Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-29
Nobody to Worry Him

But Archie Laverock wanted no
shade; give him the full midday sun
in which to bask upon the bosom of
the waters couple of hundred
yards out in the little cove. He
was bareheaded and deeply sun
burnt from some days of this bask-
ing and bathing; the gold-and-
bronze of him showing up all the
more intensely from the whiteness
of his attire-white sweater with
Byron collar rolling away from his
throat, old white flannel bags, white
socks and the kind of white canvas
shoes that were still to be bought
for a few francs at a corner shop in
st. Enogat. These shoes were
stretched out few inches above the
level of his eyes; as he lounged, his
hack was to the shore, but in any
case he had sunk down, luXuriously,
into such a position that he could
see nothing of his surroundings but
a sun baked bit of white painted
wood and for the rest that stretch
of unclouded illimitable blue above
the waters. He saw what one sees
when lying on ones back in the sea
and staring upward Blues
blue. Now there slid slowly
across 1t the white translucent
wings of planning sull; now there
glided past a triangle of the sail of
a bisquine. Archic's half-shut eyes
may have taken these details in; his
mind realized nothing but the bliss
of utter idleness, the stiffness,
brightness, warmth in which his
body STEPPED and stepped itself.
Inland. the cigales chirped among
the clover that bordered the cliff
path; lizards abandoned themselves
to immobile bien-etre upon the hot
sea wall; sulphur-yellow butterflies
1attened their wings to the fervent
cushions of thyme and lay vibrant,
ecstatic. How akin to those
creatures was the young man at full
length in the boat on the peacock
| colored bay, letting sunshine and
sea air percolate to his innermost
fiber! He was as little touched as
were those other happy creatures of
the day, by any thought of yester-
day. by any thought of tomorrow
in short by any thought. Feelings,
hardly to)be dignified by the names
of thought" did-drift idly through
his mind even az the plaintive. cry
of the gulls drifted to his ears
through the simmering haze of
hedonistic, after-dejcuner torpor:
How jolly all this was jolly
place ,"
Ripping weather Nothing to
bother about
Do as he liked for days yet .
Nobody to worry him g."
Best of all, and heaven be thanked
for this GROWING blessing. no girls.
Just peace. perfect peace, with
one other man. and the boat -
What luck that the blessed boat
n6 co hoI II
Stick-It's people.
Wonderful finding dear old Stick
1t over here in France, in Dinard.
After imagining that he went out"
in IT Priceless old Stick 1t
wearing the most disreputable multi
ever seen, and his hair bristling over
his coat-collar, sitting there as alive
as anything in the cafe with q YER
mouth sec in front Of him, aid sud-
denly singing out, "Hullo? Isn't it
Archie? But weren't you dead?"
Decent of him to insist upon
Arches staying here to keep him
company with the boat until the
rest of the family came over.
A dear chap, altogether, old Stick
1t Unused Archie drowsily.)
A pal; man-pal, with all that
means. Loyalty. Understanding.
Being able to rely upon him in a
tight corner. Or, what's just as
necessary. being able to rely upon
him anyhow. No jealousy. No pet
uncss. No saying one thing and
meaning another. No fuss. Just
being friends. After all, nothing
could beat it-with q man.
With girl now--Well, of course,
1t was hardly news that you
practically couldn't be friends.
Wasn't that a stock joke? You
started. Then-Either she wanted
more or you wanted more.
Heaven knew Why's 1t wasn't worth
having when you got it.
Ages ago. some woman had once
told him that to expect a sweet
heart and a companion in one man
was to expect him to row for Ok