Miami Military Institute - Bayonet Yearbook (Germantown, OH)

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isa-,- -..- ,M iiiii-.-?, THE BAYONET 7 A FLAT TIRE. A monotonous, sickly drizzle had beset London for several days, and the faint spark of the street lamps was barely discernible thru the heavy curtain of fog that hung over the street. The yelling of teamsters, noise of automobile horns and the sound of the crowd as it jostled and 'pushed its way along, filled the air The very atmosphere was oppressiveg the rain dropped from the eaves in a half- hearted fashion. The crowd itself was disagreeable, the hack horses in the streets steamed as they pulled their heavy burdens here and there, motors without chains were in con- stant danger ofl skidding,' and the creak of those with chains and the continuous shifting of gears could be heard above the bustle ofthe street. .From his apartment in 'his club John Beckwith looked out gloomily upon the scene 'of struggling hu- manity before him. His man had just lighted the lights, and left him looking out thru the rain-streaked window: The muffled noise as it came up to him from below disgusted himg I say, disgusted him because' he loathed it,'and then he'said to him- self: I :ve never seen anything' to equal it. lWhy do. I stayihere? Noth- ing to keepvme. I might as well be seeing the world, if for no other pur- pose than being away from this de- testable mob. I'll wait and seize the Hrst opportunity to get away. Beckwith, as we see by his words, was entirely independent. His father had left him with more than enough. He had always been rich, his family . I , - before him had been rich, and he was at ease with his fortune. There was nothing in him of the' 'nouveau riche. ' ' He was at ease in any company of men, but his Qwe cannot sayj dislike, rather ignorance of women, gives us a theme on which to write. He had never known many women. His mother had died when he was very young, and an old aunt, his father's sister, was his only woman ac- quaintance. . He picked up the evening paper, turned from the window and started to read. Presently! Kelly, his' man, entered ' p Mr, Wells, sir. Show him in, Kelly. Yes, sir. 5 p Wells was an American, we may say more, he was from, New York and a very intimate friend of Beck- with. He had met him whenghe hap came to England with his crew to row against Oxford, and since then they had been warm friendsj ' Virgil, I 'm so sick of this city that I do n't know.-what to' do. Can you help me out?'T4 - ' l Indeed I can. The Maurtania sails -Saturday. Todays is Tuesday. You have never been in the United States. Come, now, make me a visit. I 've asked you often enough. Now accept my invitation. Sail Saturday? Why, my dear boy. ' Yes, Saturday. You people over here are horribly slow. You have lots of time. Get Americanized. See if you can do it.

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8 THE BAYONET Just tell Briggs, your lawyer, to straighten things out and I 'll see about the passage today. Now do n't say no. I 'll try, but four days is n't much time. Just before you came up I swore that I 'd seize the Erst oppor- tunity to break away from this- pointing out of the window-and I 'll go with you Saturday. Good work. I must be off, and I 'll have everything ready. After Wells left Beckwith tele- phoned Briggs, and made an appoint- ment Within the hour. He slapped on his ulster and made his way out into the detested crowd. He walked along briskly and soon came to the building in which his law- yer's oilice was located. He opened the door that led to the left and a woman passed out before him. As she passed he noticed her drop a small black purse. He picked it up and handed it to her. He was struck by her appearance. Tall, dressed in black, and a heavy veil dropped from the little hat that 'fitted over her jet black hair, and beneath it he noticed two pink little ears snugly tucked under the wealth of hair. She raised the veil, thanked him and disappeared as if by magic. The fog had com- pletely obliterated her, and for the 'drst time in his life a panic seized him, but she had gone. Could any- thing be more maddening? He turned slowly, entered the corrider and made his way to the left. He tried to straighten out his af- fairs. Now, Briggs, you do this I do n't feel very well, and I 'm aw- fully busy. Straighten this out be- Q Q