Hulbert Footner

“ Often we got innocently drunk on fresh air and sunshine, and on deserted stretches of road would give ourselves up to foolishness, singing at the top of our lungs, and laughing just for the sake of laughing. ”

“ I was engaged for a week's trial, and we hit the trail for New City, with much laughter and song.
Well, Tom, I made good at the very first stand. My polo togs alone alone created a sensation in that humble village, and a crowd followed us whenever I stepped out-of-doors. At night we'd have had to hang out S. R. O. sign—only there wasn't any. It was the most they had taken in anywhere, they said. ”

“ It was one of those rich mezzos that draw the very heart out of your breast, and the song was a teasing, dreamy Southern lullaby—'pon my word, Tom it made a shiver of delight run up and down my spine. I looked over my shoulder and saw an old white horse drawing a shabby wagon, like a grocer's delivery, come slowly around a bend in the road. The song was suddenly called in. You can imagine how eagerly I waited for the outfit to come up.
Presently I made out that two youngsters sat on the seat—boy and girl. They looked very much alike, both slim, dark, and ardent ”

“ This is the gist of what she told me, Tom: "I see good fortune—health, wealth and many friends. A greater capacity for receiving friendship in indicated, than for returning it. This is the hand of a dabbler in life, of one who has never been obliged to form a steady purpose and to stick to it. Many amiable qualities are shown, but the directing Will is absent. Vanity is very strong—the insidious kind of vanity that affects to despise the flattery it thrives upon." ”

“ The nicest thing about those youngsters was the implicit way in which, having once taken me into partnership, they trusted me. Surely that was the best defense their inexperience could have had, for none but an out-and-out ruffian would have dreamed of betraying their confidence. At the same time, when I realized the extent of their innocence, I was glad it was I that was looking after them, instead of some of the men I knew.
That was my life for three delightful weeks. Business was uniformly good. ”

“ One learns to he indulgent with the rich.
It was about two weeks later that we met at the Onderdonk cotillion, the first large affair of the season, given to introduce some niece or the other. We made our bows together, and once more it was made clear to me that my social quotations jumped twenty points when I was in company with Bob Vesey.
"Mr. Vesey, Mr. Orford, so good of you to come!" said Mrs. Onderdonk, that superb matron—bracketing us to save time. ”

“ We show in New City tonight, Heaverstraw Wednesday, Tompkins Cove Thursday, Highland Falls Friday, and Cornwall on Saturday—just the little places."
That was kind of a knockout blow, Tom. The thought of such a jolly, wandering life was in itself maddeningly attractive at that moment—and then to be with her all day! 'Pon my word, for a moment I was, as the story-tellers say, dumb with longing. Then I had insane impulse number two. I should have hesitated before trying it on with sophisticated grown-ups, but youngsters have open minds. ”

“ I said to Trudeau. "I'll walk. It's only a few miles."
I overtook the grocer's wagon before it got to the top of the hill. As I came alongside, the girl looked at me sidewise with a little twinkle. I suppose I made a comical figure, walking along in my polo togs, with a white blanket coat over all, but I didn't care, because I saw that she liked me—you can't mistake that look. It keyed up my nerve.
"How do you do?" I said, lifting my cap to Brother. "I am Robert Vesey. I'm on my way to Tuxedo to play polo, and my car has broken down. Will you give me a lift?" ”

“ He was not conspicuous for modesty after five years of this, and they said he carried things with a high hand—but how could anything different have been expected?
Bob lost no time in coming to the point: "Orford, you have a tungsten mine in Colorado, haven't you?"
"Merely a good prospect," I said.
"What's holding it back?"
"I need a good man to go out there," I said. "Can't go myself, and can't afford to hire the right kind." ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1944, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 79 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”