THE URCHIN BEGINS TO BLOOM
THE first result of young love was a sudden aversion to the well-known
but freckled features of Skippy Bedelle. The examination in the
looking-glass had left him in a condition of abject despair. Only a man,
full-fledged and resplendent, could hope to hold the affections of the
dazzling Mimi Lafontaine, and what a tousled, scrubby little urchin he
was! That night he spent one dollar and twenty cents, out of a slender
reserve, for toilette accessories, and began the long fight for a part
in the middle of his reckless, foaming hair.
The next day marked a milestone in the sentimental progression of Mr.
John C. Bedelle. For the first time in his life, his astonished eyes
encountered a little blue envelope inscribed to his name in a large,
dashing, unmistakably feminine hand. Neither mother nor sister, aunt or
cousin had ever addressed that letter. He picked it up and then set it
down with a sudden swimming feeling. It was postmarked "Farmington."
"My Lord, if it should be from her," he said.
There was, of course, one sure way to solve the difficulty, but Skippy
was too overcome by his emotion to imagine it. Instead, he sat down and
contemplated it with a mystical veneration.
"It can't be. No, no, it can't be from Mimi! Good Lord, no. A girl
doesn't write to a man first," he said, shaking his head. "It's from
Sis. It's a joke, and she's got some one else to address it. That's it."
He opened the letter, which read as follows:
DEAR JACK,
I'm writing you for Clara, who is, as you know, a
dreadfully lazy person. School is over and I shall
bring Clara back to Trenton with me day after
to-morrow. Are you so bored with my dreadful sex
or have you made a little exception? Any way, this
is to warn you that you may have to be my cavalier
once more if we decide to go again to Princeton.
Faithfully yours,
MIMI.
I saw Cora Lantier in New York. She is going up to
the Williams Commencement with a _very dear_
friend. Don't tell this to Mr. Sidell.
There are, of course, three ways of contemplating a letter written by a
young lady, according to whether the recipient be a friend, is in love,
or being in love, loves without hope. Skippy used all three methods.
That night he placed four pairs of trousers to press under his mattress,
discarded the dicky (a labor saving device formed by the junction of two
cuffs and a collar which snapped into place and fulfilled the
requirements of table etiquette), and painted the ends of his fingers
with iodine to break himself of the habit of living on his nails.
On the following Saturday, Mr. Sidell being still, as it were, under
absent treatment, Mr. Turkey Reiter making the fourth, Skippy
experienced the terrifying joy of sitting in the back seat next to Miss
Mimi Lafontaine.
"You bad boy, why didn't you answer my letter?" said that young lady,
after a careful inspection of the embarrassed Skippy had resulted in
much increased satisfaction.
"I wrote you three times," he said, staring at his shoes.
"Three--then they must have gone to the school."
"I tore them up," he said, under his voice.
Between a feminine nineteen and a masculine fifteen, much is
permissible. Miss Mimi, under protection of the rug, slid her little
hand into his painfully-scrubbed one.
"Poor fellow!" she said softly.
"Gee!"
It was not exactly the last word in romance, but it came from the heart,
a sort of final gasp as Skippy felt the waters closing above him. With
her hand in his, something rose in his throat and he had to fight back
the dimming of his eyes. By the time they rolled into Princeton there
was no longer need of explanation. He felt that she knew beyond the
shadow of a mistake, just what he felt for her, he, Skippy, who had
never loved before. Of course she was not pledged. That he comprehended.
She was yet to be won. The years between them were nothing. Josephine
Beauharnais was older than Napoleon. By the time they returned to the
school, he had opened his heart impulsively and spread before the
astonished ideal of his affections the treasures of his inventive
imagination. Miss Lafontaine had been sympathetic. She had understood at
once. She had rather lightly passed over the Bedelle Improved Bathtub.
The subject, of course, was a delicate one; but the idea of
mosquito-proof stockings had captured her imagination. With her faith
acquired he could wait for years the coming opportunity.
"Why, Jack, I never heard of such an imagination," she said, converting
an explosive laugh into a sneeze in the nick of time.
"Oh, that's just a beginning," he said confidently. "I've got bigger
things than that stored away."
"Why, you'll be richer than Rockefeller!"
