The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-01-12
VI o r 3 n
Of the
Lady Lefty

off to walk in the direction of the town,
with a half formed idea Of looking in
at his club.
At his club he found a letter in his
box from his particular chull, who
had been spending a month shooting
elk in Oregon. 1t read:
Dear Old Man-Will be back on the aft
ernoon you receive this. Will hit the
town on the o'clock boat Get seats for
the best show going-my treat-and ar
range to assimilate nutriment at the
Poodle Dog-also mine. I've got miles of
midnight. Yours, JERRY.
I've got stand of horns for you, Ross,
that are glory halleluiah.
"Well, I can't co." murmured VIII
bur as he remembered the assembly
that was to come off that night and
his engaged dance with 10 Herrick.
He decided that it would be best to
meet Jerry as he came off the boat and
tell him how matters stood. Then he
resolved, since no one that he knew
was in the club and the installment of
the Paris weeklies had not arrived,
that it would be amusing to go down
to the water front and loaf among the
shipping until it was time for Jerry's
boat.
Wilbur spent an hour along the
wharfs, watching the great grain ships
consigned to "Cork for orders" slowly
gorging themselves with whole har-
vests of wheat from the San Joaquin
valley; lumber vessels for Durham and
South African ports settling lower and
lower to the waters level as forests Of
pine and redwood stratified themselves
along their decks and in their holds;
coal barges discharging from Nanai-
mo; busy little tugs coughing and nuz-
cling at the tanks of deep sea tramps
while hay barges and Italian white
halls came and went at every turn. A
Stockton river boat went by, her stern
wheel churning along behind like a
huge net reel; tiny maelstrom of &C.
tivity conferred about an Alaska COM
mercial company's steamboat that
would clear for Dawson in the morn
ing.
No quarter of one of the most pic
turesque cities in the world had more
interest for Wilbur than the water
front. In the mile or so of shipping
that stretched from the docks where
the China steamships landed down past
the ferry slips and on to Meiggs' wharf
every maritime nation in the world was
represented. More than once Wilbur
had talked to the loungers of the
wharfs, stevedores out Of work, sailors
between voyages, calkers and ship
chambers men looking-not too ear
nestly-for jobs, so that on this occa-
sion when little, understood fellow in
dirty brown sweater and clothes Of
Barbary coast cut asked him for
match to light his pipe Wilbur offered
a cigar and passed the time Of day
with him. Wilbur had not forgotten
that he himself was dressed for an aft
ernoon function. But the incongruity
of the business was precisely what
most amused him.
After a time the fellow suggested
drinks. Wilbur hesitated for a mo-
ment. It would be something to tell
about, however, so, "All right, I'll drink
with you,' he said.
The brown sweater led the way to
sailors boarding house hard by. The
rear of the place was built upon piles
over the water, but in front on the
ground floor was barroom
Rum an gum" announced the
brown sweater as the two came in and
took their places at the bar.
Rum an gum, Tuck Waffle you
have, sir?''
"Oh, don't know" hesitated VIII
bur. Give me mild Manhattan
While the drinks were being mixed
the brown sweater called Wilbur's at