August First
AUGUST FIRST by MARY RAYMOND SHIPMAN ANDREWS and ROY IRVING MURRAY Illustrated by A. I. Keller [Frontispiece: "She--that's it--that's the gist of it--fool that I am."] New York Charles Scribner's Sons
The door of his own room was closed, but the doors of 13 and 15 were
open, and midway between them a rather startling drama was being
enacted. The participants were Penny Durkin, Harmon Dreer and a smaller
boy whose name afterwards transpired to be Melville. Melville was no
longer an active participant, though, when Clint appeared unnoted on the
scene and paused across the corridor in surprise. It was Penny and
Harmon Dreer who held the centre of the stage.
"What are you butting in for?" demanded Dreer angrily. "I'll cuff the
kid if I want to. You get out of here, Penny."
"You weren't cuffing him," replied Penny hotly. "You were twisting his
arm and making him cry. Now you let the kid alone, Dreer. If you want to
try that sort of thing you try it on me."
"All right!" Dreer stepped forward and shot his closed fist into Penny's
face. The blow missed its full force, since Penny, seeing it coming,
dodged so that it caught him on the side of the chin. But it was enough
to send him staggering to the wall.
"You keep out of it, you skinny monkey!" shouted Dreer. "All you're good
for is to make rotten noises on that beastly fiddle of yours! Want
more, do you?"
Penny evidently did, for he came back with a funny sidelong shuffle,
AUGUST FIRST by MARY RAYMOND SHIPMAN ANDREWS and ROY IRVING MURRAY Illustrated by A. I. Keller [Frontispiece: "She--that's it--that's the gist of it--fool that I am."] New York Charles Scribner's Sons