The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 6, 1899, Page 24

STEPHHEN CRAMNE. ~— Covyrighted, 899 € Cranes CHAT ARJORY walked pensiv re hall. T cool shadow made by the palms on ledge her face w x § pression of thoughtful meiancholy 1 devotees who paco in cloistered ited | \ door at the end of anad laid . S tnian o scow o . p i auite ¥ & r s pr T 1 1 T T what v M 3 ( 1 replle ry S I t ween. i 5 e w 1 does not t t now him very wel . Kar f incident j imed Rufus I fail ind he she said St that gambles. He plays car r o tHan he did when he was In = So 1 v. “I often find = i r w_them—those lads A the night, with a 1 vicious enough, but : v Ay and do e in- E 1 it J w the—the 3 Iy g w. But,” he ? of collegs work ur w I w 11'war ) marr d > rejoined the pro- 1 hat man make love to r even be within s A . ned unmov s t His eyes stu 1 ir 1d_went into the hall, \ retur he He took a book and Tarjor ke lis and up to her room. From a dow ¢ 1 z his way »ss the cam 1 2] zainst watched 1 lagk fig G as an inferior 1 t t 1e_generation ] noy Recollect ) < Co ng amid th T mhle paper and her trees iy of gr Sp: all this woe appeared the little er f the storm s a_crowd of s a walt Suddenly a huge 1 inserted itself holster- iffle attended Ly lower classes engaged r classes, stan B ¢ of whichever pa v ar er to prolong the confiict hat. waged Ir desperation of proudest youth. waxed hot The wedge had been instantly smitten into a kind of block « crumpied int regular square and on three s 1 wit erocity: neet wall in terrific rushes, during which lads their ving them in the compress of friends and eld the honor of thelr classes by saueczing { f A llows who formed the sor looked at her affectionat You knew it all along, i then Why didn’t you tell me, dear?’ Hadtar: > You ought to have known it,” she answered platantly. . ike att f the sophomores had he ormidable, but glaring. Iinally he spoke in tones of grim reproach. elikesatfack ot fthassophomardsinad heen formidal bat eary to0 know anything, dear, it seems only 2 mat- e A to fha b od collegians ter of partial re t vou should tell me.’” 5 foe the first serfous ir. Theret The wife had been taught in a terrible school that she should aever e e A e in invent any inexpensive retorts concerning bookworms, and so she yawned at Cyscwhic iingd cue = S thE ebeps Really, Harris. Really. I didn't suppose the affair was serious. it T uld * knocked me down with a feather. Of course he has been at deal of attention. A great ¢ very en, but then Marjory gets a gr attent n ‘s < professor had been thinki “Rather than let my girl marry that G £ 1'11 take you and her to Greece this winter with the class. Sepa- < it is a sure ¢ 1at he inction of antiquits Well,” said Mrs. inwright, “vou know best, Harris. You know It we common remark with her, and it probably meant either bauion or disapprobation if it did not mean simple discretion. CHAPTER IIL at upon the now con et and or- ok hean 10 give slowly away. A There had been a babe with no arms born in one of the western hurled themselves in a frenzy upon counties of Massachuse In place of upper limbs the child had growing from its chest a pair of finlike nands, mere bits of skin-covered bone. Fur- ind sen 1t of 4!l thermore, it had only one eve, This phenomenon lived four days, but the portant with the birth had t d up this country and through that vil- ¢ til it reached the ears of the editor ¢ Michaelstown Tribune. e s also a correspondent of the New Y ciipse. On the third day nds red at the home of the parents accompanied by a photographer. low w latter arranged his instrument the correspondent talked to the t father and mother. two cow-eved . ced people, who seeme r to st primitiye frig the rs. Afterward. as the corr o i ' : s spond ind th T re into their buggy, the mother T ceni v v crept tively down to the a foreigner's dialect if they sses 7 t emsel the wonl 1 her a cop. je correspondent, carelessly v na 1 indulgent. promise away t ather came from S mili s ) e. but ti behind an apole tree ins watched it with its bur- he ce : glorious cross the bridge and disap freshmen 1 It was Coke. " ( Th 1 the photographer that the mw o« W tu endea we cle and the photograph nst fisticu eans of ar trod on office of r the top of the immense TY ¢ and hard Como. now hipsg or Rroadway. It was a shee hic G hear v wrer mu hie minable thunder of the streets s Hudson was a t < ix » s b t v defend his th of silver in the distance riked by the tracery ™ tense 3 1 freshmen. 