Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-09-30
nv lCondnuedl,

~ ~ INV, SdA0 A0d4l, l11o
slogan Of success. 1t is in all prop
erly equipped business Offices, printed
in red capitals-framed appropriately
and regarded by everyone but the I'M
ployes. And since I mean to be a &C.
cess of some sortF1 will do it now. I
will get the spade and dig!"
He vanished into the shack. still
abjuring failure, and assuring himself
Of the somehow immense value Of
promptness. and presently returned
with a bristling burden Of rakes. hoes,
against the building. Picking out the
spading fork, he thrust 1t into the
earth and set his foot upon it, as
though upon the conquered neck OF
fortune. Then he caught sight Of his
patent leather pumps and broadcloth,
encased legs, and paused.
"No!" said Adam solemnly. mo,
1t will never do. 1T does not fit into
the picture, for no one would take me
for a badly hazed freshman now. Be-
sides, 1t is a perfectly good dress suit.
I paid q hundred and fifty for It, and
only worn it twice. That W to
say, they charged me a hundred and
fifty, poor fools. At Any rate, It Is the
last link between me and the grand
monde. I must preserve it as q mi
ment to my dead nights of gladness.
But how? l can't very well go with
out...."
: He left the spade standing in the
earth and returned to the living room,
m~editatively. For a while, ;he sat abb
sorbed in thought. and then he came
links from his cuffs, and the studs
from the bosom Of his shirt. They
were modest links, and tho studs.
though Of pearl, were small and by no
means OF Any great value as such
things go. Then he collected his knife,
a gold and rather useless one and his
silver cigarette Use Altogether they
looked as though they might fetch a
very decent sum-. Certainly enough
money to spare. Then the problem
Of going out to dispose of them con-
fronted him. He felt his evening
o%vercoat was hardly suited to the
prospect, but there was no. alternative,
and so. buttoning it up to the chin, he
put on gingerly an old cap Of Jerry's
which he found upon a peg. slipped
the trinkets into his pockets, and went
forth. AT the step he stopped to ad-
flected that the place would look bet
ter If he could get rid Of a pile of
rusty stoves which lay between the
shack and the gate He might even
put another flower-bed there. If, now,
he could find a rival junk-man to
buy this heap Of stoves and art them
off, it would be a distinct improve
ment. The notion became a resolu:
ton, and so, determined to rid him
self Of those stoves at any price, he
sailed out, closing and carefully lock-
ing the gate behind him, i
Once outside the walls of his castle,
Adam !. turned eastward, and after "a
vain survey Of the tEndicott mansion
the street, to see II the aeroplane
hangar gave IN sign Of life, he head
ed for One Hundred. and Twenty-fifth
street, his hands dug deep into his
pockets, the cap pulled closely over
his eyes. Through the populous will
Of apartment houses he passed,
where desolating surface-cars changed
a grinding way, with a needless repe-
tition Of bell-ringing and a burden Of
stolidly patient passengers sliding
loosely about in the seats. Past vacant
lots with high fences that were reg
miniscent Of his own, and caused him
e vo m,sst xhs +. R' sp y %y E s.tss
lmepts. with shops beneath them. and
Corner chemists with colored globular
bottles. staring blue and green like
sickly dragons eyes. Then at last he
came to the Harlem shopping center;
its shpddy, garish length stretching
eastward before him with the dreary
tawdriness of a harlot in the daylight.
There were beer-signs and pool-signs,
and the electric lettering IN the fronts
Of theaters, dead and cold and
strangled with wires in the whole
some sun. And then at last was the
looked-for sign: the three golden
apples Of Hesperides. which promise
SO much and taste 80 bitter. Adam
made his a to their shadow, and
them like many another ghost" of PROS
pertty.e shifted his attention to the
grated window, and pretended to
search therein for some curio or bar
gain; and in no way succeeded in de-
ceiving such passers-by as noticed him
at all.
Pawn-shops were wholly unfamiliar
places to Adam, and he found himself
scanning the u%nredeemed objects dis
played for sale with an emotion that
was more Of sadness than Of amuse-
ment, though there was an element Of
grim humor there, too. more par
ticularly in the price tickets commend
ing the articles merits. 1t was like
the Dance Of the Marionettes" of
Dvorak, SO jinglingly sad; the trinkets
devotee; a mandolin and a set of false
teeth; q baby's rattle and a crucifix.
Somehow, as he gazed. his own
n~aeteoric fall from glory seemed less
strange, less incredible: Life was
such a jumble-just like this window.
Formed for such different ends, these
things were here together, lying in a
tangle, stirred in the caldron Of
Demos. and waiting till the chance
their proper purpose again, or their
owner by some. miracle redeem them
or perhaps just leave them to lie there
and grow dusty-dusty.....
He shrugged his shoulders, and.
ending his difldent pretence of loiter-
ing, entered. The shop was dim
within; a sort of prison for v%aluables,
with gratings and steel lock-boxes, and
large-nosed men behind the fortress
ables, and the man who took them
gave him a shrewd,; mind-reading look
as he gathered them in with a fat
hand. Adam felt like a detected
burglar, but the nan asked no ques-
tons beyond the amount of money de-
sired, and presently Adam left the
shop richer than when he had en-
tered. by some thirty dollars. The first
problem, that of cash in hand, having
pocket wherein lay the three little
white slips which identified his en-
tombed belongings, and wondered
about clothes.
What he needed was something
rough. and -dirt-color and-khaki!
That ri It,! HE crossed to q Gents
EFurnishingsgg opposite. and permttted
a superior young male in q check-suit
and 1ow-cut, knobstoed, brown-button
shoes. to provide him with the needed
garments. including q shirt such as
an0d{apo UyaAr anA a mir ~ rfnrAAs
boots-all for the amazingly low sum
-of FIVE dollarS and dffx canfsl WITH