F. Scott Fitzgerald

Short Stories

Warsaw 2022

Contents

1. Winter Dreams

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

2. Dice, Brassknuckles & Guitar

3. Gretchen’s Forty Winks

I

II

III

IV

4. Absolution

I

II

III

IV

V

5. Rags Martin-Jones and the Pr-nce of W-les

I

II

III

IV

V

6. “The Sensible Thing”

I

II

III

IV

7. The Baby Party

8. Love in the Night

I

II

III

IV

V

9. The Rich Boy

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

10. Jacob’s Ladder

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

11. A Short Trip Home

I

II

III

12. The Bowl

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

13. Magnetism

I

II

III

IV

14. The Scandal Detectives

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

15. A Night at the Fair

16. Basil: The Freshest Boy

I

II

III

IV

V

17. He Thinks He’s Wonderful

I

II

III

IV

18. Outside the Cabinet-Maker’s

19. The Captured Shadow

I

II

III

20. The Perfect Life

I

II

III

IV

21. Forging Ahead

22. Basil and Cleopatra

I

II

III

IV

23. The Last of the Belles

I

II

III

24. The Rough Crossing

I

II

III

IV

25. Majesty

I

II

III

IV

26. At Your Age

I

II

III

IV

27. The Swimmers

I

II

III

IV

28. Two Wrongs

I

II

III

IV

29. First Blood

I

II

III

IV

30. A Nice Quiet Place

I

II

III

IV

V

31. The Bridal Party

I

II

III

32. Josephine: A Woman with a Past

I

II

III

33. One Trip Abroad

I

II

III

IV

34. The Hotel Child

I

II

III

IV

35. Babylon Revisited

I

II

III

IV

V

36. A New Leaf

I

II

III

37. Emotional Bankruptcy

I

II

III

IV

38. A Freeze-Out

I

II

III

IV

39. Six of One —

40. Family in the Wind

I

II

III

IV

41. What a Handsome Pair!

I

II

III

IV

42. Crazy Sunday

I

II

III

IV

V

43. One Interne

I

II

III

44. More Than Just a House

I

II

III

45. The Fiend

46. The Night at Chancellorsville

47. Afternoon of an Author

I

II

48. “I Didn’t Get Over”

49. An Alcoholic Case

I

II

50. Financing Finnegan

I

II

III

51. Design in Plaster

52. The Lost Decade

53. Three Hours Between Planes

54. News of Paris — Fifteen Years Ago

Winter Dreams

Metropolitan Magazine (December 1922)

I

Some of the caddies were poor as sin and lived in one-room houses with a neurasthenic cow in the front yard, but Dexter Green’s father owned the second best grocery-store in Black Bear–the best one was “The Hub,” patronized by the wealthy people from Sherry Island–and Dexter caddied only for pocket-money.

In the fall when the days became crisp and gray, and the long Minnesota winter shut down like the white lid of a box, Dexter’s skis moved over the snow that hid the fairways of the golf course. At these times the country gave him a feeling of profound melancholy–it offended him that the links should lie in enforced fallowness, haunted by ragged sparrows for the long season. It was dreary, too, that on the tees where the gay colors fluttered in summer there were now only the desolate sand-boxes knee-deep in crusted ice. When he crossed the hills the wind blew cold as misery, and if the sun was out he tramped with his eyes squinted up against the hard dimensionless glare.

In April the winter ceased abruptly. The snow ran down into Black Bear Lake scarcely tarrying for the early golfers to brave the season with red and black balls. Without elation, without an interval of moist glory, the cold was gone.

Dexter knew that there was something dismal about this Northern spring, just as he knew there was something gorgeous about the fall. Fall made him clinch his hands and tremble and repeat idiotic sentences to himself, and make brisk abrupt gestures of command to imaginary audiences and armies. October filled him with hope which November raised to a sort of ecstatic triumph, and in this mood the fleeting brilliant impressions of the summer at Sherry Island were ready grist to his mill. He became a golf champion and defeated Mr. T. A. Hedrick in a marvellous match played a hundred times over the fairways of his imagination, a match each detail of which he changed about untiringly–sometimes he won with almost laughable ease, sometimes he came up magnificently from behind. Again, stepping from a Pierce-Arrow automobile, like Mr. Mortimer Jones, he strolled frigidly into the lounge of the Sherry Island Golf Club–or perhaps, surrounded by an admiring crowd, he gave an exhibition of fancy diving from the spring-board of the club raft.... Among those who watched him in open-mouthed wonder was Mr. Mortimer Jones.

