Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine, Vol. 107 No. 3 — page 71: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

7 Desperately he rose to the occasion, after seating himself in a chair by Mrs. Baldwin’s rocker. Enmeshed again, in the net of com- mon courtesy, he replied with the punctilio common to such occasions that he would be very pleased, indeed, to meet the young man, if a suitable opportunity ever arose. And he meant what he said—although not in the way they understood it—and he hated himself so cordially that he had to do something to relieve the inward pres- sure or burst into so many parts that King Robert of Sicily would reincarnate through sheer ‘‘ poison envy.” There was little to do to anything or any one, save the chair on which he sat. It was of wood, with a veneered seat of one piece, punched with various holes, and with rows of big-headed brass tacks around the edge, and a group of them in the center, though a few had become loose at some time and fallen out. The heads of these tacks were very like the heads of the brass fasteners with which he held together certain papers pertaining to a man who had called himself Norman Baldwin. To make sure, Jimmy withdrew two of the loose ones from his pocket and tried fitting them in the holes near the center. They seemed made to order for serving as spurious tacks, and he was glad. He did not spread apart the brass legs of the fasteners, for he wanted some one to pick up that chair some day and have two of these phony tacks fall out—and he wanted whoever did it to wonder how they came to be there. It was the only revenge he could take! Being human, he had to have some vent for his feelings when Mrs. Baldwin observed that she hoped the opportunity . would “soon arise’ for her son to meet one so like him, in so many ways. ‘Norman has a lively sense of humor, and Vivian tells me you, too, can make fun when things don’t seem to go just right. You boys must be much alike!” Jimmy, now an automaton in very truth, made replies which passed muster as those of a somewhat bashful yokel, while he fiendishly figured on the astonished and pained perplexity that would appear on the ALIAS THE ANGLEWORM. 413 face of the precise and supposedly con- scientious face of Mr. Cashier Phelps, when that gentleman discovered what Jimmy - Stuart would do to Aim, in return to what had beer’ done to Jimmy—when his plans © were fully matured. Phelps was probably in on the game. “‘T have a photograph of Norman,”’ said Mrs. Baldwin, placidly, ‘ and I feel that I must offer you a cup of tea before you go, as well as show it to you. late; otherwise—” Jimmy rose to go. He expressed himself in choice terms as to the genuine pleasure he would feel, were it otherwise with ‘ business.” Vivian’s laugh drowned his speech, then and there. ‘““The angleworms are all tucked in their little beds, by now, and even the roosters are with the sand-man.” She turned to Mrs. Baldwin: ‘* Mother, it isn’t good form to discuss or reveal business secrets. Otherwise, I wish you could have had a second carbon of that letter! I wanted to scream at every sentence, from start to finish.” ** ‘You go and bring Norman’s picture out while I make a cup of tea. Mr. Stuart, meanwhile, will consider himself forcibly detained. He must not even rise from that chair until we both return.” Jimmy meekly complied as they went in- side. He peered up the road. The mist had entirely vanished, just as Norman Baldwin had “ faded out ”—for reasons. The one thing now to complete his utter discomfiture would be for Norman to come walking back to his mother’s hearth—a- thing most improbable but not entirely im- possible, since Norman might reason that no one would be silly enough to think he ‘was fool enough to do anything like that— after what he had already done! - Then, unless he was actually going “ off his chump,” some man’s figure was coming toward the crossing where Coalport ended and this little lane began, and, turning down the lane, toward this, the sole house in it. Inwardly resolved not to meet the erring son and brother, and about to leap from the chair and sprint anywhere—everywhere The hour is — S Co mM