The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-12-08
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PART I.--Newcomer in a small town.
q young newspaper man, who tells the
story, is amazed by the unaccountable
ACTIONS of a man who, from the window
OF fine house. apparently has converse
with invisible personages, particularly
mentioning one "Simpledoria." The youth
goes to his boarding house, the home Of
Mrs. Apperthwaite. next door to the scene
Of the strange proceedings. bewildered.
PART H.-Next morning he discovers
his strange neighbor Is the Hon. David
Beasley. prominent politician, and uni.
versally respected. Telling Of his last
rppted by fellow boarder, Mr.. George
Dowden. Later. with Miss Apperthwaite.
he is an unseen witness of purely
imaginary jumping contest between Beas-
ley and a "Bill Hammersley." Miss
Apperthwaite appears deeply concerned,
there apparently being no possible ex-
PLANTATION of the strange proceedings.
III.
do not know why It should have
astonished me to find that Miss APP
perthwaite was a teacher of mathe-
MATES except that Ito my inexpcri-
enced eye) she didn't look 1t. She
looked more like Charlotte Cordayl
had the pleasure of seeing her OPP
posite me at lunch the next day (whcn
Mr.. Dowdcn kept me occupied with
Spencerville politics. obviously from
fear that / would break out agaln).
but no stroll in the yard with her re-
warded me afterward, as I dimly
hoped, for she disappeared before l
left the table, and l did net see her
again for q fortnight. On weekdays
she did not return to the house for
lunch, my only meal at Mrs. Apper-
thwaite's q dined Mt u restaurant near
the Despatch office, and she was out
of town for little visit, her mother
Informed us, over the following Satur-
day and Sunday. she was not alto
gether out of my thoughts, however,
indeed. she almost divided them with
the Honorable David Beasley.
A better view which l was afforded
of this gentleman did not lessen my
interest in him; increased 1t rather
1t also served to make the eNtraordi-
nary lldoes of which he had heen the
YirtpOso and the audience more than
ever profoundly ineXplicable. My
glimpse of him in the lighted doorway
had given me the vaguest impression
OF his appearance, but one afternoon
few days after my interview with
Miss Apperthwaite-I was starting for
the office and met him full-face-on as
he was turning in at his gate. took
rs careful invoice Of him as I could
without cOnspicuously glazing.
There was something remarkably
taking" as we say, about this man
something easy and genial and quizzi
cal and careless. He was the kind OF
person you like to meet on the street
whose cheerful passing sends you or
feeling indefinably little gayer thar
you did. He was tall, thin-ever
gaunt, perhaps-and his face was long
rather pale, and shrewd and gentle
something in its oddly not unremind
full of the late Sol Smith Russell. Hi
hat was tilted back little, the slight
est bit to one side, and the sparse
brownish hair above his high forehead
was going to be gray before long. HI
looked about forty.
The truth is, I had expected to SCI
a cousin german to Don Quixote;
had thought to detect signs ant
CLEANS of wildness, however slight
something a little "off." One glanc,
of that kindly and humorous eye toll
me such expectation had been non
sense. Odd he might have been-Gad
zooksl he looked it-but queer
Never. The fact that Miss Apper
thwaite could picture such man a
this "sitting and sitting and sitting
himself into any form Of mania o
madness whatever spoke loudly of he
own Imagination, indeedl The key t
''Simpledoria" was to be sought un
der some other mat.
As began to know some o
nv co-laborers on the Despatch, an
10 pick up acquaintance, here an
there, about town, sometimes mad
Mr.. Beasley the subject of inquiry
Everybody knew him. "Oh, yes,
know Dave Beasley!" would come tn