The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-08-23

rant, and married her on Slght, they q
started out with a cash capital of one
five-dollar bill and thirty-eight cents
in change, to make their fortune. Then
he told me how many steers and year.
lings he owned, and how much grain
land he'd got inside of wire.
That's dom middlin' well, amt it,"
says he
Come to figure up, it was. and told
him / didn't see why he want in a
fair way to find himself cuttin' into the
grape some day.
1T all depends on the Jayhawker,"
says he. I've got a third int'rest in
that. Course, l amt hollerin a lot
about il yet for IL amt much more'n
a hole in the ground; but if they eve&
strike the yellow there maybe We'll
come on and take a look at New York"
IT'S worth it," says |. Hunt me up
when you do
Il shore WILL" says Hank. Good
luck"
And the last | see of him he was
standin' there in his buckskin pants,
gawpin' at the steam cars.
Now. l amt been spendin my time
ever since wonderin' what was hap
PENN to Hank. You know how ii is.
Maybe I've had him in mind two or
three times. But when | gets that
4
BILE about calm up my last view of
him. So. when il come to buttin' into
a swell Fifth avenue hotel and askin'
for Hank Merrity. | has a sudden
spasm of bashfulness. 1t didn't last
long
eff Hank was good enough for me to
chum with in Bedelia." says l, ''he
ought TO have some standin' with me
here. There want anything 1 could
have asked that he wouldn't have done
for me out there, and | guess if he
needs some one to show him where
Broadway is. and tell him to take his
pants out of his boot tops. it's up TO
me TO do it,"
Just the same. when / gets up TO the
desk. | whispers it confidential to the
clerk. If he'd come back with a hee-
haw | wouldn't have said a word.
was eXpectin' somethin' of the kind
But never a chuckle He don't even
grin.
Hank Merrity?" says he. shakin
his head. I'VE have a guest here
though. by the name of Henry Merrity
Mr.. Henry Merrity."
That's him." says |. "All the Hen
rvs are Hanks when you get west of
Omaha. Where'll | find him.
| was hopin' he'd be up in his room
pIdCllCIl Win the electric llSnI DuI-
tons. or bracin' himself for ride down
in the elevator: but there was no an
swer To the call on the house phone:
so | has to wait while a boy goes out
with my card on a silver tray, squeak
in, Mister Merrity, Mister Merrity,"
Five minutes later l was lowed through
the palms into the Turkish smokin
room, and the next thing | knew l was
lined up in front of a perfect gent.
Say. If it hadn't been fer them butter
milk eyes. you never could have made
me believe it was him. Honest. them
eyes was all there was left of the Hank
Merrity I'd known i'm Bedelia. 1t
want just the clothes, either. though
he had EN- all on.-op'ra lid. four-but-
ton white vest. shiny shoes. and the
rest.-it was what had happened to his
face that was stunnin' me.
The lip drooper had been wiped out
not just shaved off, mind YOU, but
scrubbed clean. The russell color was
gone. too. He was as pink and white
and smooth as a roastin' pig that's
been scraped and sandpapered for a
window display in a meat shop. You've
/ noticed that electric light complexion
some of our Broadway FOUNDERS gets
on? Well. Hank had il. Even the neck
freckles had got the magic touch.
any he Venus. at that: but as he stood,
costume and all, he looked as much a
part of New York as the Flatiron build
in. And while I'm bugging my eyes
out and hOldin' my mouth open, he
grabs me by the hand and slaps me on
the back.
why hello, Shorty. I'm mighty glad
to see you. Put 'er there says he.
"Geer' says 1. Then it's true, Now
I guess the thing for me TO do is to own
up to Maude Adams that 1 believe in
fairies. Hank. who did ito"
Did WHAT" says he.
why, made your face over and put
on the Fifth-avenue gloss?" says 1.
DO l look it?" says he, GRIMM.
Would l pass?''
Pass" says 1. Hank. they could
use you for a sign. LOOkin' as you do
now, you could go 10 any one night
stand in the country and be handed the
New York papers without sayin
word. What l want to know, though, is
how it happened?"
Happen" says he. Shorty, such
things don't come by accident You
buy 'em. You go through torture for
EN-"
Say Hank" says ]. you don't mean
to say you've been up against the skin
Well. he had. They'd kept his face
in steam box by the hour, scrubbed
him with a pumice stone, electrocuted
his lip fringe. made him wear sleep
in mask. and done everything but peel
him alive.
Look at that for a paw says he
"Ain't it ladylike?''
1t was. Every finger nail showed the
half moon. and the palm was as soft as
baby's.
You must have been maxim a bus
mess of it," says /. How long has this
been goin' on?''
Nearly four MONTHS says Hank.
heavin a groan. Part of that time I
put in five hours a day: but I've got
EN- scaled down to two now. It's been
awful. Shorty. but il had to be done"
How was that?" says l.
"On Reny's account" says he. She's
powerful pert at savvyin things, Reney
is. Why. when We struck town I was
wearin' a leather trimmed hat and eat
in with my knife, just as polite as I
knew how. We hadn't been here a day
before she saw that something was
wrong. Hank says she. this amt
where we belong. Let's go back'-'What
for?' says I.-'Shucksr says she. Can't
you see? These folks are different from
lis Look at 'emi' Well 7 did and IL