The Project Gutenberg EBook of Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington

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Title: Seventeen
A Tale Of Youth And Summer Time And The Baxter Family Especially William

Author: Booth Tarkington

Release Date: February 21, 2006 [EBook #1611]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVENTEEN ***

Produced by Charles Keller and David Widger

SEVENTEEN

A TALE OF YOUTH AND

SUMMER TIME AND

THE BAXTER FAMILY

ESPECIALLY WILLIAM

By Booth Tarkington

SEVENTEEN

TO S.K.T.

CONTENTS

I. WILLIAM
II. THE UNKNOWN
III. THE PAINFUL AGE
IV. GENESIS AND CLEMATIS
V. SORROWS WITHIN A BOILER
VI. TRUCULENCE
VII. MR. BAXTER'S EVENING CLOTHES
VIII. JANE
IX. LITTLE SISTERS HAVE BIG EARS
X. MR. PARCHER AND LOVE
XI. BEGINNING A TRUE FRIENDSHIP
XII. PROGRESS OF THE SYMPTOMS
XIII. AT HOME TO HIS FRIENDS
XIV. TIME DOES FLY
XV. ROMANCE OF STATISTICS
XVI. THE SHOWER
XVII. JANE'S THEORY
XVIII. THE BIG, FAT LUMMOX
XIX. "I DUNNO WHY IT IS"
XX. SYDNEY CARTON
XXI. MY LITTLE SWEETHEARTS
XXII. FORESHADOWINGS
XXIII. FATHERS FORGET
XXIV. CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
XXV. YOUTH AND MR. PARCHER
XXVI. MISS BOKE
XXVII. MAROONED
XXVIII. RANNIE KIRSTED
XXIX. ''DON'T FORGET!''
XXX. THE BRIDE-TO-BE

SEVENTEEN

I

WILLIAM

William Sylvanus Baxter paused for a moment of thought in front of the
drug-store at the corner of Washington Street and Central Avenue. He had
an internal question to settle before he entered the store: he wished
to allow the young man at the soda-fountain no excuse for saying, "Well,
make up your mind what it's goin' to be, can't you?" Rudeness of this
kind, especially in the presence of girls and women, was hard to bear,
and though William Sylvanus Baxter had borne it upon occasion, he
had reached an age when he found it intolerable. Therefore, to avoid
offering opportunity for anything of the kind, he decided upon chocolate
and