An American Idyll / The Life of Carleton H. Parker

particular prospects, not even sure as yet what field he would go into,-we began discussing what we might do and where we might go. Our main idea was to get as far away from

ilk Persian flag tucked behind it, and that flag remained always the symbol for us that we would never l

rson who was ever allowed at my home in the evening. He came seldom, since I was living in Berkeley most of the time, and anyway, we much preferred prowling all over our end of creation, servant-girl-and-policeman fashion. Also, when I married, according to father it was to be some one, preferably an atto

he found breath to say, "And what

ust at p

planning to begin this married

Pers

e my fathe

, Pe

s' sake, are you two g

yet, of course, but

rofession in Oakland, California. It was two years before my father became at all sympathetic, and that condition was far from enthusiastic. So it was a great joy to me to have him say, a few months befor

rity house refused to believe there could be anything serious about our going together so much, and took great pains to assure me in private that of course Carl meant nothing by his att

ncert, the Senior sitting at the head of the dinner-table would ask, "How many are going to-night with a man?" Hands. "How many of the girls are going together?" Hands. Then, to me, "Are you goi

, with my hat and coat on, there stood Carl, surrounded by about six girls, all hastily buttoning their gloves, his sister, who knew no more of the truth about Carl and me than the others, being one of

after us. "But Car

or, called defiantly, "Damn the other girls!" banged

Magazine," the most serious publication on the campus outside the technical journals; he made every "honor" organization there was to make (except the Phi Beta

found that it had no further appeal for him. "But a fellow ought to stick to a thing, whether he likes it or not!" If one must be dogmatic, then I say, "A fellow should never work at anything he does not like." One of the things in our case which brought such constant criticism from relatives and friends was that we changed around so much. Thank God we did! It took Carl Parker un

ce alone. He returned to college in August, 1898, this time taking up mining. After a year's study in mining he wanted the practical side. In the summer of 1899 he worked underground in the Hidden Treasure Mine, Placer county, California. In 1900 he lef

ged. The hundreds of times these last six months I've wished I had in writing the stories of those days-of all his days, from early Vacaville times on! Sometimes it would be an old Vacaville crony who would appear, and stories would fly of those boy times-of the exploits up Putah Creek with Pee Wee Allen; of the prayer-meeting when Carl bet he could out-pray the minister's son, and won; of the tediously thought-out assaults upon an ancient hired man on the place,

ently appeared in a

ly possessed a distinct tendency toward conformity and respectability, but Carl was a companion of every 'alley-bum' in Vacaville. His re

hem word for word? I have seen him hold a roomful of students in Berlin absolutely spellbound over those adventures-with a bit of Parker coloring, to be sure, which no one ever objected to. I have seen him with a group of staid faculty folk sitting br

ly those of large experience were desired by the editor of the "Spokesman Review." He was given sport, society, and the tenderloin to cover, at nine dollars a week. As he never could go anywhere without making folks love him, it was not long before he had his cronies among the "sport

stesses tell of the meal he could consume. "But I'd been saving for it all day, with just ten cents in my pocket." I met a

ious, ran into him in Spokane. He tells how Carl insisted he s

far fro

, n

ou ever saw." Finally, after crossing untold railroad tracks and ducking around sheds and through al

e not over-broad bed in the corner, and

t?" the br

w I picked u

am I to

bed's plenty big

, he lit out of there as fast as he could move; and he adds

e yellow. As luck would have it, that very night a big fire broke out in a crowded apartment house. It was not in Carl's "beat," but he decided to cover it anyhow. Along with the firemen, he managed to get upon the roof; he jumped here, he f

nts in his pocket, the extent of his worldly wealth, he left for California, traveling in a day coach all the way. I remember his story of how, about the end of the second day of bread and sardines, he cold-bloodedly and with aforethought cultivated a man opposite him, who looked as if

y as he saw them both in Spokane, turned his interest to the field of economics.

an in Idaho for his second Idaho camping-trip; and it was on his return from this outing that