The Varmint

Owen Johnson

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• Publié par: chiwyag
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 56
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Varmint, by Owen Johnson and F. R. Gruger This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Varmint Author: Owen Johnson F. R. Gruger Release Date: May 1, 2008 [EBook #25272] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VARMINT *** Produced by David Edwards, Roberta Staehlin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain material produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) Contents Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI Chapter XII Chapter XIII 11 23 35 47 63 77 89 107 115 133 145 159 172 Chapter XIV Chapter XV Chapter XVI Chapter XVII Chapter XVIII Chapter XIX Chapter XX Chapter XXI Chapter XXII Chapter XXIII Chapter XXIV Chapter XXV Chapter XXVI 187 201 216 231 249 282 303 315 332 349 368 379 389 The Varmint By OWEN JOHNSON Author of "The Prodigious Hickey," "Stover at Yale," "The Humming Bird," "Tennessee Shad," etc. WITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS B Y F. R. GRUGER A. L. BURT COMPANY P UBLISHERS NEW Y ORK C OPYRIGHT, 1910, BY THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY Published, July, 1910 THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. TO Alexander Lambert, M.D. IN FRIENDSHIP, IN GRATITUDE, AND IN MEMORY OF MY WIFE. THE VARMINT "LIKE MY JIBS?" SAID STOVER THE VARMINT I When young Stover disembarked at the Trenton station on the fourth day after [Pg 11] the opening of the spring term he had acquired in his brief journey so much of the Pennsylvania rolling stock as could be detached and concealed. Inserted between his nether and outer shirts were two gilt "Directions to Travelers" which clung like mustard plasters to his back, while a jagged tin sign, wrenched from the home terminal, embraced his stomach with the painful tenacity of the historic Spartan fox. In his pockets were objects—small objects but precious and dangerous to unscrew and acquire. Being forced to wait, he sat now, preternaturally stiff, perched on a heap of trunks, clutching a broken dress-suit case which had been re-enforced with particolored strings. There was about young Stover, when properly washed, a certain air of cherubim that instantly struck the observer; his tousled tow hair had a cathedral tone, his cheek was guileless and his big blue eyes had an upward cast toward the angels which, as in the present moment when he was industriously [Pg 12] exchanging a check labeled Baltimore to a trunk bound for Jersey City, was absolutely convincing. But from the limit whence the cherub continueth not the imp began. His collar was crumpled and smutty with the descent of many signs, a salmon-pink necktie had quarreled with a lavender shirt and retreated toward one ear, one cuff had broken loose and one sulked up the sleeve. His green serge pockets bulged in every direction, while the striped blue-and-white trousers, already outgrown, stuck to the knees and halted short of a pair of white socks that in turn disappeared into a pair of razor-pointed patent-leathers. Young Stover's career at Miss Wandell's Select Academy for boys and girls had been a tremendous success, for it had ended in a frank confession on Miss Wandell's part that her limited curriculum was inadequate for the abnormal activities of dangerous criminals. As Stover completed the transfer of the last trunk-checks the stage for Lawrenceville plodded cumbrously up, and from the box Jimmy hailed him. "Eh, there, young Sporting Life, bound for Lawrenceville? Step lively." Stover swung up, gingerly pushing ahead of him the battered bag. "Lawrenceville?" said the driver, looking at it suspiciously. "Right the first time." "What house?" "Oh, the Green will be good enough for me." "Well, tuck in above." "Thanks, I'll cuddle here," said Stover, slipping into the seat next to him, "just to look over the way you handle the ribbons and see if I approve." Jimmy, connoisseur of new arrivals, glanced behind at the only other passenger, a man of consular mould, and then looked at Stover in sardonic amusement. "Don't look at me like that, old Sport," said Stover impressively; "I've driven real coaches, sixteen horses, rip-snorters, and all that sort of thing." Jimmy, having guided the placid animals through the labyrinths of Trenton, gave them the rein on the long highway that leads to Lawrenceville and turned to examine Stover with new relish. "Say, Bub," he said at length, "you're goin' to have a great time at this little backwoods school—you're going to enjoy yourself." "Think I'm fresh, eh?" [Pg 13] "Fresh?" said Jimmy thoughtfully. "Why, fresh ain't at all the word." "Well, I can take care of myself." "What did they fire you for?" said Jimmy, touching up the horses. "Who said they fired me?" said