The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-07

f chorus They jeered, derided, scoffed and raised an .uproar / which. would have had it's eff feet upon much stronger nerves than Georgies For a time he contained l his rising choler and chanted monot- onously over and over: s"I could! I | could too! couldl could toor' But their tumult wore upon him, and he de cided to avail himself of the recent de l clsion whereby a big H was rendered i 1nnocuous and unprofane. Having used the expression once, he@found it ! comforting and substituted it for Il 4 could. I could too!7
 But it relieved him only temporarily. His tormentors were unaffected by it i and increased their howlings until at last Georgie lost his head altogether. ! Badgered beyond bearing his eyes shining with a wild light, he broke 1 through the besieging trio, huTling little l Maurice from his path with frantic J hand
 .I'H show you.' he cried in this sud den frenzy. You give me chance, i and I'll prove it right nowr' That's talkin' businessr' shouted l Penrod "Everybody keep still a min ute-everybo
 He took command of the situation at l once, displaying fine capacity for or ] ganization. and system. E. It needed4only a few minutes to set order in the place of confusion and to determine, with the full concurrence of all parties, the con l ditions under which Geofgie Bassett 1 was to defend his claim by undergoing what may be perhaps intelligibly de I fined as the Herman test.a Georgies de clared he could do it easily. He was in a state of great excitement and in no condition to think calmly or proba- bly, he would not have made the att tempt at all. Certainly he was over confident.
 It was during the discussion of the details of this enterprise that Georgie's mother short distance down the street received few female callers, who came by appointment to drink a glass of iced tea with her and to meet the Rev. MT. Kinosling. MT KinosHng was proving almost formidably inter esting to the women and girls of his own and other focks. What favor of his fellow clergymen slight precious ness of manner and pronunciation cost him was more than balanced by the visible ecstasies of ladies. They bios. soned at his touch.
 5. He had just entered Mrs. Bassett's front door when the son of the house followed by an intent and earnest com pany of four. opened the alley gate and came into the yard. The uncon scious Mrs. Bassett was about to have her first experience of a fatal coinci dence. It was her first. because sht was the mother of a boy so well be haved that he had become proverl of transeendency. Fatal coincidence: l. ,a1oy T r,1II Williams families and would have beer familiar to Mrs. Bassett had Georgi been permitted greater intimacy witt Penrod and Sam.
 MT. Kinosling slipped his iced tea ane looked about him approvingly. tSevel ladies leaned forward, for it was to b seen that he meant to speak.
 This cool room is a relief he said waving. a graceful hand in a neatl. limited gesture, which everybody eyes followed, his own included. ''I is relief and retreat. The window ! open, the blinds closed-that is as i should be. It is retreat, a fassness a bastion against the heats assault For me quiet room-a quiet room an a book, volume in the hand, hell lightly between the. fngers-a volum of poems, lines metricaI and cadenced something by sound Victorian. " ' have no later poets.
 "swinburne?" suggested Miss. Bean an eager spinster. "Swinburne, MI KinosIing? An, Swinburne!''
 Not Swinburne.'' said Mir. kinoslin l chastely. ''No.''
 That concluded all the remarks abop Swin nburne.. <
 Miss Beam retired in confusion be hind another lady, and somehow ther
 became difrused an impression tha
 Miss Beam was erotic
 q do not observe your manly littl son" Mir. Kinosling addressed hi
 hostess.
 He's out playing in the yard.'' Mir E Bassett returned. T heard his votc
 just now, I think"