1iling s <" rigging and by the hn d stacks of ocean s s or 1 recitation At the foot of the cliff lay ( emed no larger room we 1 rs. and a_blow de- A oullt. The gray walks patterned g into triangies T o1 7 ned rule of conduc and upon them many tiny people s and there with- 3 or’y h niors, bursting from - a fish at the bottom of a ppol. It was only the vehicles freshman should be inmistakable, the deep bass' of their movement. And yet n th g " The freshmen ~hem- r liste seemed to hear a singular murmurous note, a puls selves ti tless circle of men as if the crawd made nofse by its mere living. a mellow hum of the ete hat encom Cok ors openly, but by <uddenly out of the deer zIif ring a_human voice, a news- headlong T t aus come to mmarters erhaps. the cry of a faraway jackal at night t v 4 longer a festival. From the level of the c ary roofs. ed in many plateaus, dotfed ¥ ¥ [ v. a ribhon of biood with short iron chimnevs m which curled wisps of steam. arose other sway his classmates. comrades mountains like the Eclips ng. They were great peaks, ornate. glit- who wa t er the ymstance of being obliged tering with paint or po rthward they subsided to sun-crowned 8 i college, as weil ns ranges. the tremer e fr Shamed by thefr own From some of tke clipse office dropped the walls of a r t f time o wrong time for a paln- terrible chasm. in the darkness of which could be seen vague struggling 1 disavowal. 1] \ttalian strozeled in the desperation of figures. Looking down into this appalling crevice one discovered only tt r ) were ) the verge of making unholv campalgn teps of hats and knees which in spasmodic jerks seemed to touch the rims st ring seniors. This flery impertinence was the measure of the hats. The scene represented some welrd fight or dance or carousc. heir Tt was not an exhibition of men hurrving along a narrow street. i It was cal moment tn the piav of the college. Four or five de- Tt was goad to turr ohe's eves from that place to the vista of the city’s ! f s mores during the fall had taught the freshmen much. snlendid reaches, with spire and shining in the clear atmosphere and T 1 ned th {ive measurements, and they knew now that the marvel of the Jersey shore, pearl-misted or brilliant with detail. I'rom She replied calmly, “Rufus Coleman wuhts to marry me.” their prowess was ripe to enable them to amply revenge what was, accord- height the sweep of a snowstorm was defined and majestic. Even a ing to their standards, an execrable deed by a man who had not the virtue t summer shower, with swords of lurid yellow sunlight piercing its to play the rough game, but was obliged to resort to uncommon methods. edges as if warriors were contesting every foot of its advance, was from ort, the freshmen were asmost out of control, and the sophomores, the Iclipse office something so inspiring’ that the chance pilgrim felt a based but defiant, were quite out of control. ‘The senior and junior sense of exultation as if from this peak he was surveying the world wide The st pally worked with- of the Eclipse us classes, which in American colleges dictate in th affrays, found their war of the elements and life. dignity toppling, and in consequence there was a sudden oncome of the out coats ana amid the smoke from pipes. entire force of upper classmen, football players naturally in advance, Al To_one of the editorial chambers came a photograph and an: article from Michaelstown, Mass. A boy placed the packet and many others upon the desk of a young man who was standing before a window and thought fully drumming upon the pane. He turned at the thuddin:, of the packe: The stiff and still ssolved at once in a general fracas. ed a scene of dire carna g brazenly through the distinctions were d Gothic windows surve Suddenly a_voice r 11t It was not loud, but it different. ““Gentlemen! Gentlemen!” Instantly there was a upon ais desk. “Blast you,” he remarked amiably. “OF. 1 guess it won't remarkable number of haltings, pt replaceme quick changes. Pro- hurt you to work,” answered the boy, grinning with & comrade’s Insolence. fessor Walnwright stcod at the door of his recita room, looking into Baker, an assistant editor for the Sunday paper, took his seat at his desk the ey, ch member of the mob of thr . “Ssh!” said the and bégan the task of examining t fHis face could not display mob it! Stop! It's the Embassador He had once been any particular interest because he had been at the same work for nearly M a-Hungary, and forever now ¢ students of the col- a fortnight. lege name was Embas He stepped into the corridor, and they The first long envelope he opened was from a woma There was a cleared for him a little respectful zor floor. He looked about him neat little manuscript accompanied by a letter which explained that the coldly. “It seems quite dishevelr he sophomores display writer was a widow who was trying to make her living by her pen and rg) ) not det 7""A feeble who, further, hoped that the generosity of the =ditor of the Eclipse would rmur of eciation arose from the ou of the throng. Wi lend him to give her article the opportunity which she was sure it deserved. had been speaking several remote groups of battlir had She hoped that the editpr would pay her as well-as possible for it, as sho Jently signaled and suppressed by other students. The professor needed the nioney greafly. She added that her brother was o reporier ou erraces of faces that were