Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-01-04

''HE's GOT SIX SUITS OF CLOTHES"
out remarking the open volume Of
"The Law Of Torts,' with it's numer-
Gus pages painstakingly spaced by
slips of paper by way Of bookmarks,
is an attested fact. That it was al
ways the same volume is less widely
known.
Less directly-that is to say, via my
window learned Of him compen-
diously from sources which would
have been anonymous but for my long
acquaintance with the voices of the
tOWnspeople. l write these pages at
my desk at home and, if truths to be
told, somewhat surreptitiously. But
with these voices ringing in my men,
ory's ear seemed still to be sitting at
my erstwhile desk by the window,
looking out over Courthouse square,
chewing the rubber heel of my pencil
the while listen.
Immediately opposite, on the far
side of the square, the courthouse
rises proudly in all the majesty of its
columned front and clapboarded sides.
Farther along there's the Methodist
church, very severe. with its rows of
sheds on one side for the teams of the
more rural members. Behind them all
bulk our hills. dim and purple against
the overwhelming blue of the sky It's
very quiet. There are few sounds and
those few most amiliar-the raucous
warcry of rooster somewhere on the
outskirts Of town, an intermittent
thudding of hoofs in the inch deep
dust of the roadway. Miles Stetson
wringing faint but genuine shrieks of
agony from his cornet in room be-
bind the opera house on the next
street, periodically shuttle of feet on
the sidewalk below, less frequently the
whine of the swinging doors at
SchwartZ's place and above it all per-
haps the shrill but not unpleasant c-
cents of Angie Tuthill as she pauses
on the threshold downstairs and in
jects surprising information into the
nothing reluctant ears of Name Gar
rison:
''He's got six suits of clothes, three
for summer and three for winter. and
two others to wear to parties. one reg
ular full dress suit and another with
out any tails on the coat that he told
Miss Carpenter was dinner coat. but
Roland Barnette says he must We
meant tuxedo. because nobody
wears that kind Of clothes except at
night, so how could it be a dinner
coat? And Miss Carpenter told ma
he's got twelve striped shirts and eight
white ones and dozens Of silk socks
and two dozen neckties and handker-
chiefs till you can't count and
Name punctuates this monologue
with regular and excusable my
land!" and the young voices fade
away into the midsummer afternoon
quiet. am free to resume my inter-
rupted flight of fancy. but refrain.
The atmosphere is soporiferous. hardly
conducive to editorial inspiration. and
I find the commingled favors Of red
cedar, glue and rubber quite nourish-
ing.
Presently Or. Mortimer, the minis
ter, comes down the street in COM
pany with his deacon. Blinky Lock-
wood. They are discussing some one
in subdued tones. but catch refer
ences to worthy young man and the
vacancy In the choir
Josie Lockwood rustles into hearing
with Bessie Gabriel in tow. Josie IS
rafting volubly, but with hint Of
the confidential in her tone She In
sists that "of course never let on,
but every time we meet can just feel
him looking and
Bessie interposes. ''Why, Tracey Tan.
ner's just crazy for fear he'll take on
with Angie"
can see Josie's head toss at this
81 bet he don't know what Angie Tut.
hill looks like. That's too absurd
Absurd" is Iosie's newest word. Its.
(C 9; . paa< 9