Evening star., 1921-09-04

ened by early street noises; 1t was
flooded by the morning sun in win
ter: it overlooked the small roof
garden next door, from which on
pleasant evenings during the warm
period very good music sounded.
Every resident member of the
club coveted Room 45 and made
PLANS to capture it when old Jason
Birch gave it ups Every one knew
old Jason Birch would not give it
therefore. Morley Smith had had a
real object in life: but now Jason
Birch was dead. and Morley Smith
was domiciled in Room As. and he
felt that life-Aad temporarily lost
its SAVIOR. When a mans one great
Morley Smith may be described.
neatest shoes (Which he called
boots). the best-fitting spats and the
most beautiful trousers in New
York. He was an adept at saying
"Oh, I say. old chap Once a.
month he looked at his envelope of
club checks and hoped the club book
keeper had totted the beastly things
up correctly. what? Regularly once
a month he took his pocket check
book and the banks statement to
Bank and said: tot this up for me.
old chap, will you? l can't make
the beastly affair balance There
was always several thousand dollars
balance to his credit; 80 1t did not
matter much whether it balanced or
not
He did not spend all his time in
the club. He knew many people.
Fifth avenue and the adjacent streets
were spotted with doors that gladly
being dragged to some elegant coun-
try place on Long Island or else
where. He endured all this with
proper resignation. but was tremen-
% Sously bored ,i,a BY So,nd it ALL all The club
When the chappies began to come
into the club wearing their khaki
colored uniforms his life bored him
more than ever. They, lucky lads.
was doing. and they showed it in
their faces and in their manner.
They were brisk and business-like,
even in the club. They spoke audi.
the draperies. Morley Smith. sitting
in the red-leather chair and saying,
Il say. waiter. a brandy and soda,
what?' felt tremendously out of it:
and hooked up to this war thing
somehow; and he would have been.
but for certain infirmities that did
not show on the surface.
like Morley Smith. There may have
been a dozen more or less like him.,
but he was the true fine flower Of
clubdom. He was a clubman. Every
be1ser beGs ae fie0 does nss n not X Know anything
about anything worth knowing. He
has a store of entirely incorrect in
formation, pick at random. Hedge
hogs? Yes. I know them; they're
tails" Or "Roumanias One Of those
little countries they carved out of
Poland, you know. They keep their
women in harems-what?" For many
oughly complete occupation. A man
might be a banker or poet or a
clubman. 1t was respected and re-
spectacle occupation.
Suddenly, with the war. being a
clubman became nothing at all. The
banker began financing for the gov
ernment or selling bonds for the gov
ernment. The poet began writing
ssers Mas nosns pss as on Jolly %s
can't be a professional clubman in
a manner noticeably to assist the
government. To sip rickey and say.
II say! the Germans are rotten nj lot. hoa
the younger chaps are actually wear
ing the Khaki color and the banker
member Is just dropping in for
moment between momentops men. u;,,ss confer,
dollars or hundreds of Thousands Of
tons One gets pushed to one side
and feels lonely.
Morley Smith stood this as long as
he could. Once or twice he said to
a banker member. II say. old chap,
if you see a chance to work me into
this some way" and was met with
an I'll remember il. Smith," which
meant Smith would be the last man
TO be asked to take part in the big
work on hand. and after standing on
the edge of q group for a few min
utes with his glass in his hand, Nor
ley Smith would go back to the red
easy chair and sip in silence.
1t became intolerable. His life
seemed as colorlesa as a bit of water
soaked paper drifting aimlessly in a
vast ocean. and 1t was while he was
feeling thus that he picked up q book
I'D beSan-te read -onG-of the short