The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-29

board a little 500-ton fruit steamer at an
East river pier. The vessel had brought
the seasons first cargo OF lines from
Port Lfmon. and was homeward bound
Merriam had his bank balance of S21O0 in
his pocket in large bills, and brief instruc-
lions to pile up as much water as he could
between himself and New York. There
was no time for anything more.
From Port Limon Merriam worked
down the coast by schooner and sloop to
Colon thence across the isthmus to Pana-
ma, where he caught a tramp bound Tor
Callao and such intermediate ports as
might tempt the discursive skipper from
his course,
1t was at La Paz that Merriam decided
to land-La Paz the beautiful, little
harborless town, smothered in living
green ribbon that banded the foot OF a
cloud-piercing mountain. Here the little
steamer stopped to tread water while the
captains dory took him ashore that he
might feel the pulse of the cocoanut mar
ket Merriam went, too, with his suitcase
and remained
Kalb the vice consul, Greco-Arme-
MAN citizen of the United States, born in
Hesse-Darmstadt and educated in Cincin-
natl ward primaries considered all Amer
leans his brothers and bankers. He at
tached himself to Merriam's elbow, intro
duced him to every one In La Paz who
wore shoes. borrowed $40 and went back
to his hammock.
There was a little wooden hotel in the
edge of a banana grove, facing the sea,
that catered to the tastes OF the lew 1or-
eigners that had dropped out of the world
into the triste Peruvian town. At kalb
Introductory, "Shake hands with -,
he had ohediently exchanged manual sal
utations with a German doctor, one
French and two Italian merchants, and
three or four Americans who were spoken
of as gold men, rubber men, mahogany
men-anything but men of living tissue
After dinner Merriam sat in a e.,rner of
the broad front galeria with Bibb, Yer
monter interested in hydraulic mining,
and smoked and drank Scotch "smoke."
The moonlit sea, spreading infinitely be-
fore him, seemed to separate him beyond
all apprehension from his old life. The
horrid tragedy in which he had played
such a desperate part now began, for the
first time since he stole aboard the fruiter
a wretched fugitive. to lose its sharper
outlines.
lone year more" said Blbb, land I'll
go back to Gods country Oh. | know it s
pretty here, and you bet dolce far niente
handed to you in chunks, but this country
whit IN in
You've got to have to plug through snow
now and then, and see a game of base
ball and wear a stiff collar and have a
policeman cuss you. Still La Paz is a
good sort of a ppe-dreamy old hole And
Mrs. Conant is here. When any OF US feel
particularly like jumping into the sea we
rush around to her house and propose.
It's nicer to be rejected by Mrs. Conant
than it is to be drowned. And they say
drowning is a delightful sensation" -
"Many like her here?" asked Merriam.
mot anywhere" said Bibb, with a COM
Portable sigh. "She's the only white wo-
man in La Paz. The rest range from a
dappled dun to the color OF b-fiat piano
kew. She's been here year. Comes from
well. YOU know how woman can talk
ask them to say string and they'll say
crows foot or cats cradle Sometimes
you'd think she was from Oshkosh, and
again from Jacksonville Fla, and the
next day from Cape Cod"
"Mystery?" ventured Merriam.
"M-well, she looks it, but her talk 8
translucent enough. But that's woman.
supnose If the Sphinx were to begin
talking she'd merely say, Goodness me!
more visitors coming for dinner, and moth
inp TO eat but the sand which is here
But YOU won't think about that when you