South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-02-09
Honesick
By Vincent C. Perry

Something was the matter with
Stanley Howe. but ne did not know
what it was. There was a yearning.
aching feeling in his heart and the
dread Of everything that existed in
his brain. He was tired of the Of
flee, tired Of his typewriter. tired OF
ltheaters, Of cabarets, OF dance falls
/ everything was going wrong and
/ he was going with IT. That was lust
the way he felt. He tried to tell
himself that Geraldine was not the
cause Of it. Why he had not seen
her for six months and was not
worrying a bit about IT! The daily
grind on the paper was getting on
his nerves and putting the restless
feeling in his blood. He would take
the first opportunity to leave, he re-
solved.
Opportunity came in the shape Of
an advertisement in the classified
columns of a big city newspaper.
Editor wanted for weekly in live
mining town" was the way it started
out. Stanley sat right down and
wrote out an application. He was
only 20, but he felt %. and as the
chances TO secure the position would
be better at that age he gave his age
as he felt II consider your coun-
try to be the coming country" he
said in closing his letter. That got
him the position.
Stanley had heard Of the mining
country and had read of 1t in books,
but his ideas Of It were limited.
When he arrived at Miners Lake.
where the plant of the Miners Mug
get" f1ourished, he found it very diff
ferent from his conception of ii. 1t
!, was spring in the east and he had
left crocuses IN bloom. so perhaps
he was not much at fault for travel
ing in a light summer suit, but the
farther north the train carried him
| the deeper the snow became and
when he got off at Miners Lake
the snow was six feet deep and il
was 90 below zero.
A shivering man never sees any,
thing in its true light. it has been
said. but Stanley was sure it did
not take much TO see Miners Lake
in its true light. 1t was nothing but
a collection o. shacks surrounding
1 a few main buildings. a bank, a
! general store, and row upon row
of Chinese eating houses. The
plant of the Northern Nugget caused
his heart to sink even lower than
the temperature. 1t was more like
his dog kennel than anything else
he could think Of The small press
and type case did not leave much
room for the two men employed on
them to move about. The Office was
! fenced off at the frone and was
furnished with two desks and an IS
something Oliver.
George Wood, proprietor of the
Nugget, had been married for two
weeks, and looked the part, Stanley
/ thought. He and Stanley were TO
occupy the Office and they were both
six-footers. If his wife was a baby
talky sort and spent much of her
time at the office Stanley had visions
Of himself taking quarters on the
roof.
No wonder he could not shake off
the dismal yearning feeling. Why
had he left his good little position
In New York TO come to a hole like
that he asked himself? There were
millions and millions of trees and
gigantic rocks between him and
home. He could see that Wod real
/ lied ne was younge than % How
! could he be editor of a
weekly paper anyhow? Why they
expected him to know all about set
/ tipO tvna and ba had hardly avaf,
seen type before. 1t was going TO