Show The Colfax Bookplate L f CHAPTER 11 I 1 II I 1 Darrows Darrow's Is la Different Und Lind It not been fo for those tl tidy y little jellow notes cut thriftily eight to asb n a sheet t of ot copy paper and distributed free on Saturday to the staff stoff at ot Darrows Darrow's Oar Dar rows rows row's New and Second-Hand Second Bookshop Book- Book I shop we should ne never er have hn begun Monday morning In the state of ten islon which was so a 8 com ment for tor that portentous day duy nor should hould we have ended the whole affair of ot the Colfax bookplate In such sucha a 8 blaze 01 of t glory But nut Mr Roberts our canny statistical Caledonian manager had Imd noted that on each morning of ot the prec preceding week an nn n average erne of nine members of the staff hn had punched the i clock time between the hive and sixteen minutes past nine and ond he had concluded led ed that the reason could not always have been the i Difference in Clocks I the Subway Block or the Alarm That Never W Went bent nt Off OfT at All All tant features as these all till are ore of mod modern ern cm commercial civilization cl Conse Conro Consequently at nt noon on on Saturday he lie had hod broadcast a general warning storm In Inthe Inthe n the language of ot diplomacy or to be ht bemore hemore more more spoken plain on yellow notes en enclosed closed d In our pay envelopes I tranI tran tran- I scribe be my copy Typewritten Miss Con Constance tonce Fuller Nine o'clock Monday plea please e I Thomas Alexander Roberts 1 I belle believe e that e every ery morning when 1 enter the silent shop I must unconsciously unconsciously breathe a n prayer yer of thanksgiving thanksgiving thanks thanks- giving that although life Is by no means menns alwa always s 's May at lea least t I belong lu in Darrows narrows I 1 started selling books book i before It got to be a u ur New ew Ca Career reer for Women with courses on how to do It and then obtained through the college employment bureau a position In Dar Darrows Darrows rows A bright young woman was wanted to assist And at what pray could one assist in a 0 bookshop ie except at selling books At least so soI J I reasoned The Idea iden of ot doing so struck me with great force though Ii it struck me alone On hearing that Darrows Darrow's Par Dar nr rows row's had hired me DIe my mother ex e exclaimed exclaimed claimed Dear child Im I'm so Kapp hoPPS for you you I I always wanted to work In Ina Inn a n store but had I 1 breathed the fact nt III jour your a age e Id I'd have been heen put out oui In the snow a la In Wa Way Down East It My Iy brother said How much are you going go go- going ing to get S Strike for a n raise And III my dear father ou nu learning that thai I declined de de- cline to hang around hi his neck like Ilke a beautiful womanly millstone a was noblest of all for he merely remarked Well Is s different It Is s Indeed None but hut that thai over overworked overworked worked adjective describes it There uie ure many bookshops bookshop but there Is no DO other quite like Darrows Harrows It Is mi an gins oan's Ja is in n the desert of a n rushing pro prosale prosale sale business neighborhood unaffectedly edly picturesque Ii Sixty years ugo ago the life building was a n nast vast ast comfortable carnor cor car corner nor ncr dwelling with a stable doubtless full of or fat fal horses down I the he side st street floeL No Now nw v that stable tahle Is the shipping room mill mid where the ground flour floor lining dining room romu used hospitably to receive e a dozen duzen guests an nn evening ening In lu addition to hO clue the size family Dar Darrou ron s shook honk bonk shop hop today receives It Its customers Tine Tile shop also extends over er the site sire of ot the theold theold old kitchen pantry and store sture rooms ruoms and find the tipper upper reaches of its lofty walls the time old stor stor parlor Every very new customer coming corning In past PUSI m mj my d desk sl beside the front lout door gasps ut lit the noble spread of the shelves book from hour to ceiling on the long lung north and und south walls with a gallery running run ning mound around them at half their height lie He will find Union fiction ou on the the tables tallIes standard works on nn the walls collections subject In n the alcoves es lie may view at leisure the tile tine collections Lions of old prints nn and engravings s which ornament the gallery railings ii und mid 01 In n which we do a U considerable business And Anil he will trill certainly ad ud admire admire mire hl his own awn In the bright brass cage cuge of ot our little elevator ele at ut the rear of the central aisle which It II I Is la lathe I Ithe the chief Joy of Ulysses UlYESes S S. G G. G Jackson our elderly colored janitor to polish h Mf If necessary to the neglect of his oth other other der er duties dulles I It was with Ulysses as usual that thai 1 1 exchanged my illY first greeting ou arriving arriving ing at ot the bookshop that famous Mon aJon duy day duy For thirty years eurs Danow's Danows and every ery Individual und rind circumstance con connected connected with It had hud constituted UI Ulysses Ulysses' s 's e life life Its His duet chief passion besides brass polishing was that thrilling lug dally r magazine entitled Daily Dally Snapshots which