E-text prepared by Al Haines
[Frontispiece: "She--that's it--that's the gist of it--fool that I am."]
AUGUST FIRST
BY
MARY RAYMOND SHIPMAN ANDREWS
AND
ROY IRVING MURRAY
ILLUSTRATED BY
A. I. KELLER
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1915
Copyright, 1915, by Charles Scribner's Sons
Published March, 1915
AUGUST FIRST
"Whee!"
The long fingers pulled at the clerical collar as if they might tear itaway. The alert figure swung across the room to the one window notwide open and the man pushed up the three inches possible. "Whee!" hebrought out again, boyishly, and thrust away the dusty vines that hungagainst the opening from the stone walls of the parish house close by.He gasped; looked about as if in desperate need of relief; struck backthe damp hair from his face. The heat was insufferable. In the westblack-gray clouds rolled up like blankets, shutting out heaven and air;low thunder growled; at five o'clock of a midsummer afternoon it wasalmost dark; a storm was coming fast, and coolness would come with it,but in the meantime it was hard for a man who felt heat intensely justto get breath. His eyes stared at the open door of the room, down thecorridor which led to the room, which turned and led by another opendoor to the street.
"If they're coming, why don't they come and get it over?" he murmuredto himself; he was stifling—it was actual suffering.
He was troubled to-day, beyond this affliction of heat. He was the newcurate of St. Andrew's, Geoffrey McBirney, only two months in theplace—only two months, and here was the rector gone off for his summervacation and McBirney left at the helm of the great city parish.Moreover, before the rector was gone a half-hour, here was the worstbusiness of the day upon him, the hour between four and five when therector was supposed to be found in the office, to receive any one whochose to come, for advice, for godly counsel, for "any old reason," asthe man, only a few years out of college, put it to himself. Hedreaded it; he dreaded it more than he did getting up into the pulpitof a Sunday and laying down the law—preaching. And he seriouslywished that if any one was coming they would come now, and let him dohis best, doggedly, as he meant to, and get them out of the way. Thenhe might go to work at things he understood. There was a funeral atseven; old Mrs. Harrow at the Home wanted to see him; and DavidSterling had half promised to help him with St. Agnes's Mission School,and must be encouraged; a man in the worst tenement of the south cityhad raided his wife with a knife and there was tr