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About Mt. Scott herald. (Lents, Multnomah Co., Or.) 1914-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 24, 1922)
9 BOOTH TARKINGTON Illustrations by Irwin Myer* By the end of October, with the dis persal nf that foliage wtilcb has serve«) all summer long aa a pleasant aereen fur whatever small privacy may exist between American neighbors, we begin to get our autumn high tides of gua- alp. At this sen »on of the year. In our towns of niiMlerate else and ambition, where apartment houses have not yet cutidensed and at the same time ae«|iieetered the population, one may ■ecure visual command of back yard beyond back yard, both up and down the etreet: especially If one takes the trouble to alt for au hour or so, dully, upon the top of a high board fence at about the middle of a block. Of course an adult who followed such a course would ba thought pe culiar; no doubt he would be subject to undesirable comment, and presently might be called u(Hin to |>srry severe If, Indeed, not hostile Inquiries; but boys are considered ao Inexplicable that they lutve gathered for them- aelvea any privileges denied their parents and elders; and a boy can do each a thing as thia to his full coatent, without anybody's thinking about It at all. Ro It waa that Herbert Illlngs worth Atwater. Jr, aged thirteen and a few months sat for a cotí sitiera ble time upon such a fence, after school hours, every afternoon of the last week In October; and only one person par ticularly observed him or waa atltnu- lated to any mental activity by lite procedure. Even at that, thia person waa sffreted only because she waa Herbert's relative, and of an age sym pathetic to hla-and of a sex antipa thetic. In spite of the fact that Herbert 11- llngsworth Atwater. Jr, thus seriotialy disporting himself on his fatber*a back fence, attracted only thia audience of one outtl she b«stllw at a rather dis tant window» tils behavler really Should have lieen considered piquant- >y Interesting by anybody. After climb Ing to the top of the fence he would produre from Interior pockets a small memorandum book and a ¡icncll; sel dom putting these Implements to lib- mediste use. Ills expression was gravely alert, his manner more than buatneaallke; yet nobody could have failed to comprehend that he was en joying himself, especially when his at titude bei'aine tenas aa at llmea It certainly <fld. Then he would rise, bal ancing himself at adroit «sise, his feet aligned one before the other on the Inner roll, a foot lielow the t«ip of the boards. and with eyes dramatically shielded beneath a scoutlsh palm. he wouli! gnxe aternly In the direction of some object nr motion which hnd at tracted his attention: and then, having He Would Bit Ags'n and Decisively Inter a Note In HI» Memorandum Book. Mtlsficd himself of eomethlng or other, he would alt again and decisively en ter a note In Ills memorandum hook. He waa not always alone; he waa frequently Joins«! by n friend, male, and. though ahorter than Herbert, quite aa old; and this companion was Inspired, It seemed, by motives pre cisely similar to those from which sprang Herbert's own actions. Like Herbert, he wonld alt upon the top of the high fence, usually at a little dis tance from him; like ILrtieri he would rise nt Interval«, for the better Study of something this aide of the horizon; then, also concluding like Herbert, he wonld sit again and write firmly In a little notebook. And sel dom In Vie history of the world have any aeaaldns lieen Invented by the par- tldpanta with ao Intentional an ap pearance of Importance. Thnt was whnt moat Injured theh l«me observer nt the somewhat distant back window, upstairs at her own * pla«"« of residence ; she found thalr Im portune almost impo.-lbl« to bear without acreanilng. Her prevocatioa waa great; the Important Importance of Hrrlmrt ami his friend. Impressive ly maneuvering upon tbelr fence, waa ao estrem'e as to ba all too plainly vis ible srrosa four Intervening broud back yards; In fact, there was almost res son to suspect that the two per- formers were aware of tbelr audience aud even of her goaded condition; and that they sometimes deliberately In creased the outrageousnese of their Importance lierouae they knew she was watching thesn. And upon the Saturday of that week, wlien the note book writers were upon the fence at Intervals throughout the afternoon, Florence Atwater's fascinated Indigna tion became vocal. "Vile thlnga!" she said. Her mother, sewing beside another window of the room, looked up In quiringly. "What are, Florence?” "Cousin Herbert and that nasty lit tle Henry Rooter." "Are you watching them again F her mother asked. "Yes. 1 am,” said Florence, tartly. "Not because I rare to, but merely to amuse myself at their expense.” Mrs Atwater murmured deprecat- Ingiy. “Couldn't you find some other way to ammw yourself. FlorenceF "J don’t call this amusement," the Inconsistent girl res;»onded. not with out chagrin. “Think I’d spend all my days starin’ at Herbert Illlngaworth Atwater, Junior, nnd that nasty Uttle Henry Rooter, nnd call It amusementF “Then why do you do ItF "Why do I do what. mamaF Flor ence Inquired as If In despair of Mrs. Atwater’s ever learning to put things clearly, "Why do you '«pend all your days’ watching them? You don't a«-em able to keep away from the window, and It appears to make you Irritable. 