u as as- everybody e knows consists ts of ot three quarters pictures and one one- quarter quarter 14 point t type Je and tea teaI I tures tuns with double spreads spread's such Important Im lm I news neus Items us its tight Right Arm of ot otI I Divorced Di Wife WiCe Found In n ell He Ue now folded up his lasi Iasi dusl cloth clottu and approached me IDe solemn t ly ty drawing a copy of this Journal I from Hrom beneath his sweater weater Youve been out early carly for or the paper pa- pa per Ulysses Does Docs you yon want to see It 1 Yes es what's the news this morn ding jing For twenty four four hours the country coun try must mUSI ha have hae e been Inconveniently tJ free niree from crimes of extraordinary the editors of ot Snapshots had heen been reduced to using for a D front page front e scientific observations o of latest visit lung foreign headliner whIch I 1 were wele summed up uJ In the caption Psychic Ps Expert Delineates Next Nex 1 I taint aint he lie no worsen this tints one re reo UI Ulysses I 1111 tae tue matter Ulysses Ulysse UI s 's e Have Ua yon gut cot rheumatism a I XIII ciru I aint ainI gut got no rheumatism J 1 i s. s iIi By B AGNES MILLER wr NU U Service Senko Ico 7 b by The rile Century Cc Coo Co gut got a n message bad's hods gob gon happen Pshaw 18 II U v Ulysses I something Dads Dad's always s 's going to happen Nom om youre you're hid hiding In from yourself Miss Fuller bad's hads gon goa hap pen I 1 knows It It What had bad thing thine do you bOIn go bO goIng l In Ing ag to happen UI Ulysses debated silently his mouth curved into n a crescent points down The contemplation 01 a some same concrete catastrophe seemed d to to cheer him hint Finally he murmured simply I 1 dunno Mn Maybe be Mist Darrow don gon on lose some money I 1 as rs much tickled by hy tine tile fancy fanty It Ii Mr lr Darrow did lose some sOUle n luney ney Ii It be Ile powerful had bad luck Iud for er e every everybody everybody body In n the house since to tell III the Hie painful truth UlIth 11 Mr fir Harrow Darrow was WIS nut not I p remarkably good loser of 0 anything particularly money Oh I hope nut not 1 l l J sighed that's lints right I does docs too Il agreed reed Ulysses Heartily 1 Ills His poise pulse quite restored he picked up the Pictorial and anti moved rull off to polish the alcove p bookcases It was n a plen aal side sille of my tiny vork that my on own n special hobby became a u knowledge of ot bookplates Whenever henc could discover and nd Identify a new I t 1 JI i I L I I I 1 I M I 1 Dunno Maybe Mist Darro barrows barrow's s 's Gon Lose Some Money one une and ind nd sell it to sonic some one who liked I it t I l was more then than happy But UI certa ta there could never have hn been heen in un apparently more unlikely morning tan Llan thai lint I of ou our r fn famous M Monday for fur to light n b real treasure attuning among bookplates s Nothing was In III mi lily mind except my lilY very ery Important indexing Job jam as i set sel assembling my lily catalogue cards Just a as the rhe rhean van an vanguard vanguard guard of punctual arrivals begun began he an to pour In Heading the procession came Mi Roberts t tall II gaunt e keen ed One Une by one they raced past pasi me mu with willi the typical Monday business Good morn norn mornIng In Ing smile ing smile grouch resignation Then Thena Thenn a n loud click sounded us as one by one they punched the time-clock time lust just In Inside inside n side the shipping loom door lu In the rear hall holl to the right of the elevator shaft Miss our dean Jean of women her Iler new wi wistaria velvet elvet fall hut hunt perched lII like e an urn imperial Russian coronet coronet cor cor- onet on ou her VU waved cd gray gruy hair showed all her teeth and addressed me as ns Dear 1 I noted with Interest that thai contrary to her custom for custom for In n her exalted position she mingled n n. n t with the herd and und well known social ambitions made her quite Inaccessible slue she she was nas escorting a II lank lanky and md silent but astonishingly pretty young stran strap gr ger who had Ind the tile largest he herd head d of soft wavy chestnut bobbed hair and and the thickest paint war I had hind ever e beheld In III a long and und tolerant experience While awaiting the elevator ele Miss I es nun abandoned her convoy oy to tn greet reet Mr Ir r Ed Edward Case a so the Ilia shop unu manager anger er Miss Ii o Wilkes highly approved el of nf Mr Mra a use mc o He lie was nas n a bachelor in the late Inte he lived lI at n II club ho hp always displayed pla ld line nt on his tall well cell built p person and was n altogether her to her In taste le being deemed the mo most t ashing If riot not do daredevil n In hl n our elect community lie Ile was wins a n of ut the tine grout group II I 1 t whom le legends had grown grove up He Ile a was more or h less ss traveled und anti hail had hed manners m he could be he con CUll provided with a past must in Iu for parts by hv those dense determinedly let ru ro mantle and there were few to con these dreamers for lor 11 Mr Jr r. r use Case u p pvn vas teas I he tine ranking employee next to 10 Ulysses In iu length ol of service c HIli and no nil really knew kill u tJ treat deal dent about ahem him hilli I once hurl hunt suggested that Mint this wui