A Bicycle of Cathay

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A Bicycle of Cathay, by Frank R. Stockton

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Title: A Bicycle of Cathay
Author: Frank R. Stockton
Release Date: May 13, 2004 [eBook #12334]
Language: English
Character set encoding: iso-8859-1
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A BICYCLE OF CATHAY
A Novel
By Frank R. Stockton
Author of "The Great Stone of Sardis," "The Associate Hermits" etc.
Illustrated by Orson Lowell
1900

[Illustration: The doctor's daughter]

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER
II. A BAD TWIST
III. THE DUKE'S DRESSING-GOWN
IV. A BIT OF ADVICE
V. THE LADY AND THE CAVALIER
VI. THE HOLLY SPRIG INN
VII. MRS. CHESTER IS TROUBLED
VIII. ORSO
IX. A RUNAWAY
X. THE LARRAMIE FAMILY
XI. THE THREE MCKENNAS
XII. BACK TO THE HOLLY SPRIG
XIII. A MAN WITH A LETTER
XIV. MISS EDITH IS DISAPPOINTED
XV. MISS WILLOUGHBY
XVI. AN ICICLE
XVII. A FORECASTER OF HUMAN PROBABILITIES
XVIII. REPENTANCE AVAILS NOT
XIX. BEAUTY, PURITY, AND PEACE
XX. BACK FROM CATHAY

ILLUSTRATIONS
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER
HALF-TITLE
"I PUT ON MY COAT"
"THE RAIN WAS COMING DOWN HARD"
"ON MY RIGHT A LIGHTED DOORWAY"
A FEW THOUGHTS
"THE BEAUTY OF HER TEETH"
"I KICKED OFF MY EMBROIDERED SLIPPERS"
"IT WOULD BE WELL FOR ME TO SWALLOW A CAPSULE"
"AS SOON AS I HAD SPOKEN THESE WORDS"
"I DISMOUNTED AND APPROACHED THE WALL"
"I THOUGHT FOR A FEW MOMENTS"
"I WENT OUT FOR A WALK"
MRS. CHESTER
"SHE BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT WALFORD"
"BUT WE WERE NOT ALONE"
"TO MY LEFT I SAW A LINE OF TREES"
"HE WAS RUNNING AWAY"
"HE SOON FELT THAT HE WAS UNDER CONTROL"
"A LITTLE ARMY HAD THROWN ITSELF UPON ME"
"'WOULD IT BE EASIER TO MANAGE A BOY OR A BEAR?'"
"I TAPPED MY LEFT PALM"
"THERE WAS A SUDDEN FLUSH UPON HER FACE"
"THE SCENE VIVIDLY RECURRED TO MY MIND"
DECIPHERING THE DAGO'S LETTER
"'I DON'T THINK YOU OUGHT TO TAKE THIS LETTER'"
"'DO YOU THINK YOU COULD HIT IT WITH AN APPLE?'"
"TALKING ABOUT BABY BEARS"
"I HELD THAT PICTURE A GOOD WHILE"
"'NO, SIR,' SHE SAID"
"CUT LIKE THAT"
EUROPA

[Illustration]
CHAPTER I
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER
It was a beautiful summer morning when slowly I wheeled my way along the principal street of the village of Walford. A little valise was strapped in front of my bicycle; my coat, rolled into a small compass, was securely tied under the seat, and I was starting out to spend my vacation.
I was the teacher of the village school, which useful institution had been closed for the season the day before, much to the gratification of pedagogue and scholars. This position was not at all the summit of my youthful ambition. In fact, I had been very much disappointed when I found myself obliged to accept it, but when I left college my financial condition made it desirable for me to do something to support myself while engaged in some of the studies preparatory to a professional career.
I have never considered myself a sentimental person, but I must admit that I did not feel very happy that morning, and this state of mind was occasioned entirely by the feeling that there was no one who seemed to be in the least sorry that I was going away. My boys were so delighted to give up their studies that they were entirely satisfied to give up their teacher, and I am sure that my vacation would have been a very long one if they had had the ordering of it. My landlady might have been pleased to have me stay, but if I had agreed to pay my board during my absence I do not doubt that my empty room would have occasioned her no pangs of regret. I had friends in the village, but as they knew it was a matter of course that I should go away during the vacation, they seemed to be perfectly reconciled to the fact.
As I passed a small house which was the abode of my laundress, my mental depression was increased by the action of her oldest son. This little fellow, probably five years of age, and the condition of whose countenance indicated that his mother's art was seldom exercised upon it, was playing on the sidewalk with his sister, somewhat younger and much dirtier.
As I passed the little chap he looked up and in a sharp, clear voice, he cried: "Good-bye! Come back soon!" These words cut into my soul. Was it possible that this little ragamuffin was the only one in that village who was sorry to see me depart and who desired my return? And the acuteness of this cut was not decreased by the remembrance that on several occasions when he had