still inflamed. “I needn’t say that 1 the Little Rock Sentinel and he had declared that her literary style was " he 1 in the accepted rhet of his kind He exacllent - seems to he a great deal of torn linen. Who is Baker really did not read this note. His vast experierfce of a fortnight “ntleman with blood on his chin? had enabled him to detect its kind in two glances. He unfolded the mam The throng moved restiessly. A manful silence, such as might be in Script. looked at it woodenly and then to 1 the letter to the top the tombs of £tern and honorablée knights, fell upon the shadowed corridor. ©of his desk, where it lay with the other corpses. None could think of The subdued rustling ted to nothing. Then out of the erowd Widows in Arkansas, ambitious from the praise of the reporter on the Lit- Colke. T ivered himself tle Rock Sentinel, ng for a crown of literary glory and money. In the Said'the professox would be glad if you would tell next envelope a man using the note paper of a Boston journal begged to lemen they may re to their dormitories.” He walted while the know if the accom ng article would be ncceptable:”if not. it was to students passed out to th be Kindly returned in the inclosed stamped envelove. [t was a humorous The professor rned to his room for some books, and then beg: eseay on frolley cars. Adventuring through the odd scraps that were D O O e o anithen hey Come to the great mill, Baker paused oceasionally to relight his pipe. tastically, and he was obliged to keep one h gy e As he went through envelope after envelope the desks about him grad- hat. When he arrived home he met his wife in the h; SrioB OE DS uaiiy were occupied by voung men who entered from the hall with their Mary,” he cried. She followed him Into the library. ‘Look here. he sajl. faces still red from the cold of the streets. For the most part they hore fhis all about? Marjory tells me she wants to marry Rufas the unmistakable stamp of the American college. They had that confident Coleman ¥ US. joise which is easily brought from the athletic fiell. Moreover, their clothes were quite in the way of being of newest fashion. There was Mrs. Wainwright w man, who was sz s and But on the other hand id to pride herself upon being very wise and if neces In addition she laughed continually &0 air of precision about their cravat: en in an inexplicably personal wa hich appare made everyhodn iy there might be with them some indifferent Westerner who was obliged heard her feel offended. Mrs. Wainwright laughed. : to resort to irregular means and harangue-startled shopkeepers in order to provide himself with collars of a stran: quick and brave of eve and noted for his inab between his own habit and the habit of others. his Western character pre- serving itself inviolate amid a confusion of manr ‘ The men, coming one and one or two and two. flung badinage to all cor- ners of the room. Afterward, as they wheeled from time to time in their chairs, they bitterly insulted each other with the utmost good nature, tr ing unerring aim at faults and riddiing personalitiez with the quaint and cvnical humor of a newspaper office. Throughout this banter it was strange to note hew infrequently the men smiled, particularly when di- rectly engaged in an encounter. A wide door gpened info another apartment where -were magy littla He W usually very ity to perceive a distinction “Well.” said the professor, br “Oh, Harris.” she replled. “Oh, Harris.” The professor straightened in his chair. *I do not see any llluminatic in those remarks. Mary understand from Marjory's manner that Th‘.g i bent upon marrying Rufus Coleman. She said you knew of it.” “Why, of course T knew. 1t was as plain—"" “Plain1” scoffed.the professor. “Plain - “Why, of course,” she cried. “T knew it all along."” There was nething in her tone which proved that she admire av itself. She was evidently carried awav by tha trinmph of har ‘nde,ff,‘f,;,‘,g';‘ “I kiew it all along.” sbe 2dded nodding ; stling, “what do you mean by that?" a green shade. Here a hurling paper balls the these diffi- slanted tables, each under an electric globe Wt curly headed scoundrel with a corncob pipe Wa size of apples at the head of an industrious man, who, unde Culties, was trying to draw a plcture of an awful wreck with ghastly faced sailors frozen in the rigging. Near this pair a lady was challen a German artist who resembled Napoleon I1II with having been publicly drunk at a music hall on the previous night. XNext to the great gloomy corridor of this sixteenth floor w a little office presided over by an re boy, and here waited in enforced patience a little disma who wanted to see the Sunday editor. Baker took a manuscript and_after glancing about the room W over to a man at another desk. ‘“‘Here is something that I think might do,” he said. Th at the desk read the first two pages. ut where is the photograph d then. “There should be 1 photegraph with tk thing.” “Oh, I forgot,” said