The bee., 1909-01-07

mariner
"Ili bet ye." said the second. that
ye're thlnkin' OF Fedora"
Fedora" said the frat was
South American country. but you
needn't look for Il on the map because
Il amt there"
"And this Is why" said the second.
"And this Is why" said the first
THE ruler Of Fedora was an uneasy
kind Of q potentate, always wanting
laws TO be passed The people mustn't
do this under penalty, and they
mustn't do that under penalty, and
with one thing and another It went
from bad to worse until he had a
law passed that the people must al
ways stick to the literal truth under
penalty OF imprisonment without the
option Of a fine"
"And that's how It began" said the
| second ancient mariner.
We'll, sir, Bill and me landed in
Fedora the next day. filled with inno-
cenee about the passage Of incriminat-
ing regulations, and we made a few
remarks, promiscuouB. about a sea
serpent or two, a days run we made.
tidal wave we saw and q few odd
things like that"
Thinking no harm"
"And hrst thing we knew we were
In Jail, tight But we hadn't been in
long when another string OF prison
ers we're conducted to the dungeons.
Six. What are you IN forT said we.
First man said: I was telling a GER
tain senoritA that she was the most
beautiful in all Fedora and they seized
me- Second man said: I was telling
a friend about the wisdom Of my in
FAINT child and they seized the Third
man said: I was relating my expert
ence on a recent fish ng expedition
and they seized me. Fourth man
said: I was telling an old fogy that
was glad too see him and they
seized me- Fifth man said: I was
telling the boys that my wife didn't
care how late / stayed out at night
and they seized me-. Sixth man said:
I was telling a stranger how fast my
horse could trot. and here am.
Seniors. said /. as they all began
to groan, rest easy, for I feel an ap-
prehension that we shall soon have
company"
"A lot OF company" corrected the
frst.
"Muy muchendos." said the second.
And while was still making the OBJ.
servation about the propinQuity Of
company the doors swung open again
and a dozen more prisoners we're cast
into the cells. Three we're merchants,
three were lawyers. one waa the
weather man, one was q huckste1 who
had been crying Fresh FISH, one was
q real estate agent who had seeI
caught saying that the plumbing waa
In good order, one was q painless
dentist and the other two had heen
caught signing business letters Yours
truly"
This Is outragiOsos,' said one.
'Mallyl But some one shall suffer
for thls' said another. and the rest
began to gnaw their nails and hisA be.
tween their teeth.
"'Senors. said /. fear not, for un.
less / greatly mistake the signs and
portents. Fedora ls In for larks.'"
WhereuDOn the two ancient mari
ners made merry and we're glad.
by eight o'clock that night we
were six In a cell" said the first
by nine o'clock We we're ten IN
CELL" said the second.
by ten O'Clock they we're stumnp
them into the courtyard" said The
1rst.
And stin they came. In the morn
ing the court had 10 sign an order en-
larging the confines OF the Jail to in
clude the market place and the grand
opera house and before noon the or
der was amended TO include the regi
mental barracks. the racetrAck and
all the public parks. Feeding the pris
Oners became a serious problem and
when a cook got tired all he had to
do was TO tell about storm he had
seen once where the hailstones we're
as big as hens eggs and Immediately
he was placed under arrest, and in
stead Of feeding others somebody had
to feed him.
We'll, sir, the prisoners came in by
the shoals and droyes and the court
had to pass another order still further
enlarginB the limits OF the Jail to
include all that territory lying within
the boundaries OF Fedora. Next morn
ing there was no breakfast and you
ought to have heard the way the pris.
oners howled, insisting on their constl.
tutional rights to be fed
but, senors, the cooks are All in
JAM said a voice.
"'Then let the judges pardon them.
cried the prisoners.
but, Benors, the judges are in jail. |
too, said the voice.
Then let the legislature pardon
themr
But the legislature is also In JAIL. |