Mower County transcript., 1908-08-19
CHAPTER |.

In the Darkness of the Chamber.
The persons who formed the 1898
Cluster of the Gemini at the college
had been chosen from 81 possible can
didates, all of whom had in mind the
possibility of becoming wearers of
the Pin of the Twins when they de-
cided to enter the school. AS has been
the case in former years, they repre-
sented some of the most prominent
families in the land. Eventually every
one of them would come into enough
of this worlds goods to place him high
On the pedestal of independence.
With two exceptions, the persons
were easterners; and their names, as
they appeared in the book of personal
ity-Written in the order of their in
1tiation-Were Vynne Marshall, AID
rich Bond, Henry Rich Littleton, But
Ter Noble Martindale, Simeon Pick
ney Woodring, Henry Walker Yea
mans and Gerard Chambers. BY vir-
ture of precedent, chiefly, Marshall,
the first of the number to be clothed
with personality, was elected supreme
person. Bond, the second to be ini-
ated, was known as the second per-
son; and so on-down to Gerard
Chambers, who was officially desig-
mated as the seventh person.
Four of the persons had places on
the varsity football team, and three
were regular members of the college
baseball nine. It had been said that
never before in the history of the
Gemini had the society held such a
commanding position in the social and
athletic affairs of the college. Old
"Prexy" Spindleton once went so far
as to. say that the persons of the 1898
Cluster represented seven of the fin
est specimens of young manhood he
had ever seen. This was high COM
pliment, knowing "Prexy" Spindleton
as the students knew him. Not one
of the seven weighed less than ITS
pounds, and four of them tipped the
beam at only few pounds under the
200 mark.
The person with the best "pros-
pects'' was Gerard Chambers, known
at home and at school as "Jerry;;"
and, if any distinction could be made,
he was, everything considered, the
most attractive star in the Cluster.
He was the son of a great exporting
and importing merchant of New York,
where he walked with big freedom in
the most exclusive social circles. Wal
lace Chambers was a very busy man,
and his mind was hard riveted to his
extensive affairs, but he always found,
time to be glad that his son had been
honored with the personality of, the
Gemini.
- "Jerry," he once said to his de-
lighted son, soon after the subject of
membership in the society had been
broached to- him, II consider you to be
one of the most fortunate of~young
men. AS far back as I can remember,
membership in the Gemini has been
thing much sought after and much
treasured. OF course, you owe much
to your father and to your mother, and
our good fortune in having been born
under the influences of Gemini and
Aquarius gives both of us shade of
the glory that is yours. We have a
right, sir, to demand that you make
the person worthy of the personality.
You have our full consent to do what
ever may be expected of you towards
establishing your ownership of this
hig honor And, my boy, when it
comes to carrying out any instruc-.
tions, don't hesitate at anything. If,
it is deemed wise to subject you to
hardships, don't finch. Then is the
time to show the Chambers colors,
my bOy-the time to float them high
est. | don't believe you will >disap-
point either Of us. And, might add,
the white feather would be the great
est of disappointments to me-"
Back in the old days this mighty
merchant had been a sailor on the sea,
and if it had not been for his ab-
sorbing interest in his vast and fast
expanding business affairs, his restless
spirit, stimulated by life on the wave;
might have been more strongly as
sertive. His adventures on the sea,
he often had said, would go long
way towards filling a big volume with
matter of the most thrilling sort He
seemed to find satisfaction in the
knowledge that his son-the seventh
person-had a disposition patterned
after his own.
Jerry Chambers sailed through his
senior year with the chambers col
ors'' flying at the top Of the mast. His
record was scrupulously clean, so far
as a record goes at college, and in
many departments he stood at the
front.
Three days before commencement
exercises the supreme person, with
solemn formal1ty, notified the other
persons that on the following night a
meeting would be held in the dark
ness of the chamber. No detail Of no.
tif1cation was necessary to convey the
purpose of the gathering. *s
A few minutes before the time set
for the destiny meeting, as the final
convention oftthe persons in the cham
Der had come to be known i 30
o'clock--the supreme person entered
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