HARRY HARDING’S
YEAR OF PROMISE
_By_
ALFRED RAYMOND
[Illustration: _The_
GOLDSMITH
_Publishing Co._
CLEVELAND OHIO]
MADE IN U.S.A.
_Copyright, 1917, by_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I PLANNING THEIR YEAR OF PROMISE 1
II WHAT CAME OUT OF A BIN 10
III DECLARING WAR ON THE PERCOLATOR 20
IV AN EVEN EXCHANGE OF CONFIDENCES 28
V AN UNPROMISING DAY 40
VI HARRY SPEAKS HIS MIND 54
VII TEDDY BURKE, AVENGER 65
VIII A SANE LUNATIC 76
IX THE PARTY OF THE THIRD PART 84
X TEDDY BEGINS HIS FALL CANNING 93
XI THE MARTIN MINUTE MEN 100
XII THE BOY WHO COULD FORGIVE 111
XIII THE ERRAND OF MERCY 121
XIV TEDDY SCENTS A MYSTERY 132
XV THE PLOT THICKENS 143
XVI AN UNLUCKY DISCOVERY 153
XVII DECORATING A DÉBUTANTE 163
XVIII A QUEER TWIST OF FATE 173
XIX TEDDY’S DARKEST HOUR 185
XX ALL FOR THE SAKE OF TEDDY BURKE 196
XXI AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND AT COURT 211
XXII THE BEAUTY OF EFFICIENCY 220
XXIII A BELATED RECOGNITION 235
XXIV ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL 248
HARRY HARDING’S YEAR OF PROMISE
CHAPTER I
PLANNING THEIR YEAR OF PROMISE
Under a huge horse-chestnut tree, at the foot of a pretty bit of green,
sloping lawn, a curly-haired boy lay stretched at ease, his blue eyes
glued to the last page of an open book before him. Harry Harding
emitted a deep sigh of satisfaction as he read:
“When the last golden sunset rays touched with tender glory the Kingdom
of New Hope, once the Kingdom of Despair, the formerly unhappy king,
now happy in the knowledge of well-doing, hurried to the lonely spot
in the forest where the tall pines whispered and sung. He hoped to
meet again the queer little man who had promised him the secret of
happiness. He waited there until the darkness fell, but no one came.
Tired at last of the still blackness and the sighing of the pines, he
called out in a loud voice, ‘Little man, where are you? The Year of
Promise is ended. I have done your bidding faithfully. The Kingdom of
Despair is now the Kingdom of New Hope. My happy subjects adore me and
I have found peace. Show yourself once more, little friend, that I may
thank you.’
“Still no one came and he found no wonderful casket. Only the evening
breeze sang on through the sentinel pines. But, as the king listened,
he was sure he heard it murmur: ‘Continue to do well. Every year comes
to you as a Year of Promise. It lies within yourself to make it a Year
of Fulfillment. This is the true secret of----’”
Whack! A carefully-aimed apple struck the open book with a force
that sent it flying from the absorbed reader’s grasp. From behind a
neighboring tree a freckled face peeped out. It was lighted by two
dancing, black eyes and crowned with a mop of brilliant red hair.
“No use hiding. I’ll get you!” Leaping to his feet Harry made a dash
for the tree that sheltered the mischievous marksman.
Emitting a war whoop of pure joy the red-haired boy left his refuge
and tore across the lawn and around the corner of the little bungalow,
his victim in hot pursuit. After circling the house several times,
his quarry still in the lead, Harry brought strategy to the chase.
Turning about, he ran in an opposite direction just in time to nab the
offender as he rushed around a corner at reckless speed.
“I’ve caught you!” Harry proceeded to administer a mild punishment,
which merely served to bring shouts of wild glee from the unrepentant
apple thrower. “Now go and pick up my book,” he commanded. With a final
shake he released his wildly wriggling catch.
“Go and pick it up yourself,” invited the red-haired boy with a grin.
Nevertheless, he strolled over to where the maltreated book helplessly
sprawled. Raising it he presented it to Harry with a chuckle. “Here’s
your old book, but don’t think you’re going to read it. You’ve been too
busy with it all afternoon.”
“All right, I won’t. I’ve finished it, anyway.” Tucking it under his
arm, Harry dropped down beneath the tree and beckoned to his companion.
“Sit here, Teddy, and let’s talk.”
Teddy Burke responded to the invitation with a bounce and a flop that
pitched Harry on his side in the short green grass. The will to gambol
about like a very frisky young lamb was strong within Teddy on this
beautiful July day, and the process of settling himself for a talk was
accomplished with difficulty.
“What have you been reading about that kept you so quiet?” was his
curious question, as he finally came to rest at Harry’s left.
“It’s a dandy book.” Harry fingered the dark green cover with evident
affection. “I bought it for only ten cents at an aisle sale, just
before we came out here for our vacation. It’s all short stories. I
like the last one best, though. It’s called ‘The Secret of Happiness,’
and it’s about a king----”
“Huh, I guess it’s a lot of old fairy tales,” sniffed Teddy. “Catch me
reading ’em. I like stories about fellows that went on voyages round
the world and discovered islands and things that nobody else’d ever
heard of.”
To those who have read “HARRY HARDING, MESSENGER 45,” Teddy Burke
and Harry Harding are already familiar acquaintances. In that volume
was recorded the manner in which they met, their ready entrance into
mutual friendship and how, together, they began their business life
as messengers in Martin Brothers’ department store. Many incidents,
serious and laughable, fell to their lot as members of the great
store family. While Teddy, in spite of numerous mischievous pranks,
flourished in his new surroundings, Harry’s early days of work were
brimmed with bitter misfortune. But he met trial and discouragement
with a staunch heart, and amply proved himself worthy of the reward his
persevering stand for the right brought him.
