The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-08-24
T rumpet
Island
BY GoUvERNEUR MORRIS

by HUUVENNEON lB(tfHNlS
coFynieHr, 1870, THE PEARSON ruslxsurne CO.
found that money. which / had al
ways wanted, forced upon me, when
got 1t, gregariousness that was AL
most as bad as being poor. The waiter
that had formerly taken my tip in
ungrateful silence now pocketed the
same bonus with the most ungratify-
ing gush OF thanks. A taciturn bar
Der who had shaved me for years de-
| veloped into loquacious, whispering.
| unexpurgated anecdotalist. | learned
the ear-marks of toadies, and could
spot them as readily as pennies in
handful of change. Even those who
had stood by with friendship in the
| dog-days underwent, for the most part,
alterations of attitude. And 1t was ali
very hard to bear. The multiplicity Of
affairs and possessions became very
| tedious; the being marked man; the
being set aside from those who have
| to help themselves. And / grew to
want freedom not less passionately
than formerly had wanted the money
that had got me into bondage.
wanted to get beyond the reach of tele-
graph and telephone; beyond tho In
sinuating voice and the adulating face.
wanted, In short, to stand upon my
own feet, once more, and to turn my
head and hand to the hours need.
Trumpet Island is off the coast Of
Maine. You may Crusoe upon 1t at,
and for, any time. There are forty
acres Of it, sparse grass, a forest OF
spruce and hemlock, a cove and
fresh-water pond. There is log-cabin,
too, which can recommend 1t has
room, roof and chimney, and l
built 1t myself. There ought to be half
barrel of -four left, and tin Of
moldy biscuits. Help yourself. l have
not even bought Trumpet Island for
sentiment And that is because have
never been able to find out who owns
1t. But / bless it from the heart
for the solitude which It gave me, and
- the company.
had made arrangements with the
owner Of sea-going tugboat to bring
me supplies on the first and fifteenth
Of each month, weather permitting;
but in building the cabin had no help
from man, and only from Him who
sent me weeks of sparkling sea-blue
weather. The island had dry cave,
In which might have lived we'll
enough. But was set on being q
builder, and worker; genuine and
creditable output Of civilization.
made a little garden in front of the
cabin, in which grew the more simple
minded vegetables and such bright an
nuals as require the fewest prayers.
Rain held of until the last bark slab
was in place upon the roof But
slept in the cabin for the first time
through roaring and downpouring
that proved me to have builded ever
SO much better than really knew
how. My tiny house was as tight as
yacht-a genuine, outstanding, hon
orable out-of-door house. Tired as I
was, pride In achievement carried me
beyond midnight without the wish to
sleep. sat before my fire, and l
smoked, and thought, and remembered,
and imagined, and was proud and con-
tent.
l have a friend, very fond OF out Of
doors. He used to say that it was his
ambition to build little house out of
doors, and live in it. thought of him
that night, toiler among crowds, and
wondered how he Jared Then my
mind got running on affairs, and |
| tried to calculate with pencil and paper
just how rich was! because | wanted
to be able to say: This house which
| have built, and this island which
God put in the sea, are worth more to
me than 30 many millions" But
was tired, and could not remember
how much Western Union | owned,
! nor how much General Electric; nor
whether Alkaline Verde had last sold
| for three hundred dollars share or
| five hundred. OF course knew to
! dollar how much common stock
owned in my own company-"The
United Vibrator Company of New Jer-
sey"-and just what dividends 1t had
4 paid, would, could and should pay; but
other holdings could not get them
/ selves remembered
Anyhow" l thought, there's a lot
OF 1t. but it's not as good as this, o
Lord!" My imagination began to make
/ pictures In the Goals; forest scenes
4 with animal life, and faces OF people
4 that / knew, and that did not know.
One face, that Of Malinski, my bene-
factor, was wonderfully vivid, and not
/ pleasant. remembered how even In
/ death he had still looked drunk, and
/ how his affection for me had been
born, not OF kindness and true friend
ship on my part, but Of a drink OF
! brandy that the ulcers in his stomach
were burning for.
/ | had seen him accost dozen men
/ in the shadow of the Third Avenue
Elevated, but without success. Then
he stepped up to me, and said Che was
very proud and looked you in the eye)
I'm not hungry, sir, but I'm in tor
ture for drink. VIII you lend me
quarter? But l may never pay you
back" gave him a quarter, one OF
two that | had In the world at that
time. He insisted though upon having
my name and address, SO that If. which
he doubted, fortune ever smiled. he
| could pay his debt
week later woman with an evil
face came to my room, and told me
that one whom l had befriended Law
dying. and wished with his own hands
to pay me debt-with interest. HE
said said she, mot to leave that out.
else you mightn't come"
| went with her, and found the beg.
gar drunk and dying. The woman
closed the door upon us, and could
never find trace of her afterward.
though | tried.
4 Here" said Malinski He pave ~, a