Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1919-12-19

and nearly all seemed harried By
something impending, though here anu
there a woman with bundles would pc
| laughing to a companion about some
adventure of the department store, or
perhaps an escape from the charging
traffic of the skreets-and not lnIre
| quently a girl, or a free-anu-easy
young matron, found time to throw an
encouraging look to George.
He took no note OF these, and IeaV-
! ing the crowded sidewalks, turned
north into National avenue, and pres
emily reached the Quieter but no less
begrimed region Of smaller shops and
old-fashioned houses. Those latter mad
been the homes of his bOyhood play
mates, old friends of his grandfather
| had lived herein this alley he na0
fought with two boys at the same
time, and whipped them; in that front
yard he had been successfully teased
into temporary insanity by SUNDAY
school class Of pinky little girls. On
that sagging porch a laughing woman
had fed him and other boys with
doughnuts and gingerbread; yonder ne
saw the staggered relies of the lron
picket fence he had made bis white
pony Jump. on dare. and IA the
shabby, stone faced house behind the
fence he had gone to chtldren's par
ties, and, when he was little oluer
he had danced there often, and falen
In love with Mary Sharon. and kissed
her, apparently by force, under the
stairs In the hall. The double front
doors, Of meaningIessly carved walnut
once SO glossily Vanished, had been
painted smoke gray, but the smoke
CRIME showed repulsively, even on the
smoke gray; and over the doors a
smoked sign proclaimed the place to
be "Stag hotel"
This was the last walk home" ne
w0s ever to take by the route ne was
now following up National avenue to
Anderson addition and the two big
old houses at the foot of Anderson
boulevard: for tonight would be the
last night that he and Fanny were to
spend in the house which the Major
had forgotten to deed to isabel. To-
morrow they were to ''move out, and
George was to begin his work in Bron-
sons office. He had not come to this
collapse without a fierce struggle -but
the struggle was inward, and the roll
Ing world was not agitated by It,
and rolled calmly on. For of all the
ideals of life'' which the world, in Its
rolling, inconsiderately fiattens out to
nothingness, the least likely to retain
profile is that ideal which depends
upon inheriting money. George AM
berson, in spite Of his record OF fall
ures in business, had spoken shreWdly
when he realized at last that money,
/ like life, was like quicksilver In
nest of cracks" And his nephew had
the awakening experience Of seeing.
| the great Anderson estate vanishing
into such a nest-in twinkling; 1t
seemed, now that it was indeed so ut
terly vanished.
| On this last homeWard walk of his,
when George reached the entrance to
ANDERSON addition-th is, when he
came TO where the entrance had for
merly been-he gave a little start,
and halted for q moment to stare.
This was the first time he had no
| ticed that the stone pillars, marking
the entrance, had been removed. Then
he realized that for long time he had
been conscious of queerness. about
this corner without being aware Of
what made the difference. National
avenue met Anderson boulevard here
at an obtuse angle, and the removal of
the pillars made the boulevard seem a
cross street Of no overpowering i'm
portance certainly it did not seem to
be boulevard!
George walked by the Mansion hur-
riedly, and came home to his mothers
house for the last time.
Emptiness was there, too, and the
closing Of the door resounded through
bare rooms: for downstairs there was
no furniture in the house except q
kitchen table in the dining room, which
Fanny had kept 'for dinner" she said,
| though as she was to cook and serve
that meal herself George had his
doubts about her name for it. Upstairs,
she had retained her own furniture,
and George had been living in his
mothers room. having sent everything