Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-04-06
BY Arnold Bennett

ed. Nothing very romantic about avoir-
dupoisl"
What" cried Nurse. And will you
tell me next there isn't a woman at the
bottom of it. and she likes a man slim,
and you carrying her photograph about
with you n all?"
Mr.. Purfll blushed in spite OF every
effort to remain pale. The directness of
the perceptions of Irish nurses was sim
ply terrifying. Also he was becoming
rather too intimate with this particular
one.
On the morning of the episode a heavy
armchair had been delivered at his room
In the home. 1t resembled the ugly
chair Of commerce, except that 1t had a
platform for the feet, and that parallel
with the right arm, and outside it, ran a
steel bar along which a pendant brass
weight could be moved to and fro. Nurse
Eileen had remarked on the costly look Of
the chair, and it was q fact that Mr.. Pur-
NIL had not spared expense; but then
there was no need for air to economic
on his romances; for not only had he
that curse OF the unambitlous, a sub
stantial private income. but he had also
a sound practice at the Chancery bar.
The last words uttered by Eileen as
she quilted him that romantic morning
to attend to another patient, were: GOD
have mercy on your soul II o go after
trying to sit in that chair this day"
He replied that he would not dream of
trying to sit In the chair, either on that
day or on any other day, in her absence.
He was alone, free, unobserved; he knew
that Eileen would not return for at least
half an hour. So he took out the photo
graph, which Eileen had never seen close.
and gazed at it according to his daily
custom.
A womanl Odd thing for a nrm Tipped,
sharp chinned Chancery lawyer to spend
many minutes per day over a woman's
photograph But such things are not
quite unknown at the bar. Christian
name, Caroline "a wondrous name, he
thought). Surname Otway famous in
! English literature. he %thought). Age, in
the immediate neighborhood OF thirty.
Dark. Soft eyes. Long eyelashes. An
enigmatic smile. A wedding ring on her
fine, delicate finger.
Yes, she was q widow, and not q bit a
rich widow; rather the contrary. She had
a son, Alec, aged 8, who was one of Os-
wald Purfill's best pals and showed q
semi-religious devotion to him, and wa
a peculiarly bright boy, with a wise, toll
Grant, protective attitude towards his
beautiful mother.
1t was IN an occasion hen Alec had
been inquiring about George ". n Mr.
Purfill had been explaining what a great
dashing fellow George ". was, that Caro-
line Otway had remarked: Eyes. but he
was fat"
This simple five word remark, spoken
In what had seemed to Mr.. Purfill q dis
turbingly significant tone, had led the
lawyer the same evening to contemplate
his own figure, and to decide to alter II
as quickly as possible, lest it might undo
him with Caroline. They had followed
the quest of professional advice, n the
decision to vanish, to diet himself strict.
ly, and to practice various exercises n
geniously calculated to modify those por'
tions Of his body whose appearance hac
moved Caroline to put Such a disquiet'
ing emphasis on the monosyllable fat.
J Then Rustingor-and the accident.
i Oswald continued TO gaze at the pho
tograph of the woman who had affected
him a thousand times more than an
other woman had affected him in all tn,
thirty-five years Of his self-centered ex
istence, n then his eye roved n TIT
vision of the chair caught and held 1t
Oswald became q bird and the chair be
came a snake; the snake fascinated tht
bird. With the most singular precau'
tions Oswald slid very slowly out Of hi
bed, placing one foot n only one foo
on the floor, and when q board creaket
he stopped %petrihed, as though fearful
of being trapped by unseen detectives IL
the preparation of some awful crime.
At this point he happened TO see him
self in the mirror of the white enamelec
wardrobe. He looked earnestly and n
iously at his figure as revealed by q pa
jana suit, and could perceive in it M
change or modification whatever. He hac
been dieting, he had been hungering, HI
had been thirsting, he had even beer
able, while lying on his back in bed, anC
without disturbing the repaired leg. tx
accomplish several of the-shall we say
equatorial exercises. And yet no Wis
ible modification of the too full con
toursl Nothing to suggest that the hateC
word 'fat" was no longer fairly applicabl,
to himl
Copyright: 1927: BY Arnold Bennett)
IQ he cnncludpd newt week