The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1908-08-29
The
Interpretation Of an International
Love Affair

desideratum our IIothario in hlue &C
ne marched through the crowded
streets, bent all the energies Of his
.ninKlng powers. Many methods raSid-
y suggested themselves to his feryid
imagination and were as RAPIDLY re-
Jected, and many a smile played over
MS broad face as he saw the "bulr, in
some OF those suggestions
One day. while immersed in deem
thought, he was suddenly aroused by
commotion issuing from a crowd of
small boys in an alleyway. 1t was only
hight between two street Arabs The
others had formed a ring, and various
words of encouragement were offered
Dy the young spectators to the cham
| plons IN the ring. At another time
Michael, who had only recently been
a boy himself would have passed this
matter by. but now he felt that he was
prospectively the head of a family and
that ne would not tolerate such things
On tiptoe he approached the scene of
the combat.
AS Michael approached he heard
some one in the crowd scream: Look
out, there Jim! he's got a knife" The
boys. ranging in every degree OF dirty
lacedness and tatteredness, were too in
tent on the struggle to notice the OFF,
Ger, who reached the outer edge of the
crowd unseen. One of the boy COM
Datants, with swarthy face, scowling
brow and recently acquired black eve.
stood at one side of the ring like a
hunted animal at bay, with his hand
behind his back and concealed under
MS coat-tail. while the other urchin
small and wiry-looking. with his little
nands cllnched and his eyes blazing,
stood like an infantile gladiator. ready
TO spring on his antagonist and dare
the worst. knife and all. In a mo-
ment the policeman had each of them
by the collar.
IN another instant he pulled the
hand Of the swarthy boy from under
meath his coat-tail, and wrenched from
II murderous looking knife. At the
officers approach the crowd Of boys
broke and scampered like rats on the
appearance of their feline enemy; and,
while ne was wrestling the knife from
the swarthy boy, his late antagonist
TOOK advantage Of the opportunity to
regain his liberty, SO that officer and
captive were alone in the alleyway,
The distance to the station was not
far. and the officer thought he would
walk there instead of calling the pa
troll; little Arabs. late spectators of the
combat. peeked from doorways and
alleyways like rats at the mouths of
their holes. and small knots of people
followed them for short distance
and then dropped of.
who gave you the black eye?" said
the officer, looking down from his six
feet on the diminutive little man walk
ing by his side.
He giver ter me-" answered the
child. with a scowl that belonged to
more mature years.
And you can near killing him, and
then you'd be hung"
I'll give it ter 'em yit," Kissed the
boy through his clinched teeth.
You're Eyetalian, amt ye?" queried
the officer.
'Noa, was horned in Greece"
we're Greek, are ye?" half So
liloquized Mr.. O'Callaghan and imme-
diately a secret sympathy sprang up
in the mind of the captor for his cap
tive.
Half q dozen thoughts now jostled |
each other through the officers mind. |
His prospective paternity came upon |
him again; once more he saw the |
Graeco-Irish scion of the O'Callaghan
kicking his infantile heels in midair,
and he softened toward Zoe's COM
patriot.
A thought came-he might be a
brother of Zoe's. and this thought was
voiced by the question: whats yer
name, my boy?"
"Petros; they calls me Pete for
short"
whats yer other name?"
''Zarouski"
That point was settled. Was not
zarouski Zoe's name! They had al
most reached the station, when the
officer suddenly turned around, saying
70 the boy, Come along" and, walk
ing few squares. leo his captive to
his own lodging. Here he locked the
ioor, and, putting the poor little ur-
hin. who thought he was going to be
:ortured to death, In seat opposite
re know what they'll do to ye there?"