U probably heroine because there wasn't nt n u nureal ureal real ureal deal lo to know o Its liS the poor moor man wm nn the Ime con conventional PIlI person ersoll on oni i he nine stall Mail Mv 1 other ther col coI leagues wino who arrived briskly in due season seu were Daisy Abbott outwardly a U fair fur frail lower bower but hut really pretty inn shelled hard James plain marl aunt thoroughly sea seaworthy wor- wor thy tiny and George Gembe Henry a n nice lad who when In it France Fiance Mutt lUll got gut o he Ile liked to tn read a Red Cross lUll lady In a 3 hospital library having unwittingly given riven him hint a lead learl toward a career which he had speedily proceeded to follow when he came back with his helmet Our select clerical force fOlce entered and betook themselves to regions above ubo Air Mr Riggs Higgs the stout mead head ship shipping shipping shipping ping clerk dashed in Irl distractedly Mr Ir Roberts corny conic yet yel Im I'm short shurl shorthanded handed one nine of m my men's mens down sick and the others other's still off oIT on his wedding trip trip drat drat him and him and I-and and them govern government government ment meat hool hooks books s In laying a u mile deep In yon yonder yonder der And then lien arrived elJ Mr lr Darrow him himself self for even he carne came early curly that thai morning morn morn- Ing as an example Very spurt short and stout stiff bald laid an und and l shaven clean he moved down the tile aisle like an nn armored tank to quote Mr Ir bestowing a bow how on me one of the employees he spoke e to Bookselling ool was Mi Mn lL rows Harrows one his only love lo He tie had not only made glade his lIis shop different ent and famous furious he hall had also years jears ugo ago married his sister sigler toan to toan tonn an nn Ashland In the trade this Iris achievement achieve e anent ment recalls a n master maste stroke the tile Ash lands holds have hate been heen known In n London for generations as rare rare book booL dealers so tint that this Ibis political I inn marriage gave Mr Ir Harrow w an international business co con J section He lie was little seen In n his nis own n shop however howe and I fear truth compels the statement that thai we managed man tuna aged without him To Tn his employees NS he heas was as known chiefly chlell ns as u a Voice oice on ou the tine telephone With his Ills arrival the whole staff start was wab accounted for with one exception Peter leter Burton our young traveler lIe He had Ind been heen expected hu hack back k from a rather nattier long trip the previous pre l Friday but hut had hal hadnot not out arrived ed It t vv st-'s st s his first Important Mr Ir Darrow had hitherto trip done dune most of the rare book hu buying ln himself though he had heel been training Peter Ieler as future assistant But a 1 had cold a n fortnight previous pre hart had deprived him of his ol woke voice e for several se days drs and he had been heen obliged to III dispatch Peter Ieter in his stead on an nn extended tour he had Ind been preparing to take ake Nine llIe o'clock pealed through gh a 0 silence sl si lence letice unmarred I hj Icy any uny click dick from froll rota the ti time clock lc ch-lc and all ull of us in the II shop settled down to our respective e duties As I always s 's notice whoever cr passes nay mv III desk coming coining In or t going out I noticed thai that our fur first t visitor that morning will who entered ut at half past Inn If past in nine hie was a II dignified while willie bearded old gen gentleman known u tn to some sonic of us liS at nl least by my sight He Ile Ie moved slowly down n the tine center r aisle aislee and finally entered the Ille thelast thelast last alcove e on and the tight right lI hl under the placard Medical Works Not ul tar tor ab ui ul u quartet o ot ut an hout hou lid did the union dool open opeti again again- thou then u II ruther ruth ruther er distinguished lucking looking young girl irl in iu inn iua n a block black fur cape caJe drifted In hi but hut I n was us I SJ so busy I 1 paid little nut attention tent it to 10 her I paid mid none at ot nil all other ether than Ulan to note his eat entrance to the rile third arrival a ayoung aoun young yuting oun nuts man He lIe Meshed palt me almost al at- al most before I could look Ilok up and I merely fiat tinted I his Ills loud atthe at at- tire tine and brief lI case e Becoming Increasingly ly busy I did nut not look up from t mv de desk k again until I gradually became conscious that s ome sosie one rille else hind had nut not only entered the tile snap but hul gone one fir far past 1 me time I raised mv I eyes ejes cs und anti saw V s ieter Bui Burton ton St toward the III elevator ele dragging his suitcase with ith thai nil air of complete detachment from the rhe Id and the fullness fullness- ther d f belongs s only to r or tine the lowest depths of desp des des- p. p p i i t rI hn n Wit 11 1 bout a n glance glanie I new mew Peters Peter's vise HIM must t belong to the fine second sec sec- seCt rind ond category lIry Mr M- li Harrow Darrow I though hough not nul g given gln ln to lei admiring things about u her people considered l Peters Peter's tess ability promising I lend had made mude his acquaintance ul seven years eurs before when he was a n hive eked ll |