Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-01-30

into a nap, and slept soundly on, as
reckless of the cabs swift pace and
continuous iouncing as of the sun
light glazing full in his tired young
face
He may have slept twenty minutes;
he awoke faint with drowsiness, ting
ling from head to toe from fatigue, and
in distress of queer qualm in the pit
of his stomach, to find the hanson at
rest and the driver on the step, shak-
ing his fare with kindly determination
"Oh. o. right he assented surlily, and
by sheer force of will made himself
climb out to the sidewalk; where, hav-
ing rubbed his eyes, stretched enor-
mously and yawned discourteously in
the face of the east end. he was once
more himself and hundred times re-
freshed into the bargain Contentedly
he counted three shillings into the
cabby's palm-the fare named being
one-and-siy.
THE shilling over and above the
tips for finding me the waterman and
boat" he stipulated.
"Right-o. You'll mind the 'orse a
minute, sir?"
Kirkwood nodded. The man touch.
ed his hat and disappeared ineZplicab-
ly. Kirkwood needlessly attaching
himself to the reins near the animals
head, pried his sense Of observation
open and became alive to the fact that
he stood in quarter of London as
strange to him as had been BermOnd-
sey Wall
To this day he can not put name
to it: he surmises that it was Wrap
ping
Ramshackle tenements with sharp
gable roofs lined either side of the
way Frowsy women draped them
selves over the window stills. Pallid
and wasted PAROLES on childhood con
tested the middle OF the street with
great, slow drays, drawn by enormous
horses. On the sidewalks twin streams
of masculine humanity flowed without
rest, both bound in the same direc-
ton; dock laborers going to their
days work Men of every nationality
known to the world Che thought) pass
ed him in his short five-minute wait by
the horses head; Britons, brown East
Indians, blacks from Jamaica, swart
Italians, Polak;, Russian Jews, wire
drawn Yankees, Spaniards, Portu-
guese, Greeks. even a Nubian or two
uniform in these things only, that
their backs were bent with toll, bowed
beyond r-ending, and their faces stamp
cd with the blurred typestamp of the
dumb laboring brute 4 strangely hid
eoUs procession, they shambled OH,
for the most part silent all uncouth
and unreal in the clear morning glow
The outlander was sensible Of some
relief when his cabby popped hurried
~ out of the entrance to tenement,
dull-visaged, broad-shouldered water
man ambling more slowly after.
''Neyvy Of mine, sir, announced the
cabby; "and fust-ryte waterman;
knows the river like book, he do
The nephew touched his forelock
sheepishly.
Thank you" said Kirkwood; and,
turning to the man, Your boat?" he
asked with the brevity of WEAKNESS.
This wye, sir"
At his guides heels Kirkwood
threaded the crowd and, entering the
tenement, stumbled through gloomy
and unsavory passage, to come out at
last upon q scanty, unrailed veranla
overlooking the river. Ten feet below,
perhaps, foul waters purred and eddied
round the piles supporting the rear Of
the building. On one hand a ladder
like flight of rickety steps descended
to a floating stage to which heavy
rowboat lay moored in the latter's
second waterman was seated bailing
out bilge with rusty can,
Ere we are, Sir" said the cab
mans nephew, pausing at the head OF
the steps. Nov, where's it to be?''
The American explained tersely that
he had message to deliver friend
who had shipped aboard a vessel
known as the Alethea, scheduled To
sail at tloodtide; further than which
deponent averred naught
The waterman scratched his head