Short Fiction by O. Henry

Sound and Fury

Words you’ll meet in this part (10)

penne

A type of pasta with cylindrical, diagonally cut ends.

amanuensis

A person employed to write or type what another dictates.

epoch

A particular period of time in history or a person's life.

blushing

Showing shyness, embarrassment, or modesty by turning red in the face.

coyness

Shyness or modesty, often in a playful or teasing way.

tender

Gentle, kind, or affectionate in manner.

gaze

To look steadily and intently, often with curiosity or admiration.

nun

A woman belonging to a religious order, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

stroll

A leisurely walk, often for pleasure or relaxation.

faintly

In a weak or barely perceptible manner.

Short Fiction by O. Henry 10 new words

Sound and Fury

Persons of the Drama

• Mr. Penne, an author

• Miss Lore, an amanuensis

Scene—Workroom of Mr. Penne’s popular novel factory.

Mr. Penne	Good morning, Miss Lore. Glad to see you so prompt. We should finish that June installment for the Epoch today. Leverett is crowding me for it. Are you quite ready? We will resume where we left off yesterday. Dictates. “Kate, with a sigh, rose from his knees, and—”
Miss Lore	Excuse me; you mean “rose from her knees,” instead of “his,” don’t you?
Mr. Penne	Er—no—“his,” if you please. It is the love scene in the garden. Dictates. “Rose from his knees where, blushing with youth’s bewitching coyness, she had rested for a moment after Cortland had declared his love. The hour was one of supreme and tender joy. When Kate—scene that Cortland never—”
Miss Lore	Excuse me; but wouldn’t it be more grammatical to say “when Kate saw,” instead of “seen”?
Mr. Penne	The context will explain. Dictates. “When Kate—scene that Cortland never forgot—came tripping across the lawn it seemed to him the fairest sight that earth had ever offered to his gaze.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “Kate had abandoned herself to the joy of her newfound love so completely, that no shadow of her former grief was cast upon it. Cortland, with his arm firmly entwined about her waist, knew nothing of her sighs—”
Miss Lore	Goodness! If he couldn’t tell her size with his arm around—
Mr. Penne	Frowning. “Of her sighs and tears of the previous night.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “To Cortland the chief charm of this girl was her look of innocence and unworldiness. Never had nun—”
Miss Lore	How about changing that to “never had any?”
Mr. Penne	Emphatically. “Never had nun in cloistered cell a face more sweet and pure.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “But now Kate must hasten back to the house lest her absence be discovered. After a fond farewell she turned and sped lightly away. Cortland’s gaze followed her. He watched her rise—”
Miss Lore	Excuse me, Mr. Penne; but how could he watch her eyes while her back was turned toward him?
Mr. Penne	With extreme politeness. Possibly you would gather my meaning more intelligently if you would wait for the conclusion of the sentence. Dictates. “Watched her rise as gracefully as a fawn as she mounted the eastern terrace.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “And yet Cortland’s position was so far above that of this rustic maiden that he dreaded to consider the social upheaval that would ensue should he marry her. In no uncertain tones the traditional voices of his caste and world cried out loudly to him to let her go. What should follow—”
Miss Lore	Looking up with a start. I’m sure I can’t say, Mr. Penne. Unless with a giggle you would want to add “Gallegher.”
Mr. Penne	Coldly. Pardon me. I was not seeking to impose upon you the task of a collaborator. Kindly consider the question a part of the text.
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “On one side was love and Kate; on the other side his heritage of social position and family pride. Would love win? Love, that the poets tell us will last forever! Perceives that Miss Lore looks fatigued, and looks at his watch. That’s a good long stretch. Perhaps we’d better knock off a bit.”
	Miss Lore does not reply.
Mr. Penne	I said, Miss Lore, we’ve been at it quite a long time—wouldn’t you like to knock off for a while?
Miss Lore	Oh! Were you addressing me before? I put what you said down. I thought it belonged in the story. It seemed to fit in all right. Oh, no; I’m not tired.
Mr. Penne	Very well, then, we will continue. Dictates. “In spite of these qualms and doubts, Cortland was a happy man. That night at the club he silently toasted Kate’s bright eyes in a bumper of the rarest vintage. Afterward he set out for a stroll with, as Kate on—”
Miss Lore	Excuse me, Mr. Penne, for venturing a suggestion; but don’t you think you might state that in a less coarse manner?
Mr. Penne	Astounded. Wh—wh—I’m afraid I fail to understand you.
Miss Lore	His condition. Why not say he was “full” or “intoxicated”? It would sound much more elegant than the way you express it.
Mr. Penne	Still darkly wandering. Will you kindly point out, Miss Lore, where I have intimated that Cortland was “full,” if you prefer that word?
Miss Lore	Calmly consulting her stenographic notes. It is right here, word for word. Reads. “Afterward he set out for a stroll with a skate on.”
Mr. Penne	With peculiar emphasis. Ah! And now will you kindly take down the expurgated phrase? Dictates. “Afterward he set out for a stroll with, as Kate on one occasion had fancifully told him, her spirit leaning upon his arm.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. Chapter thirty-four. Heading—“What Kate Found in the Garden.” “That fragrant summer morning brought gracious tasks to all. The bees were at the honeysuckle blossoms on the porch. Kate, singing a little song, was training the riotous branches of her favorite woodbine. The sun, himself, had rows—”
Miss Lore	Shall I say “had risen”?
Mr. Penne	Very slowly and with desperate deliberation. “The—sun—himself—had—rows—of—blushing—pinks—and—hollyhocks—and—hyacinths—waiting—that—he—might—dry—their—dew-drenched—cups.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “The earliest trolley, scattering the birds from its pathway like some marauding cat, brought Cortland over from Oldport. He had forgotten his fair—”
Miss Lore	Hm! Wonder how he got the conductor to—
Mr. Penne	Very loudly. “Forgotten his fair and roseate visions of the night in the practical light of the sober morn.”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “He greeted her with his usual smile and manner. ‘See the waves,’ he cried, pointing to the heaving waters of the sea, ‘ever wooing and returning to the rockbound shore.’ ” “ ‘Ready to break,’ Kate said, with—”
Miss Lore	My! One evening he has his arm around her, and the next morning he’s ready to break her head! Just like a man!
Mr. Penne	With suspicious calmness. There are times, Miss Lore, when a man becomes so far exasperated that even a woman—But suppose we finish the sentence. Dictates. “ ‘Ready to break,’ Kate said, with the thrilling look of a soul-awakened woman, ‘into foam and spray, destroying themselves upon the shore they love so well.’ ”
Miss Lore	Oh!
Mr. Penne	Dictates. “Cortland, in Kate’s presence heard faintly the voice of caution. Thirty years had not cooled his ardor. It was in his power to bestow great gifts upon this girl. He still retained the beliefs that he had at twenty.” To Miss Lore, wearily. I think that will be enough for the present.
Miss Lore	Wisely. Well, if he had the twenty that he believed he had, it might buy her a rather nice one.
Mr. Penne	Faintly. The last sentence was my own. We will discontinue for the day, Miss Lore.
Miss Lore	Shall I come again tomorrow?
Mr. Penne	Helpless under the spell. If you will be so good.
	Exit Miss Lore.

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