Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-29
THE EARLY BIRD
A SHORT STORY.
By HENRY M. RIDEOUT.

tCopyrght)
HE heather Chinee is pecu-
l. liar observed the second
officer. See the IN
genooity o that feller a'
the winch. now.
On q white-hot deck the coolies uoueeu
,,d c,auored Area they shouteu'
n.e-.ne oversize into the humping lorcha.
The chain ran down rafting, TIL thes
e,pnsled the winch to stop, with yelio"
hand. uavine abstractedly, and wall Oh
Abs" Grunts and thuds rose out OF 'he
lorcha in a thin but pungent clouu Vi
dust: then the watchers at the ran cr'eo
"Virra-virra-virra. n frenzy. 'ne nan.
clanked taut and grant siisi'i
brown gunny bags swung lhpoaru WIN
rush poised over the black !a"h VI '"@
hatch twired and suddenly uropPeu o"'
of sight to the hollow iron music oi VIC
winch ard a polygot scream Oh
dar-arrea-guar n aba o! s
The winch bOy-an odd H''s
chinaman i'm pastoral straw bonnet,
wi1h a sheath knife sticking out, IKE
rudimentary tail stump. from uhoer ms
blue dungaree-had hard eNei'eu
muscle; instead of the running, s"ea'iis
tug which a white man s,Nes 'n - ne
III
trick. Two bricks. dashed with rope! arm
at the proper point, swung Deio"; anu d
"Hyiam', coolie had scored one mechahi-
cal triumph over Glasgow hrm.
,nd He pausedd TO kick a Bengal ooA-
Lab down the adder and followed ~
cut his sampan loose. ShrlekS OF piotes.
oh. zoolum.-Zubberdust! -iose Gnu
drifted astern over the glaflng hdIooi
The second remounteo; lnoppi1s ,,tterl
Lic NIT helmet
inp-"black swine charing all the paint
on my stanch.ons. ,,.
.Ingenooity.' he resumed. Iha' what
counts. ~ :. >,.s
This he elaborated after tiff1n. IN Mac Ts
cabin against the silent engines. we
ali smosed Mrs Middletons chetoots'
scratched prickly heat, and cursed Chit'd-
gong. ..
But American ingenooity's the most
ingenious. he declared, pa ,Inot ton,
What? Oh Scots be hanged. Hoot, loot.
Mean by it? Definition? Why, sure. -
mean-er-that quality whlch-er--" WHICH
promotes the general happiness with me
least fuss to all concerned mere sou
are Now let me talk. Ana mere Is
the second story:
Before | was in steam this away.
knocked round in oil ships spell ana
fought some in the Philippines. and fore
that -prospected considerable III ColoraHo
and China and all over. we |. crowd OIL
us boys was sent up into Cuihe,|' ~
some MISUNDERSTANDING highlands. and
way up in from Fort de kock. We found
some gold and lots o dengue fever But
the Dutcnmen naturally didn't pay us as
per contract. and we got back to BATAVIA
with something over JAM guilders between
four of US. for all our worldly goods
We put up at the best hotel and inquired
how long it would last.
We ought to moved out quick. but after
the bosque things was so interesting in
that little Dutch burg that we kept stay
ing On. Seemed like metropolis. And
presently. what with oircuses. and bio
graphs. and mylords. and Duck and-D Dor
Uses. and-and entertainments, we found
that a conservative estimate left 3j4
guilders in debt by the time the next boat
sailed. Chinese boat and deck passage at
that Twasn't altogether our fault, We'd
have cleared out and been all right I've
always argued. If the King Of Siam hadn't
come over to investigate Buddhist ruins
and paddy growing He was hot on mod