The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1910-04-13
BY F. IRVING FILE TCl

ness thought good and sutti-
cient reason, as shall appear.
Pottle was a pawn on a chess
board, and the best behaved sort OF
a pawn at that 1t was very big
chess board, too, with kings and
queens and knights and things in the
shape of directors and officers, who
played most suspicious chess Yet,
although the games were many and
not without an occasional change in
advantages, there was one pawn
which time nor tide nor skill had
ever eliminated. 1t was Pottle. Pot
tie. the genial spheroid, Pottle! Pot
tie, who for twenty-eight years had
never found time to fall sick, who
took weeks vacation once in tive
years or thereabout, who was always
first at the office of morning ana
last to leave it at night, who never
buried relatives for convenience, nor
employed the subterfuge OF marrying
off friend with base (balD obJec-
tive, and whose record as an office
man was quite as great in its way as
ever Caesars was in his. Politics.
bald head shone like ivory and was
tufted all round with a gentle growth
of kindly curls, and his body was an
almost perfect sphere, the thin gold
guard that stretched from one vest
pocket to the other travelling quite a
while to do it. Not at all unlike d
gigantic bubble, surmounted by
smaller one, was Pottle, except that
he was made OF sterner stuff than
soap. There never was more pune
tilious pawn than Pottle.
One day he got drunk
For twenty weight years he mad
piled a diligent pen in the oflce Oh
the Atalanta Smelling Company, al
ways in the hope that he would one
day get there-wherever that might
be. Hope springs eternal in the hu-
man breast, and it is we'll that 1t
does. for it is a hard world. But one
day hope ceased to live up to lts
reputation so far as Pottle was con-
cerned, so Pottle got drunk.
That the terrible significance OF
this may be properly appreciated, IT
should be stated that Polite, IN
his capacity of general office
man. was also custodian OF the
Office behavior, and responsible
for the conduct OF his fellow
pawns, it being his particular
duty to see that no pawn ever
slipped off the chess board to get
a drink or attend a double-head
en- or what was infinitely more
important, that no pawn took
self to move up without sane
thority.
For the fourth time, Pottle got dr.
he got drunk once, and this is the fol
mentioned IT'D
For many years it had been Pott
ton to get the appointment OF cash
muneration that attached thereto, an
finally pigeon-holed the present incr
hourly expected to come into his owl
ties disappointment, therefore-for
mere words describe it-when the
filled by man who had friend on
newcomer was introduced as cashier
staff and duly installed in office, witt
year for the present and fair prom
ture. Verify, it is wise man that
or two on his visiting list-or, pref
family, if it can be arranged-for
pull" my dears, is better, far bette
eight years OF pulling.
AS aforesaid, Pottle got drunk.
He came in from lunch with slow,
vacancy where his expression Shout
and suspiciously redolent of rye.
pushed in his pockets, and his hat a
meandered quietly down the little |;
until he came unto his own, where h
into his chair, with his hands still
and his hat still on his head. No
the shock as general, for Politics.
not have deceived the most unprac
was drunk-Pottle, the genial. gentle
hard working, conscientious Pottle
did he want for sympathy. The dis.
things lad recently taken was not
There was not man in the employ
but felt that Pottle had a genuine q