The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-12
LUBBER LAST
By Grace H. Boutelle

points to mutual harmony.
 To begin with, it was spring. With the delicious odor of resinous smoke from the boughs that had banked the house assailing ones nostrils, who could resist joining the dancing sil- houettes that circled the bonfire and daring ones fate by leaping across it in swaggering competition as the flames died down?
 But she drew lurid pictures of his certain fate if be should repeat the offense. Blind defiance rose insurgent within him. He would go. And then all of a sudden he remembered what his father said and hung his head to think how those grave, kind eyes of his would look at him now.
 ''Take good care of mamma,' he had said at the last. You must be her big brother and never let her worry about you, she's so little and delicate" And then he had whispered over two or three times. My pretty little wife, my dear little girlr'
 And De Peyster had tried with all his might to remember. But often it did seem as if it would have been a little easier if she could have under stood that one was disgraced if one did not keep neck and neck with "the other fellows" in every prank they played.
 There was long and weary period of dooryard discipline after this epi- sode. There were a good many times vrhA no hoI %n nfS h ic fists as tight as he could and remem- Der his father very hard.
 By and by June came. quivering with gold green sunlight, perfumed with a universal blossoming and pun gent with the Joy of living. At this time evsry true joy thrills with the half realized rapture of it all and finds the fullest expression of his ecstasy in going swimming.
 Every bright morning in some part of the town there was sure to be 8 group of boys toeing line, their necks bobbing eagerly forward and their bodies giving anticipatory jerks and twitches as they waited for the word. When the leader said ''Gov' they dart ed forth, and there was kaleidoscop- AS 1ho oAoSoAhAhS '4S" OA AS6S Ae-$AA6 madly down a side street that led to the river. Then collars came of, coats followed, as they ran with undimin- ished speed, the fellow who was far thest ahead sometimes slowing up with magnificent daring to get off his shoes and stockings while the others were still hampered by shirts and trousers, and by the time they tumbled in headlong competition over the bank the nimblest carried their entire ward robe on their arms and flashed white ly into the water while the laggers fumbled at their shoe lacings. The unfortunate who popped into the river. flushed and panting, after all the rest were in was greeted with tauntfng cries of: "Lubber last! Lubber last"
 De Peyster had never been told not to go in swimming. It had not oc- cured to his mother as among the list of his possible perils, as she was in blissful ignorance of the fact that "the other fellows" did it.
 So it was with the thrilling exult- ance of the Greek runner that he set his toe on the line with the rest and hurled himself forward, head up and elbows in.
 The first few rods it felt like flying His feet scarcely seemed to touch the ground. Then pair of legs flashed by him. and another and another. He gathered his strength and shot for ward again, but another pair of legs went by, and another and another.
 They were tearing off their coats; they were stripping off their shirts. He felt at his collar. wrenched it of and flung it away. to have both hands free for his coat and shirt. They were almost at the bank now. He could see Micky Daly's white skin dazzle in<the sun as he took a splendid dive ahead of the rest. His own feet were grow ing heavy, and there was a mist be- fore his eyes. The knot in his shoe lacing would not come united. A sav- age rage filled him. If he could have cut off his foot to rid himself of the hampering shoe. he would scarcely have hesftated. You were ruled out if you went into the water with anything left on. As he struggled and per spired and agonized the two or three whom he had distanced leaped~ past him, and as he shook the shoe off at last and made a dive be heard the air ringing with ''Lubber last! Lub- Der lastp' and slowly realized that it was meant for him.
 He tried manfully two or three other days. but it was always the same way. His muscles were f1abby from the dooryard discipline. and he could not pick up in a few weeks what the oth- CTS had acquired through joyous years of summer vagabondage.
 |! He took it quietly and good natured- ly. but it went deep.
 His mother found out the custom shortly and forbade him to go near the water. !.
 As for De Peyster himself, the numb ness of despair settled upon him. Now he could never learn to redeem himself, to have some day perhaps the ineffable joy of being the first in. ahead of Jimmy Spratt. ahead of Micky Daly. ahead of everybody. His career was ended before it had begun.
 'But I got to not let her worry.'' was the rueful conclusion he always reached. And then he breathed hard