And one day it came to pass that Mr. Jones–himself and not his ghost–came up to Dexter with tears in his eyes and said that Dexter was the–best caddy in the club, and wouldn’t he decide not to quit if Mr. Jones made it worth his while, because every other–caddy in the club lost one ball a hole for him–regularly–

“No, sir,” said Dexter decisively, “I don’t want to caddy any more.” Then, after a pause: “I’m too old.”

“You’re not more than fourteen. Why the devil did you decide just this morning that you wanted to quit? You promised that next week you’d go over to the State tournament with me.”

“I decided I was too old.”

Dexter handed in his “A Class” badge, collected what money was due him from the caddy master, and walked home to Black Bear Village.

“The best–caddy I ever saw,” shouted Mr. Mortimer Jones over a drink that afternoon. “Never lost a ball! Willing! Intelligent! Quiet! Honest! Grateful!”

The little girl who had done this was eleven–beautifully ugly as little girls are apt to be who are destined after a few years to be inexpressibly lovely and bring no end of misery to a great number of men. The spark, however, was perceptible. There was a general ungodliness in the way her lips twisted down at the corners when she smiled, and in the–Heaven help us!–in the almost passionate quality of her eyes. Vitality is born early in such women. It was utterly in evidence now, shining through her thin frame in a sort of glow.

She had come eagerly out on to the course at nine o’clock with a white linen nurse and five small new golf-clubs in a white canvas bag which the nurse was carrying. When Dexter first saw her she was standing by the caddy house, rather ill at ease and trying to conceal the fact by engaging her nurse in an obviously unnatural conversation graced by startling and irrelevant grimaces from herself.

“Well, it’s certainly a nice day, Hilda,” Dexter heard her say. She drew down the corners of her mouth, smiled, and glanced furtively around, her eyes in transit falling for an instant on Dexter.

Then to the nurse:

“Well, I guess there aren’t very many people out here this morning, are there?”

The smile again–radiant, blatantly artificial–convincing.

“I don’t know what we’re supposed to do now,” said the nurse, looking nowhere in particular.

“Oh, that’s all right. I’ll fix it up.”

Dexter stood perfectly still, his mouth slightly ajar. He knew that if he moved forward a step his stare would be in her line of vision–if he moved backward he would lose his full view of her face. For a moment he had not realized how young she was. Now he remembered having seen her several times the year before–in bloomers.

Suddenly, involuntarily, he laughed, a short abrupt laugh–then, startled by himself, he turned and began to walk quickly away.

“Boy!”

Dexter stopped.

“Boy–“

Beyond question he was addressed. Not only that, but he was treated to that absurd smile, that preposterous smile–the memory of which at least a dozen men were to carry into middle age.

“Boy, do you know where the golf teacher is?”

“He’s giving a lesson.”

“Well, do you know where the caddy-master is?”

“He isn’t here yet this morning.”

“Oh.” For a moment this baffled her. She stood alternately on her right and left foot.

“We’d like to get a caddy,” said the nurse. “Mrs. Mortimer Jones sent us out to play golf, and we don’t know how without we get a caddy.”

Here she was stopped by an ominous glance from Miss Jones, followed immediately by the smile.

“There aren’t any caddies here except me,” said Dexter to the nurse, “and I got to stay here in charge until the caddy-master gets here.”

“Oh.”

Miss Jones and her retinue now withdrew, and at a proper distance from Dexter became involved in a heated conversation, which was concluded by Miss Jones taking one of the clubs and hitting it on the ground with violence. For further emphasis she raised it again and was about to bring it down smartly upon the nurse’s bosom, when the nurse seized the club and twisted it from her hands.

“You damn little mean old thing!” cried Miss Jones wildly.

Another argument ensued. Realizing that the elements of the comedy were implied in the scene, Dexter several times began to laugh, but each time restrained the laugh before it reached audibility. He could not resist the monstrous conviction that the little girl was justified in beating the nurse.

The situation was resolved by the fortuitous appearance of the caddy-master, who was appealed to immediately by the nurse.

“Miss Jones is to have a little caddy, and this one says he can’t go.”

“Mr. McKenna said I was to wait here till you came,” said Dexter quickly.

“Well, he’s here now.” Miss Jones smiled cheerfully at the caddy-master. Then she dropped her bag and set off at a haughty mince toward the first tee.

“Well?” The caddy-master turned to Dexter. “What you standing there like a dummy for? Go pick up the young lady’s clubs.”

“I don’t think I’ll go out to-day,” said Dexter.

“You don’t–“

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