Evening star., 1909-09-05

too angelic myself, as |
sat here in the front
office with my collar and necktie shed and my cuffs
rolled back. | was wonderin' whether it was
chickenpox l was developin a case of baby rash,
and was ready to throw chair at my grandmother
when in drifts my crouch antidote.
One of the Cheer Up Boys? Not your life Get
me in that frame of mind, and then let of them
artificial grin idiots spring smile button and
he needs to renew his accident policy. No, it was
only Duke Pollard
But maybe you never had the pleasures? Not
Never mind You'll live just as long; for if ever
there was case of ingrown CROUCH Duke carries it
around. ust naturally hates himself, Duke does
and you and me, and all the rest of the population
It's worn burrows between his eyes, that scow habit
Harry Woodruff and Henry Dixey class. Oh, he's
there with the Greek profile, and the manly shoul
ders and that sort of thing but this curled lip busi
ness and the sit-eyed way he has of lookin at you
spoils the effect
TUST viewin' that chronic crouch of his, though
and KNOWN how little there is for it always
acts on me the opposite way. l chirks right off.
Hello, Duke, says l. . How're they usin you
rotten ever!"
Worse" says he pickin fresh cigarette out of
gold case that has his monogram in diamonds on
the lid. Rotten no name for it,
Did your man lay out the wrong pair of silk
socks says l. or couldn't you find your favorte
waiter at the club"
Couldn't find anyone in this beastly hole" says
he kickin chair into place and straddlin it. All
gone most Of EN- in Europe. Huh! Europe! The
invalids taking mud baths in Germany; and ltaly's
full of feas. No travelling for mel
There's quite bunch OF your friends left IN
Newport amt there?" says l.
''Friends!" says he. II haven't any. If had
shouldn't go to Newport to EN- It's getting to
be almost noisy as Coney Island"
Too bad about you, Duke says I, feen
much better can grin. . What you ought to have
is little world of your own made to order
He only grunts and drags his chair over to the open
window, where he can scowl down at the five o'clock
mob streamin' 42d-st. towards the Grand
Central.
Oh, he congenal companyi But m usei to
Duke. He shows up here every now and then, and
always in the same state of mind You'd think, to
hear him growl, that his sad case. 1t IS. He
every day. There's nobody to look after him but
mother and two aunts and forty-seven servants
more or less It's been that way all his life. Ever
since he got to the fact that there always
three four standin around to do things for him,
he's been tryin' to think of something he couldn't
have.
7 OOkS like everybody in town was startin' off on
II vacation don't it says l. stroin' up behind
him and glancin' out at the procession. Duke, why
don't you take vacation?"
Bah! he growls. This is the third time this
week that old joke has been worked off on me-.
About the sixth time, says l, it'll get laugh
out of you. Gwan, You croaker! You wear a face
that would sour bottled milk. Why don't you go
jump off the bridge?"
Thanks, says he: Il prefer listening to you
trying to be comic. It's a slower death, but more
certain.
You might think, to hear backguardin' each
other that in few minutes we'd be mixn it on the
mat but that's only Dukes way of ben friendly.
It's as he ever gets to feelin good natured,
and the first thing | know he's askin what
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