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A NOVEGB OH THj£ ILINEiS
lß>y jpF@<dl<Dricll& UplhiSiinni Adams
¥ WAS introduced to Harding, the We tern railroad
I magnate, who is here at the W Ivale Golf and
* Country Club with his daughter Grace. His
wife is in the city, but will be here in a few days. Mr.
Harding I suppose 1 should "Mister" him, since
he is worth about ten millions, but even at that I
am a long way from l>eing a pauper mysi
Harding strolled out to the nrst tei early this morning,
and -~tui.il with his hands j n his pockets and watched
some of the Cell* >ws dri\ < ofl
He was with Carter, an«J he greeted each drive,
whether it was good "i bad, with a sneering smile.
That told me that he never had played th<
and that he had all of the outsider's contempt for it.
1 know exactly what he I hi
for I was once as ignorant and
una] prei iati\ c as h< now is.
pers >n ■hi i m i r has
filay< ■! is sure t hat he i ould
rek i!
enough to
thi time on so simple a
■ ho | lay ki ■
i play thi
iy it should ' ■ played
tin y also knov
.
1 ;
■
I Itlcd wi<
ravines where the gods i-.i tluir play have topped their
drives.
But old Harding lias no such conception of this
whirling earth of ours. He seems to be reasonably
certain that it-was created for the purpose of l>eing
cross-hatched with railroad tracks, and that it never
had .my r<-.il utility until he gridironed the Western
prairies with ten thousand miles of rust and grease. I
thought of that a-> 1 watched him standing 1-y the -ide
of Carter, his hands deep in his pockets, his bushy
head thrown b'ack'i and ;i tolerant sneer on his lips. I
was practising putting on the green set aside for that
purj ose, and Carter saw in<- ami motioned me to come
t.i him He introduced Harding who shook hands
and thin glanced curiously at my putter.
" What di ■ v< 'v call that r " he asked, taking it from my
hand. It was a putter of my own design, and I have
won many a. game with it . I told him what it was.
"Looks lik<- a brake-shoe on the new model hand
car," he .•■'•'l swinging it viciously with one hand.
"How far can you knock a ball with that?"
1 explained that a putter was designed for short
distant es. and observed that it was evident that he
did hot play golf
'.'No: bui i used t>. ]•<■ a wonder at shinny," he said.
1 should have wagered that li<- would have made some
such remark. "Do you see that scar on Ihe bridge
of my nose? That came from a crack with a shinny
i-lub when I
ore
than ten years
«>!•! Shinny
i: a greal
I* re
■ tick
m r>( eye
ami limh, and
tii i i r<■ ill a n
tl . • it dc
iii an'l s a high
degree of
age Yes, sir t hat
shinny is a greal
and hr
i •■■ • ■.1 the s*.-ar
on his nose trii
,l rly.
A man who
cotnpan golf
with shinny is
cai .ii 'le of con
trasting V« nice
"Whal Do You Cull It?"
with a drainage canal: and I wanted to tell him so,
bui held my peace. Gulf and shinny! Old maid and
whi "' Pink lemonade and champagne!
Xo, ir I in ■'. it could see v here this game came in,"
said "lil Harding, handing hack my putter. "It cer
tainly i n*l much ol a trick to hii one •■! those balls
with a mallei like that When I was your age,"
■ !'' Carter, "' I could ■ ik< maul and sel
it railroad spike into live inch< oi easoncd >Mk. and
in ir miss once in a week, and I'll bet I •an do it yet.
That's what your father used to do for a li' ing, and it
he hadn't worked up from a ection boss to the presi-
SUNDAY MAGAZINE, for OCTOBER 2. 1004
dency of a road you would have something > be to do
than batting balls around a farm and then hunting for
them. But I suppose you must like it or you wouldn't
do it."
"1 think you would like the game if you to«>k it up,"
suggested Carter, whose father is nearly as rich as old
Harding "Smith and I would be delighted to initiate
you into the mysteries and pleasures of the game."
"Oh. I suppose I shall have to play, now that I'm
here." he said with most exasperating complacency.
"My daughter is learning to play, and she is as crazy
about it as the rest of
"'Mr li
I
-
■
■
... I t he ]
■ I
:he I ■
■
: ■
l.oth of 1 I
" Tl
you." I pi I
■
■
" Why
" ! ' ' . • : ■
fair. I never .
