The Readjustment

band. The crowd blazed with bright color. The young men, in white caps, yellow sashes of their mysterious fraternity, and tinted neckties like the flowers of spring, lolled and larked and smoked abou

ther late in the season it was for picnics. In the rests of the ragtime, rose the aggressive crackle of that flat, hard accent,

ranch. But a month ago, he himself had whistled up that infatuated little milliner's apprentice who was his temporary light of love, and had taken her over to Schuetzen Park of a Sunday. He had drunk his beer and shaken for his round of drinks with the boys, had taken the girl aw

Masters, the sprightly and dainty Kate Waddington, and those others, gr

Francisco knew him or knew about him. That tall, swaying girl with the repressed mouth, the abundant hair coiled about her head, the rather dull expression, was Marion Slater-"she paints miniatures and hammers brass and does all kinds

e upper deck, this Masters party watched that city panorama, spread on the hills for all to see, roll away from them, the wheeling flocks of gulls t

t, insisted on tucking her veil into his pocket, made a pretence of trying to take her hand. Even Kate found it hard to parry these advances. Banks, slouching back on a bench in his easy, indolent attitude, looked over toward them, and his mouth tightened and set. So much had he

Oh, don't!" Dr. French and Alice Needham fell to talking apart, as though repudiating, in their embarrassment, such company. Marion Slater, sitting at ease on her bench, cast one glance at Harry Banks as he whirled to face her. His eyes fell; on the next turn, he waltzed Kate back to her seat. The relationship between these two was a puzzle to their familiars. He, the uncaught bachelor, the flaneur, the epicurean, he who lived for his pleasures, taking them with a calculated moderation that he might preserve the power to enjoy; she, the etiol

e naughtiness only to plunge into another and worse one. A

rassments flamed into the face of Bertram Chester. The s

ertram said simply

ke up from

e public finish of the Banks style. You big football fellows always have the call on the little men 129 in dancing. It is a matter of bulk and base, I think."

rion on this; turned as though he could not keep his look away.

rtram Chester, the callow newcomer, the outsider. It was all designed to show, it did show, how intimate they were, how many old things they had in common-never a passage in which Bertram could join by any excuse. Even so did Banks direct it as to draw Kate Wad

again. Lagging deliberately, she let a group of picnickers come

that man," he sa

won't!"

I?" he

rid. You see, we've got used to him. You're meetin

o spend no sleeple

m. You'll come to like him as we all do. An

ed to be con

he mean, anywa

ll had to take it from him at first-a

ient gesture. Kate caught his

would you?" she asked softly. "

melted int

you put it

d every other adjective in Samuel Smiles. You could charm the b

time until I ge

and Dr. French, who stood waiting by the tr

of keeping away from Bertram, and grouped himself off in the other double seat. Bertram, sitting with Kate and the engaged couple, spoke but s

ancy stock. Kate and Masters took possession of the new guest at the gate, and carried him over the estate for inspection. Mainly, Bertram took this entertainment sullenly. He warmed a little at the sight of the cattle. The house, built by Masters's

ped to speak with them; Alice was looking up at her, presenting her fresh, full-faced view to the gaze of the man on the staircase. 133 Marion Slater stood with Masters b

eedham looked in his direction. It happened, also, tha

stern-even angry. Then, with the sudden preliminary vibration of an earthquake, that smile would begin to quiver about his mouth, to start wrinkles about his eyes. Next, as he bent his head forward toward the target of his charms, it drew

a psychic current running about the room, looked up also; and that smile caught him. It carried away the last trace of

opped his book and crossed over to the fireplace. Bertram, leading the talk now, took him in without a trace of apparent resentment. Kate, emerging from the room, dropped down beside H

tram and Kate to each other; and presently they were out-of-doors, drawing on into the woods. Masters, from the barn, watched them and noted what a goodly couple, what a faun and dryad in clothes, they were. Kate Waddington was turning over her shoulder her slow and rather lazy smile, which began at her lips and lit her gree

m stooped and gathered a handful of pebbles from the trail to show how Bill Graham used to throw sand in his eyes; he thrust his open hand against an alder, bordering the trail, to show how he 136 contravened these tactics

pass on end. That was a freak play we were trying out that year-delayed pass first and then the back passed to me. I jogged Bill Graham and he stumbled down the field just bull-headed-he never did have much football sense. I looked down t

ng an inept youth to make a fool and 137 a braggart of himself for her amusement. But she showed not a glimmer of irony, neither in her mouth

l over himself and

onveyed all the tr

en with the later ones. The black, shaded loam, bare of grass, oozed the moisture it was saving for its evergreen redwoods against a rainless summer. In the dark clefts grew scentless things of a delicate, gnome aspect-g

ail, and formed a pool. Some philanthropic camper had driven a nail into the rock and hung there

ooks!" she said. "I b

tion to move from her perch. In fact, she loosened her brown student beri, shook her hair free, and sat there, a wood-nymph framed by the ruddy br

mighty nice

er as a part of th

he nicest thi

eant further attack, skirmish, or retreat. His general

ghter and those of her kind for companionship-and now, in a week, the refinements of the Tiffany house, the refinement plus entertainment of the Masters villa, and these two lovel

be rich some

ope

is-I'll have a long pull by that time and be able to invite an

up and bent upo

a girl like you to c

ven't confided much as

confide. At least, things you'd want to tell

ield at the approach of evening. It descended upon her in the mid-course of a gesture; it wrapped her about in such a s

istress of the vill

e. I've just got it-just realized it. She's up and I'm still down,

ftly, "though we women

the ranch and carry her off. It's my game, I guess, to stay around and watch. And if I find any g

iving to make. Of course, that'll come all right if I have fair luck. If it was easy money plugging my

er hands and l

suppose so. But wouldn't you do be

tter than anybody I know. Suppose I tell you all abo

aid, "are-ar

ess you've savveyed just who it is and what's

og whose heavy crashing sounded in the distance; came out upon them, 142 whirled with a loud roaring of fern and leaves, screamed the heart-rending scream of a frightened rabbit, and dashed of

, "I don't blame you. I wouldn't bl

"Say, what chance do I stand-honest,

egun to think of it at all. Women are slower than men abo

went down and helped her run a bull off her place. I thought then that I never saw nicer eyes or a more ladylike girl. S

rhaps n

ngness of two years before-"but I remembered her always. When I saw her sitting in the Hotel Marseillaise that evening, I felt queer; and after I called on her I

e spoke, fell to its

-any girl would. I really than

l help me,

y advic

t. If I win this game,

you're as pretty as she is, but a man can just look at you and wonder-" and here he dropp

said. "They'll think it's I and

d lifted toward her student beri, she bent her gaze on his back. A peculiar look