Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-03-27

IN I. /. q. VI. !. Il. !. h /. !: 4. !. N. !" . !. u. 4 Nd. !. II. Y. i. !. !. /. II. !. I y. !: =. 1. j: II: !. 81. !. !. ! \: /. I. !. |. !.
H69 SNw occasional diversion Of mine; but this
E[SGESH is essentially a story Of summer and it5
Xxx n SSSH reflected moods, and l have always been
HR "A IH insistent that the telling of a tale should
AEAA&H be done i'll its appropriate season-the
H@GSS locusts of August should be throbbins
i hotly outside my window to-day, and the
S--H green hills be touched with nisted blue.
However, as a newspaper reporter
might say, this incident in Jim Cham
beriain's life has a winter END" and that periorce'
must be my excuse.
have been wondering about Jim Chamberlain
for a long time because Jim is an old, old, friend
OF mine and I am very fond OF him-probaPiy be
cause OF our great contrasts; ne Is Dig, en neI desii
Of money every year-I am what he calls a bust
ness outcast." TO Jim the vista OF a GToss-street
lined with brick and hre-escapes is wholly satisfy
ing. prefer a fair hill slope and a tunoIihs orook'
Jim dreams OF margins-I OF marginalia.
Perhaps l would be more exact in saying that
this was the man Of a year ago-ln not quite sure
what he is doing now. In March last, just after
the terrible surdam Bridge railroad disaster, Jim
started for the West. To investigate irrigation in
Arizona was his alleged reason; but believe that
he went away with no other motive than to be
somewhere alone and to think, One letter have
had from him, and ii said nothing OF irrigation, or
OF anything else. for that matter. have found
Jim, reticencc at times to be singularly illuminat-
am beginning to be puzzled by his absence-l
want to see him again and find out whether the
same comfortable look has returned to his eyes, if
his laugh is as full and deep and his hand as hearty
as it was when ! first knew him.
OF course, lin had met many women. At various
times my wife had attempted TO marry INN to sev-
cral nice girls she knows, but she could not get him
Interested. He never had time to consider mar
riagc. | firmly believe he has cherished a little
resentment against Marie and me ever since we
married, and my wife insisted on a country home
Whenever he came out to see US knew that he
was regretfuly. turning back IN memory to our OLD,
time, pajama-clad, Eighty-ninth Street Sundays ana
to memories of a room hled with men, tobacco
smoke. and Sunday supplements, and an atmosphere
of poker and personalities. ,.
end OF existence. His days were maelstronns OF ex-
ci;cmcnt from the moment he entered his Office
-LI IL I-...I ,rk.- lopoD Fl n1Dr-
Inn loved a fight with all the iervor of his bulldog
r.,~~ Perkins. who had just lost a bitter struggle
., .-IoQCc Jim from his board OF directors, struck
~tty close to the gold. Said he, " believe Cham
b lain thinks he's Napoleon and sits up all night
>as pins in my, railroad maps
over a year ago | could see a change; Jim was
becoming irritable. His constant good hrmor dis
appeared. His iron nerve sometimes failed him.
Worthing. an old-timc friend Of ours, told me that
Jim had dined with him not long before, Midway
the dinner Jim had tainted. =.
"Thcrc's something the matter with the man,
said WOrthing. He ought to ease up, but can t
d. anything With him. He amiably tells me to go
t. the devil when suggest a rest 49,,
~,WIhy don't YOU get after him, Ted% he added
did get after him and he laughed at me.
"You'rc crazy, Teddy" said he, like all the others.
I'm not sick. and il were, do you think l can get
away from my business:
81 suppose Worthing or Evans put you up to
this" he continued, because was a little tired the
other night. That's no reason at all why should
take a vacation. There's no excuse for that any
way. I've never wanted to take a vacation and I'm
not gong away l can't stop "0'N"e' A"1 w
I did not see jim for several weeks after that
incident. One day late in May he telephoneo' ask
ing me to call on him in town.
q" promised to be on hand; and five o'clock of the
next afternoon found me at the door OF lim's apart
wont He calls il his bungalow" commemorative
w.. because he got the idea and the means to crystal
lie it when he bought a tract of land IN southern
California and changed it to a neatly tT'mmed and
populous addition"
Gradually he had filled his place with interest
ing things, for in an abashed way Jim IS a collec-
tor something strikes his fancy, no matter
what is Is, he buys it, takes it home furtiyely, and
nlaces il with calm indifference in a corner, on a
mantelpiecc, or under his bed, and then toTgetS Il
A large abalone she'll from Catalina may hold bu',
lets from the Custer battlefield; or a blood-rusted
rnachctc lccr menacingly, from a tall and harmless
G. G., he doc and the pet adherence OF the immutable
Oriental. Ka1noto. who cooks and slaves for Jim by
day and reads law for himself by night
Taroto appeared nervous wien he admitted me
Mist Cham'blin sick" was his greeting; he
saw you come in ~
T followed kamoto to the bedtoom ana rouG ir
d" "Sit down down n near the window, Teddy" he com.
randed: light the strongest cigar you can fne
a n"i iir,r The sr1oke this way; throw your package
~ +bo Goor where that heather will have 10 pick
them up: kick the dog into the hall; and then humo'
Ny lesson had been learned from iGns eTGe
S""2 SNOW . have a drink, Teddy, a fine, long, cole
one" said he,
"M%Snntt," .a;d Tim, "set it down on that tabl,
where ! can see it and then rattle the spoon an'
ice around in it 50 | can hear It very plainly
did so for a long time in silence.
ooh, it's the fault of that fool doctor Of yours,
he conplained. Hes got me at last. lie say
49,, nerves are right on the point of unravellinl
ard insists that il smoke -s ano 9th to e GIG aw aS , %o%
r"berc 70 a quiet spot and rest! What do you thin
Of that, Teddy" he snarled. Rest! Simply be
cause my heart bumps are out OF tune once IN
"""Think of it, Teddy" he implored, plaintiyels
Picture me sitting day after day on an open
work yeranda with a lot of c%rocheting women!
"'No Newspapers says that fool doctor, no tele
phones. no drinks, no cigars-nothing Tor tire
/" knew that Doctor Evans had given the yerdic
Hes right, Jim" said you must 90 IT. ,M u
away somewhere and eaten a niue "S" " " u"
'E lie turned { his II face to the wall, Well" said h
CHATS The last straw. had hoped for bette
things from YOU. Teddy, but if you are all organ
hed to hound me out OF town suppose III ha'