The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-07-25

toned their vests. They worked list
lessly, and occasionally one of them
would lean back and gaze sleepily out
at the walls and roofs and the distant
ribbon of lake, now dotted here and
there with moving specks.
"A man ought to be pinched for work
in q day like this" Artie finally OBJ
served.
isn't it delightful?" said Miller.
'SThis is the time of year when a man
feels like getting out into the country"
THAT mint no lie, either. You don't
see very many Johnny-jump-ups grow
in along Dearborn street, do your"
DO you expect to get away from
town often this summer?"
Gee, I can't go e far. Since I've
started plantin' my stuff in the bank
and plunkin' in a few cases every month
on the buildin' and loan game, I've got
to play purity close to my bosom, I'll
tell you those. Night before last,
though, 1 was Akin it up with Name to
take a little run over to st. Joe or up to
Milwaukee on the boat. When they let
you ride all day on the boat for a dollar
a throw, why, that's where l cut in
freely. But they don't get my game
at any o. them summer resorts where
they set you back five big, elegant
bucks a day for a room about as big as
that telephone box over there. Then if
you want anything to chew you've got
to square the waiter every time you go
in II dining-room. 1 went up against
one o them places last summer. Icom-
menced OWN money to that hotel be-
fore | got off the train.
IF I'm going to take a vacation said
Miller, I'D rather get right out into the
country. Don't you like it in the coun-
try9"
swell, 1 amt dead sure about that.
1s'pose the country's all right to a man
that's lived there, but you take some
wise boy that was brought up in town
ard you throw him out on a farm and
he's the worst ever. You've seen them
boys around the union station comm
in with their r~ed-topped boots and high
hats and paper grips-well, when you
see them fallin' into coalholes and bein'
snaked out by fake hotel-runners, O
think they're purity new, don't you?
Well, say, there amt one of them that's
half the horrible mark that some Chi
eago dub is when he goes up against
that farm game. If he don't look like
p yellow clarinet in "a hours you can
mark me down for a sucker. They
can't spring none O. that happy-child-
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. business
on me. I've been next, TIl tell you"
II didn't know that you were ever on
a FARM said Miller, laughing"
II was there once, all right, an 1 got
1t throwed into me SO hard that I was
good and sore, too. Four years ago
thissummer-thatwas beforemyfather
died-my Uncle Matt, that's got a farm
a little way from Galesburg, wrote for
me to come down and visit EN-. The
old gentleman asked me if I wanted
togo, and I said: Sure thing. In a min
ute I'd been readin' them con story
books about pickin' flowers and goin'
hshin' and dublin around the woods
out in the country, an 1 thinks to my
self: This is a cinch. I'll go down there
and dazzle them jays So 1 went down
there, and a cousin o. mine, Spencer
Blanchard, met me at the train with a
buggy and drove me out. 1 got there
in time for supper, and they all gave
me the glad hand and jollied me up,
and | kind O. thought that first night
that I'd be a warn proposition out
there. Well, holy smoke, about the
time they got the dishes washed up
h uncle says to me: Iguess we'd bet
ter turn in What do you mean?' 1
says; go to bed? Sure thing says he.