Produced by Annie McGuire [Illustration: "LAUGH IF YOU LIKE; I SHAN'T MIND. THE MORE RIDICULOUS YOU MAKE IT THE SHORTER WORK IT WILL BE."--_See page 244_] THE BACHELORS A NOVEL BY WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT AUTHOR OF "THE MOTH," "THE LEVER," "THE SPELL," ETC. [Illustration] HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON MCMXV COPYRIGHT, 1915 BY HARPER & BROTHERS * * * * * THE BACHELORS * * * * * * * * * * I * * * * * They were discussing Huntington and Cosden when the two men entered the living-room of the Club and strolled toward the little group indulging itself in relaxation after a more or less strenuous afternoon at golf. It was natural, perhaps, that no one quite understood the basis upon which their intimacy rested, for entirely aside from the difference in their ages they seemed far separated in disposition and natural tastes. Cosden's dynamic energy had made more than an average golf-player of Huntington, and in other ways forced him out of the easy path of least resistance; the older man's dignity and quiet philosophy tempered the cyclonic tendencies of his friend. The one met the world as an antagonist, and forced from it tribute and recognition; the other, never having felt the necessity of competition, had formed the habit of taking the world into his confidence and treating it as a friend. These differences could not fail to attract the attention of their companions at the Club as day after day they played their round together, but this was the first time the subject had become a topic of general conversation. The speaker sat with his back to the door and continued his remarks after the newcomers came within hearing, in spite of the efforts made by those around to suppress him. The sudden hush and the conscious manner of those in the group would have conveyed the information even if the words had not. "So you're giving us the once over, are you?" Cosden demanded, dropping into a chair. "You don't mean to say that the golf autobiographies have become exhausted?" "I never heard myself publicly discussed," added Huntington as he, too, joined the party. "I am already experiencing a thrill of pleasurable excitement. Don't stop. Connie and I are really keen to learn more of ourselves." "Well," the speaker replied, with some hesitation, "there's no use trying to make you believe we were listening to Baker's explanation of how the bunkers have been located exactly where the golf committee knows his ball is going to strike--" "Heaven forbid!" Huntington exclaimed; "but don't apologize. I congratulate the Club that the members are at last turning their attention to serious things. 'Tell the truth and shame the devil'--provided it is Connie, and not me, you are going to shame."