1 can dri i ■ llel into the nexi
t *ume on!"
rtcr looked a', me an.'i winked There was nc
v. .ii:i:.^ on •■ . and 1 here \\ .«-- .i i
ahead. It reed thai Harding shoo
lasi .ni>l tl h.iul<l have the honor.
man u ><>k • • ■. uistcoal . rrtn •
ami rolled up his shir: sleeves. I should hi.'v:< hii
k a man ol ty. and for the first titn< '.
thai lv- was of magnificent physique In fj | ]
i well-fori i ..,
a human being. Hf selected from my Kil: a dri
ivhivh I seldom use >'ii account of itsexc< sive weight
and looked at it eritv
"Pretty fair sorl of .i shinny stick.*' he ol served
swinging it clumsily bui vmiously; "bui I'd ra
ha 1 i one of th<- hickory roots we used I
was a boy. Go ahead and soak it ■ I
may know wli.it I ha at."
I silently resented this ignoring of mi
tally decided to press even ..t the chance of fluhl
Thai uus exactly what Carter did, though his
rolled out perhaps one hundred fifty yards.
'■That's not so mil, li." -...i.l Harding gri
"Bai her out, Smith, and then watch vi
Dutney!"
• look a prai |wo, and thi
that ball for one ol the longest antl cleanesi dri
ever made in my life. Ir stopped fully twei
•"■. v " : "l r*-'"r *-'" two hundred yard Hag I never was i
proud in my life but even at that moment 1 f
soil of pity !,.;• Harding.
"Is tint considered a fairly K""<1 one?" ask»-«
Harding.
"It s .i vr< ■« ■■ 1 one for Smith, oi foi that matter f«
■•■ I'll •! •'a;t. r, who v. as a bit sore th I
had fallen down.
Mr. Hording
Strolled Out to
t»>«- I ir^l Tee
"li 10.-ks easy for me," laid
Harding, stepping up to the tee;
"but of course you can't always
tell. You fix the ball up on this
sand. d»>n"t you'"
"I will tec it for you," I volun
teered.
"No, you won't," insisted old
Harding. "I don't want any
help. All I ask for is a lot of that
sand."
He reached into the sand-box
and scooped out a double-handful
and piled it up in a pyramid at
least four inches high. On its
apex he placed a new ball which
I had taken from my bag. and
which I felt reasonably certain
would be rut in the event he hap
pened to hit it. He stood back
and surveyed his preparations
with evident satisfaction.
'" I ought to be able to hit that.
all right." he said, walking around
the sand pile and viewing it from
them. 1
day i ••'• .i :■■
and '■ ■
his tii
■
I ha' •
■
■ ■
■
took
I
■
• ■ ■
li
■
■
**"WKar. P.. P ... Sr» How You looh!"
squarely «>n the tee. When the club came down • re
was a crack that sounded like a pi.stol sh ■:. ..• •!
at that instant I noted that the pyramid of sand -.'..is
intact.
Then I saw the ball. It was headed straight
course with that slight hook which contril v s so
much to distance.
When I first caught sight of it I sh • '■'. say
that it u.t< fifty feet in the air and slowly rising.
1 never »aw a ball travel s«» in my life. '•" • had
sent a caddy out ahead, and he marked th« spot
where it lam!*.*!.
It was more than forty yards beyond I two
hundred-yard mark, and the ball roiW.i hirtt
yards farther, making a total of two drcd"*
seventy yards. It was within ten yard- ■ i the
longest drive ever made off the first tee'b* Kirkaldy,
our club professional, and the longest driv< [ ever
saw made.
: ... [
I heard the rustic of a woman's
garment.
"Why. Papa Harding!"* ex
claimed a voice musical as a
silver bell, " You said you would
never play golf! Yon should
sec how you lo» >k."
1 tttriit-il and saw Miss Grace
Harding. She is the most beau
tiful creature over I saw in my
life.
Before any < t us could reach
him, Harding scrambled to his
feet.
His shirt was ripped .it the
shoulder and torn open at the iu\k. He ■.' • .is
streaked with sand; but there was a merry twinkle
in his eve.
"It 1 hadn't slipped I should have belted it twice
as tar as that." he declared, .is he triumphantly
toss-'il the club toward my bag. "But I guess
that's far enough to win ray bet."
i
"1 OutjhttO
Be .Abie to
Hit That"
/ She I- tKe
Most Br..uti
ful Crvulvi; <■