Baker. He brought from his of the babe that had been born lacking arms and one ¢ braced a knee against his desk and settlec took the photograph and looked at it img time, “that’s a pretty good thing. You better he comes in.” In the little office where the dismal sharp, hopeful stir when Rufus Coleman, from door to door and vanished within the holy precinsts been in the minds of some to accost him then. but his eves once in their direction. It we e had not seen the ences had taught him that the proper manner of passing office was at a blind gallop The dismal band turned then upon the austere offce manded with terrible dignity that he should take in Others sought to ingratfate themselves by 1 He for his part employed what we would have and women upon the group, and in cons vividly, freezing with a glance an annoved and in plorer who had come to talk of fliustrations for an ar Javishly paid for in advance. The hero might have thought in the northern seas. S photogr: r's supe titud: nid atter a to Coleman when desk I there had I passed rap It had evid did not t Mar exper waited Sunday »d band At the next moment the boy was treati c courteously a German from the east side who wanted the Eclipse to print a grand full-page advertising description of his inventior, a gun hich was supposed to have a range of forty miles and to be able to penetrat2 anything with equanimity and joy. The gun, as a matter of fact. h onee been induced to go off when it had hurled itself passionately upon back, incidentally breaking its inventor's leg. The projeciile had wan- dered some four hundred vards seaward, where it had dug a hole in the water which was really & menace to navigation. Since then there had been nothing tangible save the inventor, in splints and out of splints, as its The Sophomore and Freshman Rush. In short, this office boy mixed his business the fortunes of sclence decreed. ters too large in the perfect manner of an underdone lad dealing with ms 1 for him, and throughout he displayed the pride and assurance of a god s Coleman crossed the large office his face still wore the stern expres: which he invarlably used to carry unmolested through the ranks of the dismal band. As he was removing his London overcoat he addressel the imperturbabie back of one of his staff, who had a desk against the op- posite wall. *Has Hasskins sent in that drawing of the mine accide yet?. The man did ft his i from his work, but he answered at 4 not yet.” Coleman was laying his hat on'a chair. “Well, why ; demanded. He glanced toward the door of the room fi .urly headed scoundrel with the corncob pipe was still hucling per balls at the man who was trying to invent the postures of dead from his post d_the tor which had been ame timidly The office boy 1l right,” seople. pay mariners frozen in the rigsing. and informed Coleman of the waiting He dropped into his chair and hegan to finger his letters, neatly opened and § -d in a little stack by a boy. Baker came in with the photograph of the miserable babe. s publicly b d that the Sunday staff of the Eclipse must have a Kind of acsthetic delight in pictures of this kind, but Coleman’s f betrayed no emotion as he looked at t specime He iit a fresh <ig tilted his chair and surveyed it with a cold and stony stare. “Yes, ths all right,’ he said slowly. There seen.ed to be no affectionate relation between him and this pict dently he was weighing its value as a m to be flung to a ra lic, whose wolflike appetite could oniy satisfy men seemed to t in glve him to ms idea. How's the 4 to Smith t it An and presented draw ng of the wre griz: ken and w “Hum,” said Coleman, i ‘study, “that's al good, Jimmie. Bu u em up around more.” The office was dep n the distance, waiti rect moment to present some names. The a cheerfully taking a s corpses when Coleman aailed him. “Oh, see that thing again, Now, how about this spar? ¢ right to me “It 100 to me,” replied the artist, sulkily “But it's going to half a page. Can't you changs it how “How am I going to ct it?" said the other, glowering at Coleman. t way ught to be How am 1 going to change it? That's the to be." at all”* said Coleman. *““You've got a spar sticking out of of the drawing in a way that will spofl the looks of man of remarkable Jar_reputat a wns stubborn and conceited of it, const making hir anhe N covert threats that if he was not delicately placated it his gen ver to the offic the great op the wayv it ought to be,” he repeated in a tone nee 3 or. “The spar is all I c ig spars on ships just to suit you “And I can’t give up the whole paper to 3 said Colema mation. “Don’t you se with an page with this r sticking off into clever, Jimmie, in adapti VOUrs: cut it off, or something? Or break it—that's thir r di down. See?” Yes, »se 1 could do that,” said the artist of the ease with which he could make the change, the brazen triblite to a part of his cleve me “Well, do it, then,’ said the Sunday editor, & abruptly The