Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1908-10-31

KAGHFA DRKkM
BY o. HENRY.

~ EAR READER-lt was summer
time. The sun glared down
upon the city with pitiless fe-
rocity. 1t Is difficult for the
sun to be ferocious and exhibit com
junction simultaneously. The heat was
oh, bother thermometers! Who cares
for standard measures anyhow? 1t
was so hot that
The roof gardens put on so many
extra walters that you, could hope to
get your gin tizz now-as soon as all
the other people got theirs. The hospi-
tails were putting in extra cots for
bystanders, for WI hen little woolly dogs
loll their tongues out and say "Woof,
woof"' at the fleas that bite 'em and
nervous old black bombazine ladies
screech Mad dog" and policemen be-
gin to shoot somebody is going to get
hurt. The man from Pompton, n. j.,
who always wears an overcoat In July
had turned up In a Broadway hotel
drinking hot Scotches and enjoying his
annual ray from the calcium. Philan-
thropists were petitIoning the legisla-
ture to pass bill requiring builders to
make tenement fire escapes more COM
modious, so that families might die all
together of the heat instead Of one or
two ut time. So many men were tell
ing you about the number Of baths
they took each day that you wondered
how they got along after the real lessee
OF the apartment came back to town
and thanked 'em for taking such good
care Of 1t. The young man who called
loudly for cold beef and beer in the
restaurant. protesting that roast pullet
and Burgundy were really too heavy for
such weather blushed when he met
your eye. for you had heard him all
winter calling in modest tones for the
same ascetic viands. Soup, pocket
books, shirt aists. actors and base
ball excuses grew thinner. Yes, 1t was
summer time.
man stood at Thrtyfou:th street
waiting for a downtown cara man
of forty, gray haired, pink faced. keen,
nervous, plainly dressed, with harass-
ed look around the eyes. He wiped
his forehead and laughed loudly when
a fat man with an outing look stopped
and spoke with him.
mo, stree" he shouted, with def
ance and scorn. "None Of your old
mosquito haunted swamps and sky
scraper mountains without elevators
for me. When l want to get away
from hot weather | know how to do 1t.
New York, sir, is the finest summer
resort In the country. Keep in the
shade and watch your diet and don't
get too far away from an electric fan.
Talk about your Adirondacks and your
Catskills! There's more solid comfort
In the borough Of Manhattan than in
all the rest of the country together.
No. stree. No tramping up perpendic-
ular cliffs and being walked up at In
the morning by million flies and eat
ing canned goods straight from the city
for me. Little old New York will take
a few select summer boarders. Com
forts and conveniences Of homes-thats
the ad that | answer every time"
You need vacation" said the fat
man, looking closely at the other.
"You haven't been away from town
in years. Better come with me for
two weeks anyhow. The trout in the
Beaverklll are jumping Mt anything
now that looks like a fly. Harding
writes me that he landed three pound
brown last week"
NONSENSE" cried the other man.
GO ahead If you like and bogsle
around In rubber boots, wearing your
self out trying to catch fish. When |
want one l go to cool restaurant and
order 1t. | laugh at you fellows when
ever l think Of you hustling around In
the heat in the country thinking you
are having n good time. For me Fa-
ther Knickerbocker's little improved
farm with the big shady lane running
through the middle OF It,"
The fat man sighed over his friend
and went his way. The man who
thought New York was the greatest
summer resort In the country boarded
car and went buzzlng down to his
office On the way he threw away his
newspaper and looked up at a ragged
patch OF sky above the housetops.
"Three pounds he muttered absent
ly. And Harding. isn't liar. | be-
lIeve, If l could-but it's impossible
they've got to have another month
another month at least
In his Office the upholder OF urban
midsummer joys dived headforemost
into the swimming pool of business.
Adkins, his clerk, came and added
spray OF letters, memoranda and tele-
grams.
At o'clock in the afternoon the
busy man leaned back In his Office
chair, put his feet on the desk and
unused aloud:
81 wonder what kind Of bait Harding
used?"
She was all In white that day, and
thereby Compton lost bet to Gaines.
Compton had wagered she would wear
light blue, for she knew that was his
favorlte color, and Compton was mil
llonalre's son, and that almost laid
him open to the charge of betting on a
sure thing. But white was her choice,
and Gaines held up his head with twen-
ty-five's lordly air.
The little summer hotel In the noun
tains had lively crowd that year.
There were two or three young college
men and couple of artists and a
young naval officer on one side. On
the other there were enough beauties
among the young ladies' for the corre-
spondent of a society paper to refer to