| Show II T t. t 5 N t J E Et Ev J. J I v t I THE HERMIT Ii i By C. C E. E HUGHES I J II I I Probably there was never in fn the world a more solitary man than Dickie Fergusson It was not that he had bad no friends The fact that he be was always al aI- ways warl known as Dickie and that most of at his acquaintances had forgotten what his surname surname was if they ever knew kne It Is sufficient to prove that he hewal was wal not solitary In that sense He knew scores of men women men women he rather looked d down wn upon upon and and they all liked him Yet he never seemed altogether at ease in their presence He lIe had bad a distinct dread of displaying displaying display display- displayIng ing anything that might suggest sentiment sentiment senti senti- ment and yet jet et if the truth were known he was perhaps as sentimental a fellow as any healthy Englishman that ever lived Nature had bad made him one of the best companions possible pos sible Bible and habit which had bad almost become be come second nature tried hard to tomake tomake tomake make him a hermit And on the whole it succeeded Dickie lived in a n castle on the Neckar It commanded a very fine fineview fineview fineview view but It was not in Itself a picturesque picturesque picturesque pic pic- castle He had found it by I chance during one of the lonely rides rideS' which he was wont to take from Heidelberg on his motor Before Before Before Be Be- fore he tie had found the castle he had seldom stayed long In one place Possessed Pos seised of Independent means he was accustomed to saying that his father had done him one bad turn by h helping helping help help- lp- lp ing him into the world and one goodone good goodone goodone one by providing him with enough to live upon until he was comfortably out of It He lIe spent the best part of his time in traveling The occupant of the castle was wasa a a baron whose dis distressed circumstances had induced him to let Dickie a suite of or four rooms on the second floor His arrangements arrangements ar ar- were that he should appear appear ap ap- ap pear at meal times meal times and take his food with the baron and baroness but at atall atall atall all other times he was to be be left to himself The baron allowed him to to play the hermit to his hearts heart's content and for some weeks Dickie declared himself as happy as a king with his hisgun hisgun hisgun gun his motor his camera and his supply of books and magazines So things went very well l one day the baron who liked Dickie and was a little perturbed at his eccentricities eccentricities announced at lunch that he Int intended to have some more guests Dickie protested strongly The baron looked amused and waved his hand with the air of one wb having lived long and seen much is well able to s select lect or reject In a matter of comfort Dickie became a trifle apologetic Well he protested a throng of at visitors means noise I shall have as hitherto the greatest greatest great great- est possible care cate for your sensitive nerves said the baron with a dry smile I think Ill I'll take a holiday till the hurricane blows over said Dickie Why not wait walt and see asked the baron Perhaps they wont won't be so bad had after all aU In point of fact the baron had selected selected selected se se- se- se his guests with some skill He had no intention of opening his house to anyone who might turn up Of the eight members of the party two were personal friends of his and the rest were friends of these Dickie awaited their arrival gazing savagely from the window of his sitting sit sit- ting ting room There Thre were two Germans five Americans and one Englishman Four of the Americans were of the fair sex and these constituted d the femInine feminine femmine fem fem- mine element of the party The baron had not led Dickie to expect any femInine feminine femmine fem fem- mine element so their advent excited little emotion in his breast other than that of fierce resentment until he caught aught sight of ot the last figure in the group gi It was one one of the American girls ls but It was no not the girl herself that attracted Dickie's attention Behind Be Be- Bekind kind hind her towed by a lead flickered a white terrier fox puppy Now Dickie had no dog of his own and he wanted one He lIe was moreover more more- over o particularly keen Iteen on having havinga a fox Accordingly h he ho determined deter mined to make mako friends with it even if that entailed making friends with its mistress And so it happened that when the Crowd Crowd that that was the name by which they called themselves themselves came came in to dinner th that t evening they found Dickie ready to make himself completely He laughed and Jested and told anecdotes and finally invited the lot of them dog and all to his rooms He accompanied them on their picnics PICnics pic ales photographed them ga gave gave e them the run of his books opened his rooms