1 should think If tb«y wouldn't let you play with them you'd be too proud—" "Oh, gixMl heavens, mama I" "Don't one expressions like that. Florenre, please " "Well." Mid Horeoce, "I go» to use some expression when you accuse me of wantin' to 'play' with those two vile things I My goodnew mercy, mama. I don’t want to ’play’ with Vml I'm uxiro than four years old, I guess; though you don't ever seem willing to give me credit for It. I d«m't haf to ‘play* all the time, mama; and. any way. Hertiert and that nasty little licnry Rooter aren’t playing, either." "Aren't tbeyF Mm. Atwater In quired. "I thought the other day you said you wanted them to let you play at being a new»|>aper reportsr. or edi tor, or something like that, with them, and they were rude and told you to go away. Wasn't that It?” It Florence sighed. “No. minus i . ert’nly wasn’t." “They weren't rude to josF “Yea. they ccrt'aty weref" "Well, then—" "Mama, «-an't you undcrstandF Florence turned from the window to beseech Mr« Atwater's coocvntratton upon the matter. "It Isn't *playingl* 1 didn’t want to 'play’ being a report er; they ain't 'playing*—" “Aren't playing. Florenre.” "Ycs'm. They're not. Herbert’s got a real printing press; Uncle Jo seph gnve It to him. It's a real one, mama, can't you understand?” "I’ll try,” Mid Mrs. Atwater. “You uiustu't gel so excited about It, Flor ence.” "I'm not I" Florenre turned vehe mently. “1 guess It’d take more than those two vile things and their old printin' press to get me excited 1 _ I don't rare what they do; It’a far lass than nothing to me I All 1 wish la they'd fall off the fence and break their vile ole necks!" With this manifestation of un per- sonal calmn«*Hs. she tum«^l again to the window; but her mothre protest ed. “Do find something else to ninnse you, Florenre; and quit watch ng those foolish hoys; you mustn't let them upset you so by their plavtng." Florence moened. 'Tbcv d. n't 'up set' me, mnitvi! They liave no eff«^t •on me by the slightest degree ' And I told you. mamn. they're not ’pillylng.'" Th«>n whnt nre they doing?" “Well, they're having a newsiiagtre They gm the printing pre»« nnd an ofllce In Herbert's o'e stable nn«t ev erything. They got som«"iH»|y to give 'em some otc iMinlstera nix! n railing from n Imjis«- thnt wn« torn down somewhere», nnd then they got It stncl- up In the atnldc loft, so It runs ncroo with n kind of n gate In the middle of th<«se banisters, nnd on «me side Is the printing press, and the other side they got n desk from thnt misty little Henry limiier’s mother's attic; mid a table and some chairs, and a mip on the wall: and that's their ne«spa:>er offlee. They go out mid look for wgar'« the news, and write It down In Ink: i and then they go through the gate the other side of the railing where the printing presa la, and print It for theli newspaper." “But whnt do they do on the tenee so much?" ’Thnt'a where they go to watch what the news Is," Florence expiai nod morosely. "They think tliey're so grand, siltin' up there, pokin' around. They go other places, too; and they aak people. That's nil they said I ,cmild tie I" Here the laily's bitterness i*came strongly Intensified "They »aid. nm.vhe I could be oue o’ the ones they asked If I knew nnythlng, some times. If they happen to think of it I I lust respectf'ly told 'em I’d decline to #1pe my oldest shoes on ’em to mvo their Ilves I” Mrs. Atwater sighed. "You mustn't use such expression«, Florence.” "I don't see why not," the daughter Objected. ’They're a lot more refined than the expressions they used on me I" * r “T1>«n I’m vary glad you didn't play with them.” But at thia, Florence eace utotp gave way to filial despair. ‘‘Mama, you Just esu't see through anything! I've said anyhow fifty times the/ ain't —aren't playing I Tiiay're gelt Ina up a real U«WNpNp4.*r, mid people buy It, and everything, They have been all over this part ut town and got every aunt and uncle ibey bave, besides their own fathers sud mothers, and some people In the neighborhood, and Kitty Silver and two or three other colored people besides, that work for families they know. They're going to charge tweuty-flve cents a year, collect-ln-ad- vance because they want the money first; and even papa gave 'em a qtiar- ter last night; be told me so.” "How often du they publish tbelr paper. Florence?" Mrs. Atwater qulrad somewhat abaeutly, having some«! her sewing. "Every week; and they're goln' to have the first one a week from to- day," “What do they call It?" 