jonathon realized he had zero chance of getting the job.
he had been incapable of artifice since he was a child.
uncle julius had declined to provide him with an annuity.
so he would have to learn to drink water and eat lettuce.
meanwhile there was the day to get though.
he decided to pay a call on his old friend carter.
then he remembered that carter never got up before two o’clock in the afternoon.
jonathon did not want to sit in his depressing little room all morning, so he went out and began walking around aimlessly in the street.
he saw some people who looked more prosperous than himself and he decided to ask them for money. he expected mostly negative responses but thought it was worth a try.
“excuse me, sir, can you help a fellow out who has experienced misfortune?”
“jonathon mansfield! is that you?”
good heavens! it was donald j parker, uncle stanley’s old banking partner!
“i am sorry, sir, you must mistake me for someone else.” jonathon hurried past.
he could feel donald j parker’s steely gaze on his back as he continued down the street.
a scrap of donald j parker’s voice was borne on the wind. “… continue your spiel. eh?”
was it an omen, jonathon wondered. should he just give up, and blow through the streets like a page of newspaper until he could reasonably expect to find carter awake?
then he remembered - everything in the world hapepned in threes.
he would ask two more people for money, and see what happened.
a respectable looking elderly lady with a dreamy expression was approaching him. she looked like the perfect person to ask for money.
escuse me, ma’am, jonathon accosted her, can you help a poor fellow out who is experiencing undeserved misfortune?
the elderly lady looked at him with astonishment from under the wide brim of her flowered hat.
“jonathon mansfield! is that you?”
it was ms sturdivant, his third grade teacher!
jonathon panicked. he bolted past ms sturdivant, almost knocking her down, and started running down the street.
a few people turned and stared at hin.
pull yourself together man, he told himself. he slowed down.
one more time, he thought, one more time.
he found himself approaching sal and ernie’s, a restaurant uncle julius had once taken him to, in happier days.
a man was looking in the window, apparently intent on studying the menu displayed there.
the man had his collar turned up, obscuring his face.
could it be uncle julius? jonathon almost panicked again at the thought.
no, not unless uncle julius had lost about one hundred and fifty pounds.
excuse me, sir, jonathon began.
the fellow turned to face him. it was carter!
but this time jonathon held his ground.
oh, help, carter, he blurted out, i mean hello, carter.
hello yourself, carter replied coldly.
jonathon tried to smile. i see you are studying the menu in the window, he said.
so i am, carter said, although i do not see what damned business it is of yours.
i - i was just coming over to see you, carter. it is so lucky to run into you like this.
see me about what? carter sneered.
i thought, i thought maybe we could talk about old times, or maybe you could lend me a few dollars…
talk about old times? lend you a few dollars? carter was almost shouting. are you serious? are you quite mad? after all you did to me? you lousy rat!
jonathon could not take any more. he panicked for the third time, and began running again.
he ran, and ran. he ran past the outskirts of the city.
he ran to the end of the earth.
at the end of the earth was a muddy stream.
beside the muddy stream was a hubcap, a curiously shiny hubcap.
he looked at his reflection on it.
he was carter.
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