The Tupelo journal., 1912-07-26
<Cepyrisht. Epzo. BY Le uis Joseph vsnesl
CHAPTER v.

ne lay QrOWSlly enjoying the T1De duC
dip OF the boat, as drowsily conscious
OF faint thrill Of excitement; most
ly comparable, perhaps. to the frs
waking sensations of fourteen
year-old boy on Fourth Of july
morning.
chronometer on the transverse above
his head raped out smartly two dou
bie-chimes-ships time: four bells:
ten o'clock in the forenoon.
Astonished, he sat up quickly, and
his still sleepy gaze, passing through
the companionway, encountered the
amused regard of the soi-disant Mel
chisedec Appleyard. Promptly Coast
found himself In full possession Of his
faculties. That in obedience to first
instincts he nodded with a cordial
smile, was significant.
Appleyard returned the salutatior
with quick bob of his small head
Good morning, hero!" he sang out
cheerfully.
He sat in the cockpit, huddled into
the folds of gray blanket, volumin
Gus for his slight figure, thin but
wiry forearm barred to WELD the Gig
arctic he was smoking with every In.
dication of enjoyment.
Woodworking" he returned. How
d'you feel after your adventure?"
"Unclothed but In my light mind
said Appleyard, with twinkle Of anx-
iety amending: ito the best Of my
knowledge and belief" He indicated
airily the various articles constituting
his painfully simple wardrobe. Wait
ing for 'em to dry"
Appleyard hoped up, fingered his
everyday attire critically, and pro-
nounced it bone-dry; then, bundling
1t up, he returned to the cabin. seat
ing himself on the opposite transom
/ to dress.
And the sensations of hero, re-
freshed by sound slumbers, are"
Hunger" said Coast. He moved
forward and began to experiment
gingerly with a new and untried alco-
hol stove. 81 can offer you eggs, cof-
fee, biscuit-and nothing else" he
added, producing raw materials from
q locker. You see, hadn't expected
to entertain"
Rotten inconsiderate Of you," APP
pleyard grumbled. I'll wire you q
warning next time 1t occurs to me to
drop in Unexpectedly"
Divided between amusement and
perplexity. in the course Of the meal
Coast reviewed a personality singu-
larly enriched by a variety of sug-
gestions consistently negative. The
mans age was observation-disclosures
where between thirty and forty-fiye.
Loosely summarized, he might have
>jbeen anybody or nobody on lark or
his uppers. ---------~s~-~
Appleyard looked up quickly, with a
shy, humorous smile.
well, what d'you make of me?'
TITS hard enough to guess what
you've made of yourself" ~-.r~--"
"F1attery note" observed Apple
yard obscurely. yet you win my SYM
patty; sometimes am moved to won
4 der--really" He tapped an egg
thcughtfully, crinkle forming be-
tween his colorless eyebrows. TT:
really not what a man makes of him
4 self; It's what his temperament does
TO him" $685.
Temperament"
"Yes you really ought to keep one
too; they're all the rage just now
and such excellent excuses for the in
diligence of your pet idiosyncrasies.'
"Ohi And you blame yours
Tor what?"
For making me al presume pos
lterity, in the final analysis, will ad
Judge me a Romantic
Literature" asked Coast, aghast
Good Heavens, no! Nothing like
that: Life" He aighed profoundly
shall l rehearse to you the story o.
my life? No, shall not rehearse te
you the story of my life. But at al
costs | shall talk about myself for
space: l insist upon it: l love to. Yo,
don't seriously object?" he added
anxious.
Then compose yourself.
Born at an early age-in fact, at al
early an age as you can comfortabl,
iimagine-I found myself immediatel!
the sport of sardonic fortunes. Tha
name, Melchisedec! One felt tina
there must be In ones future life some
warmth of Romance to compensate
for that infamous ignominy. So la
belled any reasonable human shoult
logically have looked forward to SUR
degeneration into the American peas
ant of the New England magazine
story type, sans brains, bowels
breadth, beauty. A born iconoclast
however, as soon as / wakened to re
ialization of my plight I mutinied an
resolved to live down my shame
Thenceforward | set myself to pains
taking undertaking in modern life
seeking the compromising Romance
without which life were but death II