Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1907-04-27
ADVENTURE OF THE
FREAK DINNER,

ANA~AhNA
Judge Carson rang the bell, and Parker
came in and said:
"Yessir!"
Mr. Carson, who was absorbed in his
newspaper, stared at him dreamily for
several seconds.
Parker" he said presently, 81 think
l think you are going to be bushran-
ger"
Then Mr.. Carson relapsed into his
brown study.
Parker waited with exemplary patience
for full five minutes, and then he ven
tured
rs that all, sir?"
"All what, Parker?"
| 1t was obvious that Parker's presence
had been completely forgotten.
about being a bushranger sir?"
eyes, that's all for the moment"
beg pardopt sir; but when do we
start ?" he said; and you could tell from
| the deprecatory tone in which the ques
| ton was put how conscious he was of
oversteppng the freedom allowed him by
| his master.
Start where ParkegG'
For where they do the bushranging,
sir. | had an idea that-that-" Park
| er faltered nervously.
eco on" said Mr.. Carson encouragingly.
81 had an idea that bushranging was
only done in Australia, sir"
II believe you are correct, Parker.
Bushranging has been hitherto confined
to Australia Australia was the original
home of the industry"
"Then when do we start for Austria
| liza? %
australia Good heavens, you don't
think l am going to Australia"
! Parker was painfully abashed, for he
was unable to deny that he had thought
| so.
Beg pardon, sir; but understood you
to say something about bushranging, and
if we are not going to Australia
| Parker was too much fustered to fin
ish his sentence, and came to a sudden
stop.
Parker" observed Mr.. Carson, in that
pleasant drawl of his, 81 have never tried
to conceal from you that l hold very
poor opinion of your mental apparatus.
| IldNt CNCl liiCd w NOhSN0A iiNh~A ~
that opinion, Parker?"
Never. sir"
'Then / am sorry to say that the silly
remarks YOU have Just made compel me
to rate your intelligence at even a lower
degree than formerly. Because bush
ranging has hitherto been only practiced
in Australia, you assume that it can new
er be practiced anywhere else. Such pow
erty of imagination strikes me as pitiful.
When things are as we know they are
in the commercial world here in England,
does it not occur to you that we are
bound not merely to support home indus
tries, but, so far as we may, to introduce
new ones? If we engage in the bush
ranging business at all, we shall engage
in it in London You may 90, Parker"
Parker. who had been long since anx-
ious to get out of the room went with
out word.
But this conversation had very consid-
cradle results.
1t confirmed Mr. Carson in a definite
purpose which up till then had only been
a hazy idea.
He resolved to be a bushranger at least
for one evening, and he had derived the
notion from his newspaper.
1t is impossible to say how certain par
agraphs 90 the round of the press, but
it was reported in quite a dozen neWspa-
pers that a number of gentlemen, who
had amassed large fortunes in the Aus
tralian gold fields, had determined to
dine together under such conditions as
would wildly recall to them their early
struggles in the colonies.
These paragraphs excited the greatest
interest and as the public were all agog
for the fullest particulars, a number of
lerterprising reporters were duly commits
stoned to find out all about it. and were
not long in discovering that the locale of
the dinner was to be the Hotel Iosmo.
politan.
The courteous manager very willingly
submitted to be interviewed.
YES" he said. you may take it from
me that the dinner will be held here. A
substantial deposit to cover the initial
expenses has already been paid. This
: was necessary because the gentleman
who is organizing the dinner desires to
remain anonymous. The guests will be
limited to twelve. and viii be representa-
tive of the largest mining interests in
the antipodes. | can't tell you their
names because | do not know them.
These gentlemen have no desire to
obtain cheap notoriety. They are bent
, upon spending a pleasant evening to,
gether under circumstances which will
rrfuring back to them the primitive sur
} roundings of their early colonial life"
The reporters We're. of course, disap.
pointed that they couldn't get names, but
the obhging and courteous manager was
in other respects so lavish of information
that they couldAkot possibly complain.
He conducted them to the grand hall
n spacious apartment on the first floor
ana acted the part of Snowman.
r This. YOU see, has been transformed to
reproduce as accurately as possible an
isolated cabin in bush township OF ono
of the Back Blocks. The dinner viii he
served in the cabin. The billy will he
boiled and the damper will be cooked bv
the gentlemen themselves; they will frv