Show I The Luck Lick of Mr Hopkins By E J RATH J Hopkins at the mature age of ot 25 5 was tired of ot it it If called upon for a specification of or it probably h he would have MYe floundered He was U net nei clever cle er at analyses or words To b be really frank he was not elever clever at ai anything Certainly It was not life ol ot which he was tired because he was healthy hc and optimistic and had learned that men and places and things were usually of a pretty good sort Nor or was he tired of ot being a millionaire It bad fun tun and it was inexpensive for tor being a millionaire on a million millionaires millionaires aires alres income is by ratio one of ot the cheapest occupations in the world The it of ot which he was as tired con consisted consisted consisted of ot so many man things that It was somewhat diffuse and hard to put your finger Unger upon Principally it was per perhaps perhaps haps having to do nothing that he really realty had to do To particularize a abit a abit abit bit it included seeing his name nam in ir inthe inthe the newspapers girls whose fathers fa and mothers were wore annexationists the fathers and mothers themselves auto automobiles automobiles mobiles yachts dances dance operas city house parties s camps Europe horse shows Florida gymkhanas and andoh on lots of other things He wanted to do something that was different from all these only to find that the occupations open to a young millionaire are pitifully limited That is plain ordinary occupations occupations occupations His mind did not run to sensations If he wanted to toof toof toof of course he could go out and discover the North Pole or found a national uni university university or penetrate Tibet or establish an eccentric charity or do anything else that was peculiar or cost money But that sort of ot thing did not appeal to the mind of ot J Hopkins which was vas w s sedate orderly and beyond doubt commonplace So conservative was that mind that for tor a little while when he realized albed that he was tired of the things which he had been doing Under parental guidance it might have been different but his mother rUed riled when wh n he was a little boy bo and his father Just as he left college Whatever W plans the senior Hopkins may have had he did not live to disclose AH AU he did was to leave J an edu education education education cation and a few millions The millions were w ware re firmly imbedded in a steel plant about which young Hopkins had no need to worry True he had Imd a sister out aut she was married to a millionaire situated ted in ht the same mm commonplace way as himself so she did not count J Hopkins rarely did any anything an anything thing hastily hasUl so he be thought about this matter of being tired for a long time Th Then n he went to see soe his lawyers Jawers I J am going away awa lie he said For a year ear at least perhaps longer Where Oh I dont know kno definitely all over oer J I guess Just came me tt tb tell teU you ou to look after things while unite Im away Money Ione Why Ill In send for It when I need some You Y u worry if you OU dont hear from me much Ill be alt all right In Investments vestments Do whatever you think k kest best hest est about that Let it stay eta where it itis itIs itIs is if it you yon like Well goodby And thereat J Hopkins walked out of the offices of his lawyers lawers with an uneasy pleasurable feeling that he heas was probably a very er great liar What the name sir asked aKed a ked the manager briskly James T Hopkins Any 40 references No Nov sir ir I think about that Its customary Any experience No NoVe We Ve advertised for somebody with experience Its usually too much trou trouble trouble ble 1 lo breaking in ill a green gree man mR Habits toed good I think so Gamble No sir Play th the horses horse No sir Married No Xo sir Live with your folker folks No Xo Im boarding The manager devoted five seconds to toa toa a scrutiny of James T Hopkins and three seconds to thought Come around tomorrow morning he said and Ill IU let you know whether I can Mn give e you a Job Ill be frank and tell you OU that If it anybody who can show some experience comes along in the meantime you ou wont get it Hopkins picked up his hat and andt andr t r walked out mildly excited The uncertainty of his Immediate future was not displeasing Tomorrow he would wouW either be hired or looking for a place some somewhere somewhere t where else It was his nearest approach to a game gamt of chance He hummed a tune as he bt walked up town to his boarding b arding house It was a new thing in his life lICe when he be tumbled out of an iron bedstead in ina ina ina a han hall room at 6 in the morning and began to dress dreM It wa war equally equall novel to breakfast at 7 in a dining room half filled with other young oung men who were apparently clerks and young oung women who might have been stenographers stenographers stenographers raphers sn and other persons of various ages who were likely like enough all sorts of or things An early arl ride down town ton In Inan Inan inan an electric car was vaS an absolute innovation innovatiOn innovation tion Surely Surel adventure was coming upon him fast taste Well try you said Nid the manager But have hae to t make good under understand stand Thank you said Hopkins get ten dollars a week