
of impotency, of shame, a gulping feel
ing of disappointment which was not
easy to understand, a sickening realiZa.
ton that some of Desbro's words had
rung true.
Block after block the man in front
walked. turning nov to the right anG
now to the left, sometimes walking
rapidly and again idling along at S
snail's pace. They passed through the
business streets. lonely and deserted
under the harsh glare of the arc lights
Here Desbro paused to talk with a pc
liceman with whom he seemed to be
on excellent terms, and. turned sudden
~ cold at the sight of the patrolman
Burlington crossed the street ant
nearly lost his who wheeled
abruptly into a dark side street.
Burlington was conscious that ;
struggle had commenced within hin
and that the first heat of anger wa:
passing. He grew ashamed Of hi:
growing calmness, fearful lest the cool
ing influence of the walk rob him O
the merited retaliation which he knew
his massive arms could administer.
Desbro stopped abruptly to light an
other ciparette and hts nI1rsuor ha1tof