'The North End Daily Oriole. It's the silliest name 1 ever heard for a newspaper; end I told 'em so. I told 'em what I thought of it. I guess I* "Was thnt the reason V Mrs. At- water asked. "Was It whnt reason, mama?" "Waa It the reasyn they wouldn't let you be a reporter with them?” “I’ooh I" Florence exclaimed airily. "1 didn't waul anything to do with their ole paper. But anyway I didn't make fun of their callin’ It the North End Daily Oriole till after they said I couldn't be in IL Then I did, you bet r "Florenro, don't say—“ "Mama. I got to say eomep’ml Well, I told 'em I wouldn't be In their ole ¡taper If they beggr«! me on their lient- ed knees; and I said If they begged me a thousand year» I wouldn’t t»e In any paper with such a crazy Dame; end I wouldn't tell 'em any news If 1 knew the President of the United States had the scarlet fever! I Just politely Informed 'am they could say what they liked If they was dying; I declln«Hl so much aa wipe the oldest shoes I got on 'em I" "But why wouldn't they let you be on the paper?" her mother Insisted. Upon thia Florence became analyti cal. "Just ao's they could act so Im portant!" And she addded, as a con sequence: “They ought to be arrest ed.” Mrs. Atwater murmured absently, but forbore to press ber Inquiry; and Florence was silent. In a brooding mood. The Journalists upon the fence bad disappeared from view, during tba conversation with her mother; and presently she sighed and quietly left the room. She went to her own apart ment, where, at a small and rather battered little white desk, after n pe riod of earnest reverie, she took up a pen, wet the point In purple Ink. and without any great effort or any criti cal delayings, produi-ed ■ poem. It wua, la a sense, an original poem; thougii, like the greater number of all literary offerings. It was so strongly Inspirational that the source of Its Inspiration might easily beo.rue mani fest to a cold-bkxMled reader. Never theless, to the poetess herself, as she explained later In good faith, the winxto Just seenM"d to come to her—doubtless with either genius or some form of miracle Involved; for sources of l«s- KplratkMi are seldom recognlz«>d by In spire«! writers themselves. She had not Irnig ago lieen party to a musical Suielny afternoon at her great-uncle Joeeph Atwater's house where Mr. llalrdyce, that amiable and robust Imritone, sang some of bls songs <iver nnd over agnln. ns long as the re queata for them held out Florence’s ¡mem may have begun to coagulate within her then. THE OROANEST 11 > Moreno« Atwater Th« orranest was Bested at his orgsa In ■ church. In some beautiful woods ot maple sad birch. He was weary while he played upon the keys. Rut lie was a treat organeet and always played with esse. When the soul Is wesry. And the wind Is drenry. I would like to be tn orgsnsst settled sll day st the organ, Whether my name might be Fsln-hlld or Morgan. I would play music like a vast amen. The «ray II amin.i« In a church of men Florem-e rend her poem over seven or eight times, the deepening pleasure of her expreoslon being evidence that repetition fulled to denature th’s work, but, on the contrary, enhanced an ap preciative »urprlse nt Its singular mer- It. Flnally she folded the sheet of paper with it delicate carefulness un usual to her. nnd placed It In her Then she went down skirt pocket stairs end out Into the back yard, With thoughtful and determined eyes ■he obliqued her guse over the In tervening fences to the repellent sky line formed by the too-slmple proflie of her cousin Herbert's father’s sta ble Iler next action was straight- for aril mid anything but prudish; she ■•I.i... id :he high hoard fences, one af- n»i the other, until she came to a l«uw at lite top of that whereon the two Journalists had lately made them selves mi odiously Impressive, Befuft her. If she had but taken note of them, were a lesson In history and the markings of a profound transi tion In human evolution. Beside the old frame stable was a little brick garage, obviously put to the dally use Intended by Its designer. Quite as ob viously the stable was obsolete; any body would have known from Its out side thnt there was no horse within It Here, visible, was the end of the pastoral age, It might be called, from the Heidelberg Jawbone to Mar coni. The new age begins with ma chines thnt do away with laboring ani mals and will proreed presently to iiiai-nines doing away with laboring men, although It Is true that cows may remain In vogue for some time. In spite of the fact that they are already milked by electricity, the milk Itself must yet be constructed by the cow. All this was lost upon Florence. 8b« sat upon the fence, her gaze un favorably, though wistfully, fixed upon a sign of no special esthetic merit above the stable door: tered with ths derision of experienced people. Her fastidiousness aroused, she <!