Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1908-09-12
/. THE pENDULUM0
By o. HENRY.

ed down the stairway of the station
with the released flock
John walked slowly toward his flat
slowly, because in the lexicon of his
daily life there was no such word as
''pcrhapS. There are no surprises
awaiting man who has been married
two years and lives in fiat AS he
walked John Perkins prophcSicd to
himself with gloomy and downtroddcn
cyniciSm the forcgonc conclusions of
the mOnotonous day.
Katy would meet him at the door
with kiss Favored with cold cream
and butter scotch He would remove
his coat sit upon a macadamiZel
lounge and read in the evening paper
of Russians and JapS slaughtered by
the deadly linotype. For dinner there
would be pot roast, Il salad favored
with dressing warranted not TO crack
or iniure the leather. Stcwcd rhubarD
and the bottle of strawberry marina
lade bluShing at the certificate of
chemical purity on its label. After
dinner Katy would show him the new
patch in her crazy quilt that the ice
man had cut for her off the end of his
four-in-hand At half past they
would spread newspapers over the fur
uiture to catch the pieces of plaStcring
that fell when the fat man i'll the fiat
overhead began to take his physical
culture exercises. Exactly at s Hickey
and Mooney of the vaudeville team
WnbookcdD in the fiat across the hall
would yield to the gentle influence of
delirium tremens and begin to over
turn chairs under the dcluSion that
IIammcrstcin was pursuing them with
five hundred dollar Il week contract.
Then the gent at the window across
the air shaft would get out his flute;
the nightly gas leak would steal forth
to frOlic in the highways; the dumb
waiter would slip off its trolley; the
janitor would drive Mrs ZanowitskiS
five children once more across the
Ialu; the lady with the champagne
shoes and the skye terrier would trip
downstairs and paste her Thursday
name over her bell and letter box, and
the evening routine of the Frogmore
flats would be under way.
John Perkins knew these things
would happen. And he knew that at
a quarter past s he would summon his
nerve and reach for his hat and that
his wife would deliver this speech in
Il QucrulouS tone:
Nov, where are you going, I'd like
to know, John perkins?"
"Thought I'd drop up to McClos-
keys" he would answer, land play a
game or two of pool with the fellows"
OF late such had been John Perkins
habit At 10 or II he would return.
Sometimes Katy would be asleep.
sometimes waiting up, ready to melt
In the Crucible of her ire a little more
gold plating from the wrought steel
chains of matrimony. For these things
Cupid will have to answer when he
stands at the bar of justice with his
victims from the Frogmore flats.
Tonight John Perkins encountered a
tremendous upheaval of the common
place when he reached his door. No
Katy was there with her affcctiOnatc,
ConfectiOnate kiss The three rooms
seemed in portentOus disorder. All
ii
Shoes in the middle of the floor, c2r'
ing tongS, hair bows, kmonos, powder
box iumblnd togethcr ON dresser and
chairs-thiS was not Kotv's way With
Il sinking heart John saw the comb
with n curling cloud of her brown hair
among its teeth. Sonic unusual hurry
and perturbotion must have nossosse1
bor for she ol,vavs c,rafuIIv nIoced
these combines in tho LITTLE hlua v,se
nm tbo mon+Io +o La .,,u,o d,v forrod
into tho covotod ro,ni,fn, ..rot -
IIon,,iro oousni,,,,,,.I, to tive oos iot
nv = strino wos , f,Idcd n,nnr John
,oi,od II II v,. , roto from his wifo
,.,,rnir,r tbus.
Dao. 1o,,, inc, b,, , ,oI,,,r,r, sov
Ing mother is very sick. am going 20
take the 4:3O train. Brother Sam is 60
inS l" meet me at ,.'' GIP1' l''rT' mere e
isn,t Hcr ,, %ninzv arsin pay IN, miIkman
60 cents She had it bad last spring
Don't forget to write to the company
p ~ '''L tGn SO '.'' ili ri ms
morrow. Hastily. KATY.
Never during their two wears of
matrimonv had he and Katy been sep
over and over in 4 dumfouuded way
Hero WAS = brrnk in = routinc that
had novcr varied and if left him dozed
There ON thp back of chair hung
pothcticaIly rmptv and formlcss the
rod wronDer with black dots that she