Hopkins nodded being a little too ex excited excited excited cited to speak It was gas 6 that evening when lie started up town to the boarding boardinghouse boardinghouse house h u reviewing in his mind the things he had been doing all aU day da He was amazed at his own capability He had sorted papers rearranged books bo ks car ear carried ried Tied samples answered the managers bell bail b II stamped letters posted them opened other letters handed messages to telegraph boys bos eaten a quick lunch studied letter files file peeked InU Inti the labyrinth of or a card index found out whom people wanted to in fact it was as hard to think of anything any thin he had hadnot hadnot hadnot not done doneAll doneAU doneAll All AU week he Mo did these things over and over again and gradually he began to understand why he did some of them themOn themOn themOn On Saturday night there was a 11 bill billin billin in iq his pocket He changed this on the thea way a home and handed banded 6 to his landlady land landlady lady lad who smiled and said something gracious about young men who were good go d pay James T Hopkins was a business businessman bu man man and he liked it He had earned no 10 working at a Job that he be got on his own hook He felt absurdly proud He found that the world of o the working people was curious and interesting He discovered that the manufacturing of ot endless varieties of hardware hard are and sell selling selling ing leg them to people who needed them or thought they the did was vas not so prosaic as asit a ait sounded it At any an rate so long as this thing amused him he was going to keep at it IL If It h he got tired of or it It was easy enough to go back to being a million millionaire millionaire aire alre Let rAt it be said clearly that Hopkins was putting into practice no scheme for forthe forthe the betterment of ot mankind He lie had not gone J one into business for the purpose of or orI o oI I I ID 5 I Ji t Jit I 1 ra I i i c ct cl 1 f 1 tIll t I l t H I 1 U L 0 1 The manager devoted dev five seconds to a scrutiny of Ja mes T Hopkins reforming It Neither Keither did he intend to write a book about it He ils n t a student of sociology and he had hadd not the remotest notion of o trying to uplift folks who worked for a living He was just plain James T Hopkins doing what suited him and minding his own business ss Some weeks passed before he realized that the matter of or being a millionaire was being crowded away vay back into some part of ot his brain At first outside of business hours he ho could not help thinking about it but that was largely because the new life was strange to him It afforded him some amusement to think of ot what his sister might night say sa if it she knew or his lawyers or his friends But as the new environment became more familiar to him he thought less about the old He almost looked upon it as a past for the thene I new ne side of o the world was infinitely I vast and took much time to explore There were fellow clerks who ho lunched with him and called him Jimmy J or Hopkins or Hop There were important important important tant persons of the firm the manager the customers cust mers the office boys bos the places to which he lie was sent on errands the banks banke the lunch places the street crowds the groaning subway trains the boarding house the lodgers a myriad of things all new and absorbing A Aman Aman Aman man simply did not have time to think about his mere millions Here for in instance Instance stance was a perfect museum of hu humanity humanity manity manit called a boarding house with witha a wide variety of or exhibits Some of thorn them taught school he learned some clerked or sold goods or kept books One of them gave music lessons An Another Another Another other wrote things They were a new ne people to Hopkins people with pur purposes purposes purposes poses and ambitions and hopes and I And most of them I talked about what they the did so so that he hele learned le about them amazingly fast Living on 10 a week became a finan financial financial financial cial hobby hobb He had virtually dared himself to do it If Im going to play pia the game Ill play pia the game all aU said Hopkins While Im playing It Ill do It on a limit So he never sent for money mone or drew on an account that was almost at his elbow elbo Out of the balance after his board was paid he found that he could buy bu maga magazines magazines alnes and newspapers and pay car carfares carfares carfares fares Once In a while there was enough for a theatre ticket He did not try to save Nothing of that sort entered his head until the firm raised his salary salar He had been a business man for near nearly nc nearly r rI ly I six months when that happened Hopkins said the manager we are going to give you Hi SUi a week You seem to take an interest in your our work We want to make you more interested Well put you In the stock department for a while Fifteen Whew When Hopkins went home that night he had a desire to run that almost overpowered him It seemed as if his feelings could only find expression in a wild sprint through the streets He had earned a raise He was getting on in the world He had tackled business on its home ground and was scoring Almost irresistible was as the impulse to blurt it out at the dinner table