The sun., 1901-12-02
A SURFEIT OF COLD.

The citizen found the night so hot that
ne couldn't sleep. After tossing about on
the hot sheet for couple of hours, and
changing pajamas, and polling his head
under the cold water spgot, all to no avail,
he gave it up, put ON his lightest suit of
clothes and went out for the air 1t was
about one o'clock in the morning. He
strolled over to Lafayette square and took a
Seat on one of the benches alongside a
hobo, who didn't appear to be much both.
cred by the heat. The hobo was leaning
back with his arms over the back of tna
bench, his right heel superimposed upon
his left toe. He was clipper and broad
awake.
Evening" said the citizen, painting and
mopping his brow
Thanks" said the hobo. Same TO you"
Warm" said the citizen.
"Um-well," said the wanderer, deliber-
ately, maybe it is. But like It."
Like it?" exclaimed the citizen, paus.
ing in his brow-mopping. "You belong t.
the salamander family, then?"
'Nope-name's Allen-Bill Allen" re.
piled the pilgrim. but the weather sniti
me all right. Hotter the better Y'see,
I've had so many cool jobs in my time thai
now, when I'm taking it easy, I enjoy the
heat-the sizzlnger the better"
"Cool jobs, eh?' said the citizen. For
instance%
We'll" said the hobo, gazing dreamily at
the red-hot, tlaring moon, "the last time
was in France | held down for six moni hs
job in a Rheims wine cellar. 1t was III
the hetacombs, or catacombs, or what-d 'ye.
all~'em--some kind of old ruins, anyway.
| They stored hundreds of thousands OF bot
ties Of new champagne in these cellars.
The temperature OF the cellars had to be
maintained at an even 40 degrees, or the
champagne bottles would ha' busted and
the product lost. 1t was my job to pass
along among the racks from morning un-
til night, picking up the bottles and giving
'em little joggle, SOS the sediment
wouldn't settle. Nice job, in some respects,
| too. Got 20 francs week. and all found.
But / couldn't get used to the chill Of those
catacombs, or hetacombs, or what-d'ye-call-
'em. Made my bones ache. Gave me the
blues. l hankered for the sunlight all the
| time. Worst OF it was, when | quit the
| job, in December, there / was face to face
with winter and hadn't enjoyed any sum
mer at all, for I'd put in most Of my time
down there in temperature of 40 degrees.
Yours" put in the citizen, Sis sad, sad
story"
"Well yes, it is, kind o." admitted the
hobo. II figured, however, upon enjoying
! the heat of the next summer to make up
for the summer ] had lost, but it was not
to be. When the following summer set in
| / found myself in Persia. Persia's right
hot country, and ! was Just in my element
but l had to get some kind Of job, OF
rourse, to keep a-going, and, as luck would
have it, the job that | nailed was one that
kept me in a state Of chill all the rest Of
the summer"
"And that job was?" languidly put in this
citizen.
"Cold air pumper," replied the hobo, fish
ing clay pipe out of his tattered garments
and filling it with the fragments Of cigal
butt. "Iou see, the shah of Persia hac
had plate glass house manufactured fol
his use during the hot months. The plat,
glass house was sunk in 4S fathom of wate
in lake near the shah's palace. There wa
an elaborate apparatus for pumping ali
into this water-tight house Of plate glas
when it was lowered in the lake, but non,
Of those Persian gazabos knew the frs
thing how to manage the air pump. So the,
seized upon me, because was an American
they correctly figure over there that al
American can do any old thing-and prac
tically made me accept the job Of cold ali
pumper in ordinary to his sun and moon
let's the shah. 'Twasn't such bad job, a
that, Though it was mighty cold down there
The shah seemed to enjoy the cold immense
ly-he and | were the only two occupant
throughout the summer OF the submarine
house--but I didn't, for I'd lost one sum
mer in those Rheims wine cellars, and i
kind o made me sore to lose another tina
way. Temperature of that plate glass hous
beneath the waters Of the lake averaged
about 42ss, However, was well paid fo
the job. Got the equivalent of 40 scads pc
week in American money I'd ha' suffere,
good deal more from the chill ii the shah
my only companion down there hadn't KEEP
me pretty well boozed up all the time. Fac
is, the duck had pretty good edge on him
self throughout the summer we spent be
meath the water. But he was rattin
good fellow, at that. | don't suppose yo
know it, but he talks Irish like bird"
is that so?" put in the citizen, who wa
beginning to feel fairly cool.
Yep" said the hobo. "Talked Irish jus
like a Connemara man. Well | was pei
mtted to leave the Persian capital benin
me when the raw weather set in overhead
although the shah kicked furiously over m
leaving his dominions, and wanted to al
point me brigader general in his army
He was so stuck on having me stay alon
with him, in fact, that had to leave b,
tween two days. | was just bound an
, determined that I'd go to some place the
to get good and warmed up, but luck wa
against me-"
"Ah, yes, yes" put in the citizen, sighir
heavily. yours has indeed been sac
(. sad lot"
6 II meant to make a swift jump then fc
] central India, where could get good an
warm, but the fates were again against m
Only week later ! awoke in Paris, witt
out cent, and of course | had TO imm
diately look for work Would you belle,
il, the only job that | could get in all th'
great city was in cold storage warehous
: packing eggs in lime? Fact! The temper
2 ture of that cold storage warehouse w;
5 gallingly raw-never above 25 or 80 An
the worst of it was that had to accept Il
n job just when the summer was setting il
: | kept the job until January, and then
came back to the cold states and crosse
over to California, SOS to get away from Il
$ snow. Went broke in California---it WI
during one of the hard years ont there-ar
the best ] could do for subsistence was
ship as bo' suns mate on one Of the intern
{ revenue cutters bound for the Aeutian
3 lands to protect the seal fisheries Al
there | rolled around on the deep, in Il
cold and fog, for nine long months, until
MY friend" interrupted the citizen, ri
ing, you'll do. have heard enough. / a
+ as cool as cucumber, and cooler. X
| have accomplished the seemingly impos
/ bic. Here's dollar. doubt not you kno
, in which direction the barrel house lie