Stover, surprised. "Well, what was it?" said Jimmy, disdaining an explanation. "They fired me," said Stover, hesitating a moment—"they fired me for trying to kill a man." "You don't say so!" "I drew a knife on him," said Stover rapidly. "I'd 'a' done for him, too, the coward, if they hadn't hauled me off." At this there was a chuckle from the passenger behind who said with great solemnity: "Dear me, dear me, a dreadful state of affairs—quite thrilling." "I saw red, everything—everything red," said Stover, breathing hard. "What had he done to you?" said Jimmy, winking at Mr. Hopkins, alias Lucius Cassius, alias The Roman, master of the Latin line and distinguished flunker of boys. "He insulted my—my mother." "Your mother?" "She—she's dead," said Stover in a stage voice he remembered. At this Jimmy and Mr. Hopkins stopped, genuinely perplexed, and looked hard at Stover. "You don't mean it! Dear me," said The Roman, hesitating before a possible blunder. "It was long ago," said Stover, thrilling with the delight of authorship. "She died in a ship-wreck to save me." The Roman was nonplussed. There was always the possibility that the story might be true. "Ah, she gave her life to save yours, eh?" he said encouragingly. "Held my head above water, breeches buoy and all that sort of thing," said Stover, remembering something in Dickens. "I was the only one saved, me and the ship's cat." "Well, well," said The Roman, with a return of confidence; "and your father—is he alive?" "Yes," said Stover, considering the distant woods; "but—but we don't speak of him." "Ah, pardon me," said The Roman, gazing on him with wonder. "Painful [Pg 14] [Pg 15] memories—of course, of course. And what happened to your brother?" Stover, perceiving the note of skepticism, turned and looked The Roman haughtily in the face, then, turning to Jimmy, he said in a half whisper: "Who's the old buck, anyhow?" Jimmy stiffened on the box as though he had received an electric shock; then, biting his lips, he answered with a vicious lunge at the horses: "Oh, he comes back and forth every now and then." They were now in the open country, rolling steadily past fields of sprouting things, with the warm scent of new-plowed earth borne to them on the gentle April breeze. All of a sudden Stover seemed to dive sideways from the coach and remained suspended by his razor-tipped patent-leathers. "Hi, there!" cried Jimmy, bringing the coach to a stop with a jerk, "what are you trying to do?" Stover reappeared. "Seeing if there are any females inside." "What's that to you?" said Jimmy indignantly. "Keep your eye peeled and I'll show you," said the urchin, standing up, freeing his belt and unbuttoning his vest. In a moment, by a series of contortions, he drew forth the three signs and proudly displayed them. "See these gilt ones," he said confidentially to the astounded Roman, "got 'em in the open car; stood right up and unscrewed them—penal offense, my boy. The tin one was easier, but it's a beaut. 'No loitering on these premises.' Cast [Pg 17] your eye over that," he added, passing it to The Roman, who, as he gravely received it, gave Jimmy a dig that cut short a fit of coughing. "Pretty fine, eh?" said Stover. "Em, yes, quite extraordinary—quite so." "And what do you think of these?" continued Stover, producing two silver nickel-plated knobs ravished from the washbasin. "'Pull and Push'—that's my motto. Say, Bill, how does that strike you?" The Roman examined them and handed them back. "You'll find it rather—rather slow at the school, won't you?" "Oh, I'll put ginger into it." "Indeed." "What's your line of goods, old Sport?" said Stover, examining Mr. Hopkins with a knowing eye. "Books," said The Roman with a slight jerk of his thin lips. [Pg 16] "I see!" Jimmy stopped the horses and went behind, ostensibly to see if the door was swinging. "Let me drive?" said Stover, fidgeting after a moment's contemplation of Jimmy's method. "I'll show you a thing or two." "Oh, you will, will you?" "Let's have 'em." Jimmy looked inquiringly at Mr. Hopkins and, receiving a nod, transferred the reins and whip to Stover, who immediately assumed a Wild West attitude and said patronizingly: "Say, you don't get the speed out of 'em." "I don't, eh?" "Naw." They were at that moment reaching the brink of a hill, with a sharp though short descent below. "In my country," said Stover professionally, "we call a man who uses a brake a candy dude. The trick is to gallop 'em down the hills. Hang on!" Before he could be stopped he sprang up with an ear-splitting war-whoop and brought the whip down with a stinging blow over the ears of the indignant horses, who plunged forward with a frightened leap. The coach rose and rocked, narrowly missing overturning in its sudden headlong course. Jimmy clamped on the brakes, snatched the reins and brought the plunging team to a stop after narrowly missing the gutter. Stover, saved from a