It seemed as If It his fellow boarders really ought to know about it it But Instead he saved u up j the news and confided it Ita as a they the sat on the front porch to the girl with the brown eyes Who W o was as she Oh a nice girl to talk to Day Daytimes Daytimes Daytimes times she wrote letters Jetters in a lawyers laWers office Her mother lived 1100 in Ohio At odd times when there was enough left she sent a little money mone home because It was needed there She was so differ different different different ent from the girls he knew in inthe the he days das when he was as J Hopkins that at first he decided she was a ash shy little thing But the shyness began to melt when they the exchanged opinions on the serious affairs of life UCe and discovered that they were on a common field of battle True Tree for a while Hopkins felt f the hypocrisy of or his part but gradually that perception was dulled as the new order of ot things became more real to him He found the girl Irl interesting at first because hers was a typical l struggle struggle struggle gle with fortune She was quiet and brave and unas unassuming unassuming unassuming suming but she had a world orld of or ambi ambition ambition ambition tion All AU the sincerity of her nature went into her work unromantic as it seemed She wanted w to get ahead in the world orld He liked to talk to her because the spirit of Her Iler sincerity seemed fo o 0 in infuse Infuse infuse fuse him and made him seem more like a real toiler toller himself V VI I got a raise today he said awk awkwardly awkwardly The girls eyes brightened Did you ou that fine she said Ill In get 16 15 now Im In the stock de department department he added He thought he b detected a fleeting wistfulness In her glance but she said heartily I am glad you got It I think you worked hard for It ItOh ItOh itOh Oh I J worked hard enough I guess guessie ie he corroborated But Its good fun at that Guess Ill begin to save now She laughed and nodded been saving IHl ever since Ince I worked she said Its not so eo hard as think But lie be knew kne that the savings were werf not Dot for herself h and that It was u hard harl harShe She never complained about it how however however ever eyer and he liked her for that For a awhile awhile awhile while they talked about their minia miniature miniature miniature ture finances until he completely for forgot forgot got ot that IK he waa was an Interloper among th toilers tellers Then he be took what struck l tin dim as all a daring step slap stepI I Its pretty warm Miss Blanchard Bl he ventured Would would uld you ou like to come and get some cream I As the words left his lips a vision of J Hopkins millionaire rose for an instant before him It mocked m eked him and put a feeling of fool foolishness foolIshness foolishness Into his heart He wondered if she too could see it and if it she had hall the measure of his hypocrisy h But she was merely merel looking at him frankly frankl frankland and shaking her head reprovingly I thought you were ere going to save savel she laughed So I am he said stoutly You sea SN SNIt If It I dont But I want to celebrate that raise Just a little bit you know She nodded understandingly rose roe and they the strolled down the street to a little shop where they the reveled in lee iee e cream like children Hopkins began to work harder now partly because he was developing a areal a areal real interest In the hardware liard ware business and party because he wanted to earn that fifteen The vision of J Thorn Thom croft visited him I m less frequently He H thought seldom of the days that seemed now so long ago Occasionally he would chuckle as an automobile rolled past or when he encountered some me other reminder for he was able to observe these things without envy knowing that they were his when he chose to have them But it was really satisfying just to be Jimmy Hopkins earning 1 a week and starting a bank account It was the only bank account in which h he had over ever vel taken a alive alive live Interest He watched It grow with curiosity and gratification He did not permit himself to reflect that It was an absurdity viewed in the light of ot tIle the true order of things He liked It be because b cause It represented his own endeavor He was independent standing square squarely ly on his own feet making good He was never troubled by b longings for old luxuries He did nat bother his ills head by b comparing the hall bedroom with a Newport villa He never neer sighed because he could not afford the opera A standing room check or perhaps a t 1 balcony balcon seat in a theatre had come to tobe tobe tobe be a form of occasional dissipation that afforded him infinitely more en enjoyment enjoyment He had grown into his new life lire almost without effort It was only at the rare times timers when he mentally stood aside and inspected himself that th t there teemed seemed ee ed to be anything incon incongruous Incongruous In jn it Nobody in the boarding house hou e paid much attention to him or to the girl who wrote Tote letters in the lawyers lawers of ot office office fice fie They were allowed to drift into an unobtrusive comradeship almost without notice Her own little story he had gathered scrap by scrap As Asfor Asfor Asfor for his to confess B that he was J Hopkins would have |