"That's only a small part of it," he said carelessly. What of course he
had wished her to know, and he flattered himself that he had done it
with great delicacy, was that he was a prize worth waiting for.
"You didn't tell Mr. Sidell about Cora, did you?" said Mimi
irrelevantly, as they arrived at the school and she began anxiously to
scan the passing groups.
"You bet I didn't, good Lord, no, Mimi."
"I was sure I could trust you," said Miss Lafontaine,--who of course had
hoped for quite a different issue.
"Gee! this has been one day," he said, half smothered with emotion.
"Has it really?" said the young lady, giving his arm a little squeeze.
"I shall never, never forget."
"Jack, that's what they all say."
Her skepticism pained him. He wanted to do something, something heroic
to show her the manly quality of his devotion.
"I don't suppose there's any chance of your getting permission to come
back with us for dinner," said Clara Bedelle to Turkey.
"About as much chance as my passing a Bible exam," said Turkey
cheerfully.
A great idea smote down on Skippy,--he would accomplish the impossible!
"Swear to keep a secret, Mimi?" he said in a whisper.
"I swear."
"I shall call on you at exactly nine thirty to-night."
"Good gracious, but we're ages away."
"What difference does that make? There is something I've just got to say
to you."
"But if they catch you!"
"They won't."
"But, Jack, how will you get there?"
"I'll come on the run," said Skippy gorgeously; which proved that if his
experience was limited he had certain intuitions to build upon.
When Skippy directly after supper bolted to his room and began to scrub
for the superlative toilette, after collecting a pair of kid gloves from
Butcher Stevens and a purple tie from Dennis de Brian de Boru, Snorky
Green was finally convinced that matters had reached a serious pass.
"I thought you were in New York," he said, remembering Skippy's previous
declaration.
"What? Oh yes!" Skippy, whose mind was not on consistency, hastily
caught himself. "Oh, Tina! She came down to meet me."
"What in the mischief are you up to now?"
"For the love of Pete don't bother me," said Skippy. "Tell you later.
Honest, Snorky, it's serious, and I'm in a devil of a hurry."
He struggled into his best pair of low blacks, and suddenly a new
perplexity arose. What would they look like after five miles tramp
through the fields and the dust? Yet if he openly pocketed a shoebrush
and cloth, how explain this to the ever-incredulous Snorky? The window
was open. He simulated a final polish and profiting by a favorable
moment tossed the brush and cloth out into the dark. Then he stationed
himself before the mirror for the final struggle to achieve a part.
"Looks like last year's toothbrush," said Dennis de Brian de Boru, via
the transom, his usual defensive position.
"Looks like the home rooster when the imported bantam has left," said
Snorky.
"Looks like a cat that's walked in the mucilage."
"That'll be quite enough," said Skippy, whose patience was evaporating.
"Vaseline'll do the trick," said Dennis softly.
Vaseline! Skippy seized upon the idea in desperation. But to his horror,
once the part was achieved, the slippery and sticky effect of the
flattened hair was horrifying.
"Where in Moses is that Irishman!" he cried, slamming open the door.
"Face powder will take the shine off," said Snorky, after an immersion
of the head in the washbasin had aggravated the catastrophe.
"My Lord, I've got to do something," said Skippy, almost in tears.
Snorky came to his rescue and between a vigorous rubbing with a bath
towel and a liberal sprinkling of talcum powder, an effect was finally
produced which at least was not shiny. Skippy, who had been glancing at
his watch every three minutes, ended his toilette in a whirl.
"How much money have you got?"
Snorky produced three quarters.
"I'll send it back to you if I don't return."
A light burst over Snorky, confirming his worst suspicions.
"Skippy," he said, seizing his arm, "you're running away! You're going
on the stage!"
He had not thought of this, but he appropriated the suggestion at once
by avoiding a denial.
"Snorky, old pal," he said solemnly, "stand by me now. When it's all
over I'll write you."
"But, good Lord, Skippy--"
"Don't try to stop me. My mind's made up."
"But I say--"
"I've given my _word_," said Skippy tragically. "If I'm not back by
eight o'clock to-morrow morning, mail this letter to my mother and give
this to the Doctor. Good-bye. God bless you--and I'll pay you back the
first money I earn."