Evening star., 1925-05-18
One Of a series Of the
years best skoT:
stories.

any and all of the peoples of South
ern Europe. In the light Of his wider
education, he knew they were Greeks.
At his entrance the burble of voices
stopped. All present broke off their
talking to stare at him with a queru-
lous, resentfuI fixity. He felt the en-
barrassment of being an interloper
and an outsider and an interrupter
of the racial harmony of their com
pany.
He felt vet more embarrassed when
| a man-of-all- york, the owner perhaps.
came promptly along side him and
asked, in difficult English and with no
suggestion sf hospitality in his tone
what he wished.
I'D like d cup of coffee" said Mr.
Oldham, who really hadn't wanted
! anything at all excepting a little taste
of Companionship; he was no great
hand for nibbling between meals
| Coffee and maybe a drop cake or
something to sort of nibble on
The man brought the coffee in Il
! heavy cup, stopping it down hard in
| front of him and then pushed a plat
| ter containing sticky, fioury-looking
pastries of dough and sugar at Mr.
Oldham for the latter TO make his
| choice.
NO thank you, I wouldn't choose
any of those" said Mr.. Oldham. In
| Tecumseh Center you always said
choose" in declining food when you
| aimed TO be especially polite at the
table. But If you've got seed
cookie, say, Or
With a premeditated almost a con
| temptuous, shrug the waiter turned
| his back on him and went away and
| thereafter, while he tarried. the man
| studiously ignored him. He didn't
| tarry long. The coffee was too strong
| and too dreggy for his tastes. He
| sucked at it, slipped dime under the
| f1ange of the saucer and then, as an
| afterthought. added a nickel more for
| tip and went out through a box
| barrage of glowerinG looks. It was
when he reached the level of the side
walk that he made the remark quoted
several pages back about foreigners,
| &c. &c.
That ended his experimentation in
such fields. Thereafter he undertook
no more deliberate invasions Of for
| eign parts.
| Anyhow, that night al dinner when
| he happened to mention his adventure
of the afternoon Gussie seemed kind
Of fretted. She broke in on him be
| fore he had gone very far.
| Il don't know why. poppa. YOU
should want to go prowling over there
| in those dull. stupid old Sums" she
said. Its bad enough to have those
| terrible people living so close without
your prowling among them. Seems
to me you'd much rather take your
| walks on the streets where really re-
| hned people live. What's the matter
! with Fifth avenue, I'd like to know?
! ] can always find something worth
| looking at on Fifth avenue
| After he had gone 10 his room she
said TO her husband:
1T looks like to me poppa is be
ginning to break up. Did you see
what a funny far-off distracted look
he gets sometimes, as though he
| wasn't conscious of what's going on?
And here lately, passing his door I've
heard him mumbling to himself. It's
happened twice. And the first time
l opened the door and looked in. won
derlng to myself who on earth he
could be talking to. But it wasn't
anybody. only himself. And he seems
to want TO be alone more than ne did
| once. Not that ! object to that
some old people are 80 difficult, they
don't seem TO he able to fit in. But
| he used to he a great hand for com
pany. I'm afraid he's failing. Well,
what l always say is, hope I'm taken
! before l begin 10 get childish. /
wouldn't want TO live d single minute
after begin to be a care TO anybody.
Not that I'd ever want to give up my
own father. of course
On bright Sunday in early
| Autumn, the weather and the sun
shine, which had almost a sunmery
warmth to it. lured old Mr. Oldham
into making what, for him. was a con
siderable expedition. Guided by a
sudden impulse, he got aboard a sur
face car. northbound. The car was
not closely crowded then: he had a
seat. But presently it filled UP until
there was only standing room in the
aisle and on the platforms for late
comers. Mr.. Oldham arose TO give
his place TO a fat but sickly looking
woman. and from then on until the
car had gone several miles farthe,
he hung to a strap in d constantly
thickening press of bodies and knee
| joints and elbows.
1t seemed that a certain corner
away up where the suburbs should
have begun. if New York really had
any suburbs. was the end of the run
and the last stop. The conductor
called, "All out"' Following the rest
of the passengers, Mr.. Oldham got oft
too, and still following them. he
passed between d pair of tall gateposts
into cemetery. He had been living
among US three years now. but this
was the first time he had ever visited
one of our justly celebrated GENE
teries.
Continued in Tomorrow Star.)