Talk:Riddles (Bacheller)/Chapter 4
| Information about this edition | |
|---|---|
| Edition: | Everybody's Magazine 1921 June], pp. 44-47. |
| Source: | Internet Archive |
WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE
(Synopsis of Part I in the May issue)
JOHN RIDDLES, a young bachelor and wealthy mill owner, takes advantage of a shut-down due to a strike to go on a novel vacation. Driving out into the heart of the New England country side, with only a dim idea of his whereabouts, he dismisses his chauffeur and continues his adventure on foot.
He rereads a letter from his friend, David Galt, asking him to look up a girl in the neighborhood, Harriet Martin, with whom Galt is evidently smitten, then hails the driver of a traveling country store, who tells him where the Martin farm is and gives him a lift on the way.
On the road they encounter a singular tramp whose whimsical conversation amuses Riddles to such an extent that he readily accepts the suggestion that they exchange clothes. The quondam tramp immediately adopts the rôle of a genial well-bred English man and the name of J. Reginald Travers, whereas Riddles becomes plain Reuben Smith, a farm-hand looking for work.
They accidentally come upon a picnic party in the woods, where Travers's distinguished bearing and ready wit make him popular at once. Riddles, who is assigned to making a fire and attending to the wants of the picnickers, performs the tasks so well that he secures a job as hired man on the Martin farm.
From fellow workmen and gossip in the neighboring village of Coulterville, Riddles learns that the Martin place, like many others in the vicinity, is unprofitable, the help idlers, and the proprietors considered fair game for extortion by workmen and merchants. Incidentally, he learns that Percy Waters, a young ne'er-do-well, is courting Harriet Martin.
At the general store Riddles makes the acquaintance of David Galt, uncle of his friend David, Sam Bullwether, chief clerk in the store, and Henry Bradshaw, the young school superintendent. Soon Riddles, having gained the confidence of his employers, takes entire charge of the farm. About this time he receives a letter from Travers asking for a loan to help sustain him in his new idle, and replies with a check for a hundred dollars.
Meanwhile, in the village store, discussion of a proposed Take-It-Back Day, a holiday on which all borrowed articles are to be returned and general neighbors of Percy Waters's latest drunken escapade.