The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1904-06-09

full He said tteat there was one small
room. | said promptly | woald take
it. He looked at me-. | am six feet
four inches high. He said tie room
was very small. | took it again. The
room was small. l discovered that at
night when ! tried to get into it. But
I opened the hall door and made my
bed ON the floor with my feet in my
room and my head well out in the hall
The other boarders coming up to their
rooms in the night manifested a dis
position to walk on my face, so | re-
yersed my position and slept with my
feet in the hall and my head in my
room. Then they stepped on my feet.
So l cunningly constructed a barrier
by putting my steamer trunk in the
hall and placing my feet in ambush
behind that. The guests who came in
late at night hit the trunk as they
stumbled heavily along in the dark
ness and plunged forward entirely
over my feet without touching me at
all or disturbing me in the least
They used strange language in the
darkness. They mathematical in
Portuguese, Norwegian, German, Jap
anese and in other tongues that l could
not comprehend, so that | cared not
how terrible their words. l needed
them not, but turning over fell again
into tie deep, sweet slumber that comes
only to the innocent and good.
But before 1 went up to bed l sat
in the hotel writing room and wrote
letters. The hotel writing room was
also the parlor and the barroom and
the office. 1t is very convenient to
have so many rooms in one. There
were two Americans at the hotel. They
Old not like Chemulpo. For two weeks
they had been trying to get a boat
that would take them back to the
world. There were no more boats.
There was only now and then a boat
to Japan. The government had seized
all the boats and turned them into
transports. The two Americans were
sad. They were marooned.
They said that all day long they sat
on the high hill back Of Chemulpo and
stared at the dreary waste Of water
spread out before them in the hope
Of sighting a ship that would take
them to Shanghai. None ever came.
They, with four others, had chartered
boat at Shanghai and paid $50 yen ($75)
apiece to get to Chemulpo. They were
willing to lay 200 yen or 300 yen to
get from Chemulpo to Shanghai.
There's nothing dom for us here"
said one Of the sad faced men. Il
didn't have no right a-comin'. was
an easy mark, all right. Think of a
man sellin' what I'm sellin' comm up
here to Korea. Oh, l got what was
comm to me all right. Think of me
a-comin' here! Think of itv'
He paused to give me time for con-
sideration.
What is your business?" l finally
asked after long pause.
II hate to tell you," said the sad
stranger. You'd try to sell me gold
brick, you'll think I'm so easy"
l assured him that l had no gold
bricks and that I would not think i'll
of him.
"Well, then, guess just guess the
most unlikely thing in the world that
a man could make money at in this
darned country, that's jest about a
mile and a half from the jumpin' off
place"
you're press agent for lecture bu-
reau," hazarded.
hn in
1 cogitated. Then / said, you're
walking delegate for labor union"
"Nope; you're way off, mister Say"
here my new friend lowered his voice
and, leaning over, tapped me impress
lively on the knee-"say, mister, I'm
a-goin' to tell you the truth. I'm
travelin' man for toilet soap factory"
He leaned back and looked at me
while I tried to realize the terrible
news.
"a travelin' man sellin' toilet SOAP"
he repeated-"a-sellin' toilet soap. Do
you understand? A-sellin' a high
grade, PERFORMED toilet soap to these
here Koreans. What use they got for
toilet soap? I gave one Of 'em a bar
Of my soap jest to get a sale started
Say, hope to die If he didn't take
three bites out Of it before I could
stop him, and If I hadn't stopped him
he'd "a chewed it all up. I'm a-goin'
back to the States. I'm goin' on a
boat. If can't get boat I'll hire
Junk; If I can't get a junk I'm a-goin'
to SWIM