The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1908-09-03

KNHGHFS DEeR4gEEkM
BY o. HENRY.

Copyright 1906, by the S. S. Mcclure Col
The knights are dead;
Their swords are rust,
Except few who have to hust-
LIE all the time
To raise the dust
~ EAR READER-lt was summer
time. The sun glared down
upon the city with pitiless fe-
rocity. 1t is difficult for the
sun to he 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 fizz now-as soon us all
the other people got theirs. The hospi-
tails We're putting in extra cots for
bystanders, for when little woolly dogs
loll their tongues out and say "Woof,
woofv' at the heas that bite 'em and
nervous old black bombazine ladies
screech MAD dogr' and policemen be-
gin to shoot somebody is going to get
hurt. Thc man from Pompton, n. j.,
who always wears an Oyercoat in July
had turned up in 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 it. 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 waists. actors and base
ball excuses grew thinner. Yes. it was
summer time.
A man stood at Thirty-fourth street
waiting for Il downtown cara man
Of forty. gray haired. pink faced. keen
nervous plainly dressed. with Il harasS
ed look around the eyes. He E'iD 4
. his forehead and laughed loudly whel
fat man with an outing look stopped
+ and spoke with him.
, "No, siree-' he shouted, with def
ance and scorn. "None Of your olt
MOSQUITO haunted swampS and SKY
scraper mountains without elevator!
for me. When I want to get ava!
j, from hot weather l know how to do it
: New York, sir, is the finest summe
:, resort in the country. Keep in tn
: shade and watch your diet and don
get too far away from an electric fan
. Talk about your AdirOndacks and you
= Catskills There's more solid comfor
:, in the borough of Manhattan than il
all the rest of the country together
No. stree! No tramping up perpendic
uar cliffs and being walked up at 4 II
the morning by Il million flies and eat
ing canned goods straight from the cit.
;. for ME. Little old New York will. tax
few select summer boarders. Com
). forts and convenienceS of hOmes-that
the ad. that answer every time.
y "You need a vacation" said the ia
70 man, looking closely at the othel
II You haven't been away from tow
in years Better come with me fo
a two weeks anyhow. The trout in til
n Bcaverkill are jumping at anythin
g. now that looks like a fly. Hardin
"a writes me that he landed three poun
- brown last week.
,o "Nonsense.' cried the other mai
,s go ahead if you like and bogg
:, around in rubber boots, wearing you
~ self out trying to catch fish. When
J., want one go to Il cool restaurant al
= order it, laugh at you fellows whel
- ever think of you hustling around
:, =, the heat in the country thinking yt
;. are having good time. For me +
=. ther Knickerbocker's little improve
~ . farm with the big shady lane runnil
- through the middle Of it,
~ The fat man sighed ove< his friel
~ and went his way. The man w
thought New York was the create
~ car and went buzzing down to
''s office. On the way he threw away
newspaper and looked up at ragg
- patch Of sky above the housctops.
"Three pounds!' he muttered abse
". "And Harding isn't liar.
lieye, If l could-but It's impossible
they've got to have another montl
another month at least"
In his office the upholder of urb
midsummer joys dived headforem
into the swimming pool OF busine
Adkins, his clerk, came and added
spray of letters, memoranda and t.
grams.
At 5 O'Clock in the afternoon
busy man leaned back in his of
chair. put his feet OH the desk !;
unused aloud:
II wonder what kind of bait Hard
used?"
She was all in white that dag, I
me thereby Compton lost n bet to Gair
be Compton had wagered she would W
light blue. for she knew that was
favoritc color, and Compton was l
lionaire's son. and that almost
el. him open to the charge Of betting o
a sure thing But white was her cho
rs and Gaines held up his head with tv
,eI ty-fivc's lordly air.
the The little summer hotel in the mo