The winning of a prize of twenty dollars in gold afforded him the
coveted opportunity to take his mother into the country for a brief
vacation. In this project he was joined by Mrs. Burke and her son
Teddy, and the last Saturday of the delightful two weeks freedom from
toil found the four happy idlers spending their final vacation hours
together at the cozy bungalow where their combined finances had enabled
them to pass this brief, pleasant season together.
“You’re not the only one that likes adventure stories,” smiled Harry
in answer to Teddy’s derisive fling at fairy tales. “I like them, too.
But the stories in this book are not about old witches and enchanted
castles and such things. They’re allegories.”
“What’s allegories?” Teddy eyed Harry as though he wondered whether
they might not be some rare species of animal of which the Zoo could
not boast.
“An allegory is--let me see--well, it’s a story that seems like a fairy
tale but isn’t.”
“Must be even worse, then,” discouraged Teddy.
“No; it’s better,” contradicted Harry. “It tells you a story, but
it teaches you a lesson at the same time. Now this one I was just
reading----”
“I don’t want to hear anything that sounds like a lesson.” Teddy made
a grimace of disgust. “I hate to think about going to that old night
school.”
“That’s what you said about day school, but you liked it just the same.
You’re a humbug, Teddy Burke.”
“I ain’t.” Teddy resorted to inelegant defense. “Let’s not talk about
school. Go on and tell me your old story.”
Harry regarded Teddy out of affectionate blue eyes. “You’re a fraud,
then,” he teased.
“I wouldn’t let any other fellow call me that, but you don’t count. Now
go ahead with your yarn.”
“Thank you.” Harry bowed ironically. “Well, this allegory is about a
king who ruled over the Kingdom of Despair. It was called so because
everything in it went wrong. And that was his fault because he was so
hateful and harsh with his subjects. After a while these poor people
got up a plot to take the kingdom away from him, and he found it out.
He didn’t know what to do so he went out into a big pine forest all by
himself to think things over. While he was there he met a queer little
man who gave him a terrible scolding and made him see how mean he was.
He felt very bad and said if he only had another chance he’d do better.
So the little man said that if he meant what he said, he’d give him a
year to keep his promise. If he failed, then he’d lose his kingdom and
his life, too. But if at the end of the year the people still wanted
him for king he was to come back to the pine woods and there he would
find a wonderful casket in which was the secret of happiness.
“So the king went back to his kingdom and set all the poor prisoners
free that he had hidden away in underground dungeons. Then he called
all the people of the kingdom together and told them that he was going
to do better by them. He told them of the wonderful casket and promised
if they would let him be king for another year he would divide the
secret of happiness with them when he got it. So they said they would
help him and promised not to take his kingdom from him.”
“And did he behave himself?” was Teddy’s matter-of-fact question. Fairy
tale or allegory, he was interested in the doings of the repentant king.
“You can better believe he did. He was good as gold for a whole year
and instead of going on hating him, his subjects grew to love him.”
“Did the little man give him the casket when the year was up?”
“Listen and I’ll read it to you. I had just finished it when you shied
that apple at me.”
Harry opened the book to the last page and again read the concluding
paragraphs.
“So _that’s_ an allegory,” mused Teddy. “Hm! It’s not so slow. I kind
of like that idea about the Year of Promise. Say, Harry, it’s something
like us, isn’t it? When we go back to Martin Brothers’ next Monday it
would be kind of fun to pretend it was _our_ Year of Promise. Now,
wouldn’t it?”
“I was thinking that when I first read it.” Harry looked pleased to
find that Teddy had made the same application of the allegory. “It
_will_ be our Year of Promise, Ted, and it’s up to us to make it our
Year of Fulfillment.”
“I guess it is.” Teddy considered the idea gravely, his impish face
becoming solemn. “I’m going to try to behave--if I can. No more
throwing baseballs over balconies for me. That’s about the worst
thing I did last year, except punching Howard Randall and wearing a
stewpan for a hat and pestering the Gobbler--I mean Miss Newton.” Teddy
launched into a further enumeration of his iniquities.
“Just think of all the good things you did,” reminded Harry. “What
about helping Miss Newton when she lost her purse and----”
“Oh, can it!” The red that sprang to Teddy’s cheeks threatened to rival
that of his hair. “It’s funny I didn’t get fired. I’m going to be
pretty careful what I do this year, though.”
A faint smile curved Harry’s lips at this earnest declaration. Knowing
Teddy as he did, he doubted his chum’s ability to steer prudently clear
of scrapes. Mischief and the red-haired boy were one.
“You needn’t smile.” Teddy had marked the amused flicker. “I’m going to
be so good all the time that it’ll make you dizzy.”
“Then I sha’n’t be able to work.”
Teddy giggled as his quick fancy pictured Harry reeling helplessly
about Department 85, as the result of his own perpetual good behavior.
“I guess you won’t get very dizzy,” he predicted.
“No; I don’t believe I shall. Still, it isn’t what we _say_ we’re going
to do that counts, Ted. It’s what we really _do_.” Harry’s bantering
tone changed to one of deep conviction. “It’s just as the pine trees
whispered to the king. We’re going back to the store on Monday to begin
our Year of Promise, and if we do our level best with each day of it,
then it can’t help but be a Year of Fulfillment, too.”