FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162  
163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   >>   >|  
and I wasn't strong before. Go down and set it all up." Mr. Schofield rejoined with an injured air, and yet hopefully: "I'd like to see what you think of the poetry--it seemed all right to me, but I reckon you ain't ever the best judge of your own work. Shall I read it?" The foreman only glanced at him in silence, and the young man took this for assent. "I haven't made up any name for it yet." "'O, the orphan boy stood on the hill, The wind blew cold and very chill--'" Glancing at his auditors, he was a trifle abashed to observe a glaze upon the eyes of Mr. Parker, while a purple tide rose above his neck-band and unnaturally distended his throat and temples. With a placative little laugh, Mr. Schofield remarked: "I git the swing to her all right, I reckon, but somehow it doesn't sound so kind of good as when I was writing it." There was no response, and he went on hurriedly: "'But there he saw the little rill--'" The poet paused to say, with another amiable laugh: "It's sort of hard to git out of them ill, hill, chill rhymes once you strike 'em. It runs on like this: "'--Little rill That curved and spattered around the hill.' "I guess that's all right, to use 'hill' twice; don't you reckon so? "'And the orphan he stood there until The wind and all gave him a chill; And he sickened--'" That day Ross read no more, for the tall printer, seemingly incapable of coherent speech, kicked the desk impotently, threw his arms above his head, and, his companions confidently looking to see him foam at the mouth, lost his balance and toppled over backward, his extensive legs waving wildly in the air as he struck the floor. Mr. Schofield fled. Parker made no effort to rise, but lay glaring at the ceiling, breathing hard. He remained in that position for a long time, until finally the glaze wore away from his eyes and a more rational expression settled over his features. Mr. Fisbee addressed him timidly: "You don't think we could reduce the size of the sheet?" "It would kill him," answered his prostrate companion. "We've got to fill her solid some way, though I give up; I don't know how. How that man has worked! It was genius. He just floated around the county and soaked in items, and he wrote editorials that people read. One thing's certain: we can't do it. We're ruining his paper for
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162  
163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
reckon
 

Schofield

 

orphan

 
Parker
 

incapable

 

effort

 

kicked

 

glaring

 

breathing

 

remained


ceiling

 
impotently
 

speech

 
printer
 
extensive
 

backward

 

coherent

 

toppled

 

seemingly

 

confidently


companions

 

struck

 

balance

 

wildly

 

waving

 
worked
 

genius

 

floated

 

county

 

soaked


ruining

 

editorials

 
people
 

settled

 

expression

 

features

 

Fisbee

 

addressed

 

rational

 

finally


timidly
 
prostrate
 

answered

 

companion

 

reduce

 
position
 

assent

 
glanced
 
silence
 

observe