artist, with head high, walked majestical o the otk Whereat the curly headed one immediately resumed the rain of upon him. The office boy came timidly to Coleman and ence of the people In the outer oflice “Let them w i mail,” said Coleman. He shuffled the pack of letters i hrov his hands. Suddenly he came u a little gray envelog e at once and scanned its contents with the speed of his craft AT he laid it down before him on the desk and surveved i 1 musing smile. “So?’ he remarked. “That's the case, Ha presently swung around in his chair, and for a_time held the ertire attention of the men at the various desks. He outlined to them various parts in the composition of the next great Sunday e few brisk sentences he set a complex machine in proper motion no longer thrilled with admiration at the precision with which h each obligation of the campaign toward a successful edit grown to accept it as they accepted his hat or his London c! time his face was lit with something of the self-contained general. Immediately afterward he arose and reached for his coat The office ba coming circuitously forward, presented him with cards and also with a scrap of paper upon which was scrawled a long semi-coherent word. ‘“What are (hese?’ grumbled Coleman “They are waiting outside.” answered the boy with trepidation. Tt w part of the law that the lion of the anteroom should cringe like a cold monkey, more or less, as soon as he was out of his private jungle. “‘Oh, Tallerman,” cried the Sunday_editor, “here's this Arctic man come to ar range about his illustretion. I wish you'd go and talK it over with n By chance he picked up the scrap of paper with its eryptic word “‘Oh he said, scowling at the office boy. “Pity you can’'t remember that fellow. 1f you can’t remember faces any better than that you should be a detec tive. Get out now and tell him to go to the devil The wilted slave turned at once, but Coleman hailed him. *“Hold on. Come to think of it, I will see this idiot. Send him in.” he commanded grimly. Coleman lapsed into a dream over the sheet of gray note paper. Pres- ently a middle-aged man, a palpable German, came hesitatingly into tha room and bunted among the desks as unmanageably as a tempest-tosscd scow. Finally he was impatiently towed in the right direciion He came and stood at Coleman’s elbow and waited nervously for the engressed man to ra his eyves. It was plain that this interview meant impostant things to him. Somehow on his commonplace eountenance was to te found the expression of a dreamer, a fashioner of great and absurd projects tender fool. He cast hopeful and reverent glances at the man nthusiasm of a and hat ome nd t deeply contemplative of the gray note. He evidently belie the threshold of a triumph of some kind, and he awaited T a joy that was only made sharper by the nsual human suspidon events. Coleman glanced up at last and saw his visitor. “Oh. i’s you he remarked icily. bending upon the German the stare of 1 tyrant you'va come again, have you?’ He wheeled in his chair until h fully display a contemptuous. merciless smile. ‘“Now, Mr. What name, you've called here to see me about twenty times ‘alr:ady and 1 am going to say something definite about your invention” His 1 face, which had worn for a moment a look of fright aid bewilder: ten gladdened swiftly to a gratitude that seemed the edge f an outburst tears. “Yes.” continued Coleman, “T am going to say simething defir 1 am going to say that it the most imbecile bit of wonsense that come within the range of my large newspaper experience. It the aberration of a rather remarkable lunatic. It is 10 good se sandwich. worth the price of a che I understand thit its on heen to break your leg: if it ever goes off again persuale it to br necl. And now I want vou to take this nursery rhvme of vc out. And ®n’t ever come here again. Do you understand? stand. do you?” - He arose and bowed in courteous dismissal The German was regarding him with the surnr nd hor He could not find his tong mately he gasped, “But, Mr. Editor—" Colema ishly. “You heard what T =a Get out. The mar went slowly toward the door. Coleman placed the little gray note in his bre hat and top coat, and evading the dismal band by 1 aTheless manet passed through the halls to the entrance to the elesato aft. He heard a movement behind him and saw that the German was also waiting for the elevator, i3 ! Standing in the gloom of the corridor Caleman £:1t the mournful. owlis: ven of the Gertuan resting moon hit. He ook & waes Frons Tip oo, orvliah elaborately lit a cigarette. Suddenly there was a fash of lizht and a oaee vouth shot mortally bowed his hez pocket. He took his of bronze. gilt and steel dropped magically from above. Coler velled “Downl” | A door flaw open: Coleman. followed: by the m-rlr;;‘fimqr\n‘—‘.‘,;,.‘,l‘ upon the elevator. “Well, Johnnie.” he sald ckeerfully to the lad who ererated this machine, ‘““g business goad?" “Yes, sir: pretty good.”” an- -