Earl Derr Biggers

Name: The Great Reader
Author: Earl Derr Biggers

The Great Reader (1910)

Summary

“The Great Reader”, published in 1910, is a work by Earl Derr Biggers. It explores elements such as William Parker, bench and ranch.

Quotes from The Great Reader (Earl Derr Biggers)

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ I want to see the West. I hate New York, I hate it. It's crowded, cruel, horrible. I want to get out on the broad plains, where there's enough of God's air for all. But I never will. I'll just have to go on reading—and reading—and maybe talking about it now and then. Say—what is the West like—anyhow?”
Bob Garwood, the stranger, lighted a match and held it for a second so that its light shone into the pinched, city-pale face of William Parker. Then he applied it to his cigaret and tossed it to the grass. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ At ten o'clock Mr. Parker closed the book, yawned, and reached for the dinky derby. Turning the gas low, he felt his way down the creaking stairs, dimly lighted by hall lamps, such as are known only to landladies. On the front stoop a few of the boarders still lingered; through these he carefully picked his way. A facetious comment as to his destination he greeted with a laugh.
Aimlessly he wandered down the dark side-street to the Avenue, where the street cars clanged and the drug stores and rathskellers bathed the sidewalk in white. There life rushed up like a wave and engulfed him. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ Kirkpatrick grunted.
“Parker's no good,” he said. “He's got his nose in a book all the time. Just reads, an' reads, an' reads. The greatest reader you ever saw. Mopin' in a corner with a fool look every blamed minute he gets.”
A puzzled look swept Garwood's face.
“Reads?” he repeated, wonderingly. “Why I—say, what in hell does he read?”
For answer Kirkpatrick pushed him into the living room of the ranch. There on a stool, his back to a sunset such as no art gallery ever boasted, oblivious to the world, sat William Parker, huddled over a book. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ But it's the one country—the one country of 'em all.”
“I know,” cried William Parker. “It's a man's-size land. I wish I could see it. I wish I could say good-by to this town forever. It's the West I want—the West I was made for—I want to live there. I've always wanted to—and I never will.”
To Garwood this was the wail of a kindred lost soul in the wilderness of lights. He hesitated a mere second, then clapped William Parker on the back with such terrific suddenness that the dinky derby leaped, with human-like agility, into a bush back of the bench. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ Around this had gathered a nondescript throng; women in weird dressing sacks; men without their coats, revealing ugly suspenders and eccentric tastes in shirtings. Mr. Parker stood meekly aside until the last had gone, and then waited patiently while his pitcher filled with reluctantly running water.
Several times during his economic toilet he turned back to that volume of wonders, which was entitled “Reminiscences of the Plains, or Fifty years of Ranch Life.” ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ It's one of my leading reasons for wantin' the civilized West again.”
“It's a great play,” spoke William Parker, his eyes on the distant sign. “I saw it the first night. It's the finest ever staged—I think. Real Indians in it, aint there?”
“Yes,” said Mr. Garwood, “there is. There's also real guns, an' real horses. But that doesn't make it a 'slice of the cattle country transplanted to Broadway,' as I see the press-agent is calling it. Life out there aint so much sombrero as it is hard work, Kid. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ Garwood laughed. “You see, it's like this. My old boss, Kirkpatrick, has been losin' a lot of men lately to the glitterin' life of the actor, an' he'd take you on in a minute if I was to say the word. You're not exactly what I might call husky, but the West would soon change that. Ever ride a horse?”
“Sure,” began William Parker—and then halted. “No, I haven't. I thought for a minute I had. No, I don't believe I've ever seen a dozen horses in my life that wasn't hitched to things. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl Derr Biggers, The Great Reader (1910)

“ When I was a kid—”
“Yes, sir,” a large, commanding-looking woman repeated, in a tone for the table to hear, “tried to steal my bag right on the street, he did. But they got him. I screamed like murder, and they pinched him. Now I 'spose I'll get a chance to go to court and testify against him. I wonder how much I'll make in witness fees. Mr. ”

Earl Derr Biggers

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