The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-06-14

face" said he, an il give me quite a
start TO see i'm. so l puts down the
pan l was sCourin'. an goes out 10 see
what he wants. The first thing l no
ticed about i'm was that he had on a
longish kind of opera cloak with a big
hood 10 il, an then / see that he had
a cage of parrots in his hand.
thought he was one of them Eyetalians
WOrkin' at IN wharf next US.
Hist" says he as soon as he claps
eyes on me. putin his finger 10 his
lip, an l0okin' 'rOun' over his shout
der like tn villain does at tn theay-
ter. L am pursued
BE you indeed? says ! for
know Spanish pretty well, an that
was tn lingo he spoke. Wei, I don't
wonder none at il. You ought 10 be
anyway, you look tn part all right
HOWsomever, 1 takes him in, him an
--a-ss cage of green parrots. an asks
him If he was hungry.
90 No tengO hambre.' says he; 'tengO
miedo.' Meanin' he was too scared TO
eat
Well, says I. what can / 90 for
you?
4 ~ have here says he. tn r'yal
birds of paradise stolen long ago from
III hangin' gardens of Babylon An
he held up the cage for me to see. In
side was four little green parrots sech
as l have seen hundreds OF in tn
woods roun Santiago. They was set
tin on q couple Of wooden benches
half froze, an lookin' solemn as owls.
Oh course, / see then that he was
loony, an I reckn J oughter've gone
FOR IN police, but he didn't look a
mite dangerous, only scared TO death,
so / waits 10 hear what more he has
10 say. First he takes a good look our
of tn winder To see if any one was
after him, an then he puts IN cage
on tn floor, an sets down.
4 am the last of the Merryvin-
gians,' said he, glarin' at me
Too bad says /, sOOJhinly. shak-
in my head. I'm all broke up TO hear
il. but somebody's got to be tn last or
ev'ry family, an you'll get over il in
time. Was your people we'll known
on IN island ! asks him. MerryVin-
.gia sounded some like a Spanish name.
4rhey most generally ends I'm ia or 'ez'
or COS lige Garcia or Nelasquez Of
CampOs. or any Of them titles you
hnds on tn band Of a 50-cent cigar.
Well known! cries he, scornful-
like, an lookin' daggers at me. Well
known, l sh'd say they was. Ny an
cesters was kings Of Tarshish.'
oh. no. thinks /, was they? I'll
bet it's heap more likely they come
from Ethiopia: FOR he was one OF tn
blacklist Cubians I ever lays eyes on.
You've quite a pedigree, I OBJ
serves pleasantly. Looks to me like
you'd oughter have kinfolks all 'roun'
tn world. Any one here n New York
you known
He jumps up like a shot when I
ASKS him that. Any one here In New
York l know! he says 'Caramba!
nay muchos, rnuchOs. There's my cou-
sin, tn Dock Of York, an my uncle,
tn Gran Alarmer of ThiDet, an my
father in-law, tn shah Of Persia. At
any moment Pm lolNin' for 'em TO
dicover me. an make me give 'em
back tn birds of paradise
- Well, this is too many for me,
thinks 1; I'm gOin' for help, You Jest
set there for a moment 1 says TO
him; I'm be right back an out I
starts TO look for a cop. But l hadn't
morn crossed III gangplank when
runs into Bill Gladox. who's actin
third mate aboard tn Gogoburn,
though he amt no real certihket.
Bill, says 1, Tiers a party aboard
, named Merryvingia, a kind Of Cuban,
} / reck'n, an worse locoed thin a bed
bug. He's got some green-colored pa
roaueets I'm a mouse trap that he says
is birds Of paradise
'Sufferin' Moses! gasps Bill, let's
have a squint at him So back we
goes an hadn't morn opened III gal
ley door when Merryvingia catches
sight of Bill, an let's loose a yelp OF
Joy.
- 'Gracias a dos" he cries 'Foun'
at last, tn long-lost son of tn en-
press dowageri' An ne makes a glad
rush for Bill. who promptly skips be-
hind tn table, an picks I'D a chair
Call him on. he yells, or I'll bash
his crazy head in
4" Why, Bill says I sorrowfulIy
this amt no way to treat an OF
friend what's glad TO see you. He says
you're tn long-lost son of tn empress