The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-09-09
PART ONE

BY the end of October, with the dis
all summer long as pleasant screen
for whatever small privacy may exist
between American neighbors, we begin
to get our autumn high tides of Cos
sip. At this season of the year, in our
towns of moderate size and ambition,
where apartment houses have not yet
condensed and at the same time
sequestered the population, one may
secure visual command of back yard
beyond back yard, both up and dcwn
the street; especially if one takes the
trouble to sit for an hour or SO, daily,
upon the top of high board fence at
about the middle of block.
OF course an adult who followed
such course would be thought Pc
culiar; no doubt he would be subject
might be called upon to parry severe
If, indeed. not hostile inquiries; hut
boys are considered so inexplicable
that they have gathered for them
selves any privileges denied their
parents and elders; and a boy can do
such thing as this to his full content,
without anybody's thinking about it at
all. So it was that Herbert Illings-
worth Atwater, Jr., aged thirteen and
few months, sat for considerable
time upon such a fence, after school
hours, every afternoon of the last week
in, nd only
ticularly observed him or was stimu-
lated to any mental activity by his
procedure. Even at that, this person
was affected only because She was
Herbert's relative, and of an age sym
pathetic to his-and of a sex antipa-
thetic.
In spite of the fact that Herbert IL
lingsworth Atwater, Jr thus seriously
disporting himself on his fathers back
fence, attracted only this audience of
one (and she hostile at rather dis
tant window his behavior really
should have been considered piquant-
ly interesting by anybody. After climb
ing to the top of the fence he would
produce from interior pockets a small
memorandum book and pencil; sell
dom putting these implements to i'm
mediate use His expression was
gravely alert his manner more than
businesslike; yet nobody could have
failed to comprehend that he was en-
joying himself, especially when his at
titude became tenSe-aS at times it
certainly did Then he would rise, bal
ancng himself at adrOit ease, his feet
aligned one before the other on the
inner rail, foot below the top of the
boards, and with eyes dramatically
shielded beneath scoutish palm, he
would gaze sternly in the direction of
some object or motion which had at
tracted his attention and then, having
satisfied himself of something or other,
& he would sit again and decisiyely en-
ter note in his memorandum book.
He was not always alone; he was
frequently Joined by friend, male,
and, though shorter than Herbert,
quite as old; and this companion was
inspired, it seemed, by motives pre-
cisely similar to those from which
sprang Herbert's cwn actions. Like
Herbert, he would sit upon the top of
the high fence. usually at little dis
lance from him; like Herbert he
would rise at intervals, for the better
study of something this side of the
horizon; then, also concluding like
Herbert, he would sit again and write
firmly in a little, notebook. And sell
dom in the history of the world have
any sessions been invested by the par
Elephants with so intentional an ap-
pearance of Importance.
That was what most injured their
lone observer at the somewhat distant
back window, upstairs at her own
place of residence she found their i'm
portance almost impossible to bear
without screaming. Her provocation
was great; the important importance
/ of Herbert and his friend, impressive
~ maneuvering upon their fence, was
so extreme as to be all too plainly Wis
ible across four intervening broad
back yards; in fact there was almost
reason to suspect that the two per-
formers were aware of their audience
and even of her goaded condition; and
that they sometimes deliberately in
creased the outrageousness of their
importance because they knew she
was watching them. And upon the
Saturday Of that week, when the note
book writers We're upon the fence at
intervals throughout the afternoon
Florence Atwater's Fascinated ipdigna-
tion became vocal.
"Vile thingsi" she said
Her mother, sewing beside another