•- elded that Henry Rooter had no boat- ness to be talking about what would hap|H-ri to her Inaldea, anyhow; and se informed him at tbelr next meeting, adding an explanation which absolute- ly proved him to be no gentleman. And her opinion of him waa still per fectly pisln In her expression as made ber present Intrusion upon working hours. He seemed to ciprorate. "Herat Didn't I and Herbert jmi to keep out o’ here?’ he demand ed, even before Florence had devel oped the slightest form of greeting. "Look at ber, Herbert! She’s back again I” "You get out o’ here. Florenae," said Herbert, abandoning bls task with a look of pain. "How often we haf to tell you we don’t want you around here when we're In our office like thisr “For heaven's sake!” Henry Rooter thought fit to add. "Can't yon quit running up and down our office stairs ouce in a while, long enough for os to get our newspaper work dooe? Can’t you give us a little peaceF The pinklness of Florence's alter- Ing complexion was Justified; she bad not been near their old ofllce for four days. She stated the fact with heat, adding: "And I only came then be cause I knew somebody ought to see that this stable Isn't ruined. It's my own uncle and aunt’s stable, and I got as much right here as anybody." "You have not!” Henry Rooter pro- tested hotly, 'Thls Isn't, either, your ole aunt and uncle’s stable.” "It Isn’t!" "No, It Is not! This Isn't anybody's stable. It’s my. and Herbert’s n«*ws- paper building.’ and I guess you haven’t got the face to stand there and claim you got a right to go In a newspaper building and say you got a right there wh«*n everybody tells you to stay outside of It, I guess!" “Oh, haven't IT (Continued Next Week.) THE NORTH BND DAILY ORIOL«. ATWATER A HOOTER OWNERS AND PROPREITOR». aUBSCHIHE NOW X CKNTg. The Inconsistency of the word “dally” did not trouble Florence; more over she had found no fault with “Oriole” until the "Owners and Pro- preltors" had explained to her in the plainest terms known to their vocabu laries that she was excluded from tlie enterprise. Then, indeed, she had lieen reciprocally explicit In regard, not only to them and certain personal characteristics ut theirs which she ¡minted out as fundamental, but In re gard to any newspaper which should deliberately rail Itself an “Oriole." The partners remained superior In manner, though unable to conceal a natural resentment; they had adopted ‘Oriole," n«it out of sentiment for I lie distuut city of Baltimore, nor. Indeed, on account of any oniltbolorlc Inter est of tnelr own. but as a relic from an abantkmed club, or secret society, whlcdt they had previously contem plated forming. Its members to be calle«! ’The Orioles" for no reason whatever. The two friends bad talked of their plan at many meetings throughout the summer, and wbeu Her bert's great-uncle, Mr. Joseph At water, made his nephew the unex pected present of a printing press, and a newspaper consequently took the place of the club, Herbert and Henry still entertained an affection for tbelr former scheme snd decided to perpet uate the name. They were the more sensitive to attack upon It by an Ig norant «wtslder and girl like Florence, and ber chance of Ingratiating her self with them. If that could lie now her Inteutlon, was not promising. It w«Ald be Inaccurate to speak of ber as hoping to placate them, how ever; ber mood was inscrutable. She descended from the fence with pro nounced Inelegante, and, approaching the old double doors of the "carriage house,“ whi<4> were open, puusetl to listen. Sounds from above assured her that the editors were editing—or at least that they could be found ut their place of business. Therefore, she ascend«"d the c«»bwebby stairway to the loft, and nutUe her appearauce In the printing room of Hie North End Daily Oriole. Herbert, frowning with the ouroen of composition, sot at a table beyond the offirial rolling, nnd his pnrtn««r was engage«! nt the press, painfully sotting type. This latter ,p«"raon. whom Flor ence for several' mouths had mimed not once otherwise than aa "That nasty Uttle Henry Rooter,” was of strangely clean and smooth falr-haireil appears hr*, for hl» age. She looked him over. Hla profile was of a symmetry he had not himself yet begun to appre ciate; hla dress was scrupulous and mo«llsh ; and though he was short nothing outward alsiut him explained the more sinister of Florence's two adjectives. Yet she had true occasion for It, berouse on the day before she t>egan Its long observance h«- hnd lumie her uneasy lesi an orange seed she had swallowed should take root snd grow up within her to a size Inevi tably fatal. Then, with her cousin Herbert's stern assistance, Florence had realized thnt her gullibility was n«>t (o be expected In anybody over seven years old, after which nge such legends are supposed to be encoun- 1 ■ 1 J ames A.C.T ait &C o 315 HAWTHORNE AVE The handy place on the corper has every facility to give the bent service—and of course real tary lunches at all hours, too. Mt.JHood Ice Cream’ Parlor What? Only $10 down and the balance of $65 in 7 monthly payments for a Gasco “Cottage Floor furnace? 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