The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-05-13

was anxious To have Mr.. Magpe try.
So. when rattllng noise came to his
ear OH his first mOruing ut Baldpate
inn. Mr.. Magce breuthed slcppily from
the covers. Good nOrning. Geotfrey."
hut NO CHEEKY voice replied In terms
OF sun. wind or rain. Surprised. Mr..
MAgee sat up in bed About him the
maple wood furniture Of suit = stood
shivering In the chill Of q December
morning. Through the door ut his left
he caught sight Of u white tub into
which. he recalled sadly. not even Il
GeOffrey could coax II -liitering drop.
Yes-he was ut lIaidlmte inn. He re-
membered-the climb with the duzed
Qulmby mp the snowy road. the plaint
Of the lOvelorn haberdasher. the va
garies Of the professor with pencha mt
for blonds. tue mysterious click Of the
door latch OH the floor above. And
last Of all-strange that 1t should have
been last-a girl In blue corduroy some
what darker than her eyes. who wept
amid the stations gloom.
II WONDER" reflected MIR. Magee.
staring at the very brassy bars ut the
foot OF bis bed. "what new varia-
tions on seciusiOn the day will bring
forth:"
Again came the rattling noise that
had awakened him. He looked toward
the nearest window, and through an
unfrosted corner of the pane he saw
the eyes Of the newest variation star.
Ing at hin, in wonder. They were dark
eyes and kindly. They spoke desire
to enter.
Rising from his warm retreat, Mr..
Magee took his shivering way across
the nncarpeted floor and unfastened
the windows catch. From the bldster-
ing balcony plump little man stepped
inside. He had market basket on
bis arm. His face was q stranger to
razors; his hair to shears.
Magee dived hastily back under the
covers. "Well:" he questioned.
$50 you're the fellow?" remarked the
little man In awe. he placed the
basket on the door. It appeared to be
hlled with bromidic groceries, such as
the most subdued householder carries
home.
(which fellow?" asked MI. Magee.
'"rhe fellow Elijah Quimby told me
about" explained he of the long brown
locks. ''the fellow that's come up to
Baldpate inn to be alone with bin
thoughts"
You're one Of the villagers. / take
itr' guessed Mr.. Magee.
you're dead wrong. I'm no villager.
My instincts are oil In the other direc.
tion-away from the crowd. live up
near the top Of Baldpate In little
shack built myself. My names Pc.
ters. Jake Peters, in the winter. Bur
In tho summer. when the inns open
and the red and white awnings are
out and the band plays in the Casino
every night. then I'm the hermit or
Raldpate mountain. come down here
and sell picture postcards Of myself
to the ladies'"
Mr.. Magee appeared overcome with
mirth.
"A professional hermit, by the godsr
he cried. Say. I didn't know Bald
pate mountain was fitted up with all
the modern improvements. This is
great luck. Pm an amateur Mt the
hermit business. You'll have to teach
me the fine points. Sit down."
Just between ourselves. I'm not a
regular hermit" said the plump, be.
whiskered one. sitting gingerly on the
edge OF q frail chalr-"nOt one of
these all for love Of q woman her.
mits you read about in books. OF
course have to pretend I am. In sum.
mer. In order to sell the cards and do
my whole duty by the inn manage.
ment. A lot Of the women ask me in
soft tones about the great disappoint-
ment that drove me to old Baldpate.
and give 'em various answers. &C.
cording to how I feel. Speaking to
you as a friend and considering the
fact that It's the dead of winter. ]
may say there was little or no romance
In my life"
Back to nature. In other words" re.
marked Mr.. Magee.
"Yes. sir: back with a rush. was
down to the village this morning for a
few groceries, and I stopped of at
Quimby's. as ! often do. He told me
about you. help him a lot around
the inn. and we arranged ! was to stop
In and start your Gre and do any other
little errands you might want done. !
thought we ought to get acquainted.
you and me. being rs we're both liter
ary men. after manner of speaking "
"Nof" cried Mr.. Mngee.
EYES," said the hermit Of Baldpate.
IL dip into that work n little now and
then. Some Of my verses OH the joys
Of solitude have appeared In print-On
the postcards ! sell to the guests In
the summer. But my life work. rs you
might call 1t. Is book I've had under
way for SOME time. It's called sim.
ply 'WOman'-just that one word
but. oh. the meaning In 1t! That book
is going to prove that all the trouble