New-York tribune., 1920-11-14

place OF residence on hot
July afternoon, and yawned more ex-
tensively than any one would have
believed possible, judging by her
face in repose. Three of her friends,
congenial in age and sex, were out of
town for the summer; two had beer
ascertained by telephone inquiries to
be taking commanded siestas; anG
neither the other one nor Florence
had yet forgotten that yesterday
although they were too religious t.
= commit themselves to refusal t.
meet as sisters in the Great Beyond
they had taken the expurgated oati
that by Everything they would nevel
speak to each other again as long a
they lived.
Florence was at the end Of her re
sources. She had sought distractio
in experimental cookery, but, hav
ing scorched finger, and havin.
been told by the cook that person
own kitchen wasn't worth the place
at five dollars week if it had to gi-
all smelled and dabbed up with
| broiled rubber when the demometer
stood at ninety-sevven degrees il
! the shade, the experimenter abused
~ turned her back on the morose
woman and went out to the back
yard for a little peace.
After an interval of torpor she
decided to go over to her cousin Her
bert's and see what he was doing-a
move not short of desperation on ac-
count of Herbert's new manner
toward her. Several days ago Her.
bert IlIingsworth Atwater, aged
thirteen years ard two months, had
chosen life career for himself, and,
as his choice was scientific, he felt
that in making it he had attained a
distinction beyond the reach of Flor
ence. She was weeks younger than
he, but her age was not the barrier.
What made it ridiculous for her to
hope was, of course, the fact that
she was girl, and Herbert had ex-
| planned this to her in Il cold, un-
pleasant way; for it is true that
feminism must be acquired by men,,
and is not condition, or taste,
natural to them. Boys are not
fenlinists.
@ He found him at home. He was
~ importantly engaged in a room
in the cellar, where were loosely
stored all manner Of incapacitated
household devices: two broken
clotheswringers, a crippled and
rusted sewing machine, an ice cream
freezer in like condition, a cracked
and discarded marble mantelpiece,
Clipped porcelain and chinaware Of
all sorts, rusted stove lids and fiat
irons, broken gas globes and half a
dozen dead mops and brooms. This
was the laboratory, and here, in con-
genial solitude, Herbert conducted
his Investigations. That is to say,
until Florence arrived he was un-
disturbed by human intrusion, but
he was not alone-far from it!
There was, in fact, almost too much
life in the place.
Where the light fell clearest from
the cobwebby windows at the grounc
level overhead he had placed long
deal table, once helpmate in tht
kitchen, but now a colorless antique
on three legs and two starch boxes
Upon the table were seven or eigh'
glass jars, formerly used for pre-
serves and pickles, and a dozen jelly
glasses, with only streaks and bit.
of jelly in them now, and five or six
ksmall, round pasteboard pill boxes
The jars were covered, some will
their own patent tops, others with
shingles or bits of boards, and ont
with a brick. The jelly glasse.
stood inverted, and were inhabited
so were the preserve jars and pickle
jars, and so were the pill boxes
which evidently contained star board
ers, for they were pierced with
breathing holes" and one of them
standing upon it's side like a little
wheel: now and then moved in faint
ghostly manner, as if about to start
rolling on its own account-where.
upon Herbert, disturbed in his pre-
occupations, addressed it sternly
though somewhat inconsistently
"You shut up!"
There may have been a hint, in
the display of his experimental para
1iierns!ia, that Herbert's was sci
entific nature craving rather guam
tity than quality; his collection GER
tAinly possessed the virtue Of multi
/ tudinousness--if that be virtue
and the birds in the neighborhocd
must have been undergoing a great
deal Of disappointment. In brief, as
many bugs as Herbert now owned
altror,0f1 the result OF oY1Iv a few