to them And he undertook the training of the dog Bobs Bobs Dobs was a thoroughbred with no markings excepting two brown and black spots which covered his eyes and spread on either side to his ears When he arrived at the castle he was entirely uneducated but under Dickie's tuition he rapidly picked up the rudl rud ments meats of canine politeness After a week or two ho would answer to his name Ho lie down or come to heel and he was beginning to take quite a promising prom ising sing interest in rat Then he mastered the intricacies of or sitting up upon upon upon on his hind legs with a lump of sugar balanced upon his nose until he was assured that It was paid for After that ho b went on to the tho dead dog feat and finally ho lerned to talk Debs ebs sad in fact h been n cleverer clevere than I even he thought himself Without knowing It he had awakened in Dickie an interest Interest half suppressed ItIs it itis itis is true true true-In in that mystery the heart of ot ofa ota a woman By degrees Dickie began to realize that he rather liked this American girl He was of course not in love 1 with her No notion despite the fact i that he himself suggested It could be bemore bemore bemore more preposterous It was he tried to convince himself her sense of humar humor humor hu hu- mor mar that appealed to him Th They y became the best pf friends and Dickie Dickie Dickie-Dickie Dickie who hated sentiment senti senU- ment began ment began to be In mortal fear of showing it Ho He would even withhold from her the tho ordinary civilities which are every womans woman's due rather than let lether lether lether her think she had the least power to Influence him At length the day came for the Crowd to depart Dickie accompanied them to the station and as the train came camo in the American girl handed Bobs to him get more fun out of him than I shall shaU she said Besides hes he's more your dog than mine anyway Youve You've taught him all aU the stunts he knows and he wont won't do them for forme me So Dickie and Bobs returned to the castle together and there was a pair of hermits Months sped by br and Dickie drifted alo along g the solitary stream of his ex ex- ex- ex To his friends he appeared the same as heretofore Only the baron who saw him constantly noticed noticed no no- tired that his his intervals of unrest became became became be be- came more frequent and of longer duration He was often absent from the castle for five days or a week at ata a time and once he took a flying visit to America which lasted three months On his return he told the the baron of his travels and explained with insistent elaboration that he had gone to the cotton country because because be cause he had heard that the scenery there was excellent for camera work The event he said had proved dis appointing He had taken very few good photographs The baron listened with Intelligent Interest but Inwardly he smiled for he knew that the Amer Amor- 7 I I I 1 I i rI r I s J 1 I 1 Strode to the Window and Looked Out lean Ican girl dwelt down south And suspecting other things he felt a littie little lit lit- tie tle sorry for Dickie The Hermit however settled down once more into the old groove and and months again sped by until on a certaro certain taro tain day he received a letter from one of the members of the Crowd It told him of the marriage of Bobs Bob's mis tress Dickie dropped the letter strode to the window and looked out He could not have explained exactly why he did did It It except perhaps that he ho recalled the occasion on which ho he had first seen her with Bobs zigzagging behind He gazed for tor a long long time upon the fields and orchards that stretched below him and then threw himself with a sigh on a low couch Bobs heard the sigh and with ears thrust forward he peered into his masters master's face tace There was no response and the dog scrambled up to hi his knees Dickie fickle pushed him away anset and an andset andset set his teeth together as one who suffers suf sut sut- sut fers physical pain Bobs was puzzled A situation in which his attentions attention were altogether undesirable was new to him It was was not indeed within the limits of possibility Doubtless he had bad gone gono to work in the wrong way Dickie stared with eyes ees that saw s saw w across two continents and an as ocean and Bobs had no place in his line lino of vision The dog pondered awhile and then decided to play his last and best card Looking wistfully up at his master he opened his mouth and made mado with an effort the sound that was neither a bark nor a growl It was successful In a flash Dickie's thoughts had re- re traveled those thousands of miles and they were back again in the sitting sitting- room at the castle Bobs sprang upon him and tried to lick his nose A smile of satisfaction lit the tho mans man's face tace a a. smile of companionship Speak Bobs old man he aI aid sair Speak SlEak Bobs n. n |
