The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-04-21
CHAPTER VIII.
OLD GEORGE.

A stranger making a call in that
portion of North Kensington which
lies in the vicinity of Ladbroke grove,
by some mischance lost his way. He
ander through many prosperous
crescents and quiet squares redolent of
the opulence of the upper middle class
es, through broad avenue where neat
broughams stood waiting in small car
riage drives, and once he %blundered
into a tidy news. where horsy men
with great hissings made ready the
chariots of h Noting Hill plutocracy.
1t may be that he was in no particu-
lar hurry to arrive at his destination,
this stranger-who has nothing to do
with the story-but certainly he did not
avail himself of opportunity in the
tinued his aimless wanderings. He
found K~ensington park road, a broad
thoroughfare Of huge gardens and
walled %forecourts, then turned into a
side street. He walked about 20 PAGES,
and found himself in the heart of SUM
land.
1t is no ordinary slum this little
patch Of property that lies between
Westbourne grove and Kensington park
road. There are no tumbled down how
els or no1some passages; there are
streets of houses digniied with flights
OF steps that rise to pretentious street
doors and areas where long dead me-
malls that served the need Of the
lower middle classes of other days. The
streets are given over to an army Of
squalling children in carrying styles
of dirtiness, and the halls of these
houses are bare OF carpet or covering
and in some the responsibility of lease.
hold is shared by eight or nine families.
all plugging together.
Ihey are streets OF slatternly women
who live at their front doors. arms
rolled under discolored aprons, and on
Saturday nights one street at least de-
serves the pithy but profane appella-
ton which the police have given it
Little He'll"
IN this particular ~thoroughfare it
is held that of all signs the greatest
is that which is associated with spy
ing. A spy is a fairly comprehen-
slve phrase In Cawdor street. 1t may
mean policeman, detective, school board
official. rent collector, or the gentle-
man appointed by the gas company to
extract pennies from the slot meters.
10 CaWdor street came a mar who
rented one Of the larger houses. To
to the surprise of the agent. he Of
Tered his rent monthly in advance; to
the surprise Of the street, he took no
dodgers. 1t was the only detached house
in that salubrious road. and was No.
49. The furniture came by night, which
is customary anlongst people who con-
centrate their last futtering rag Of
pride upon the responsibility of their
household goods. Cawdor street. on the
qui vive for the lady of the house.
learns with genuine establishment that
there was none. and that the new
conner was a bachelor.
Years ago No. 40 had been the abode
of a iobbing builder. hence the little
! yard gate that flanked one side. and
it was with satisfaction that he Cav
dor streeters discovered that the new
occupant intended reviving the ancient
splendor Of the establishment. At any
rate. a board was prominently dis
played bearing the inscriptions:
j. JONES, BUILDER AND 4
CONTRACTOR.
and the inquisitive Mr.. Lane fof 7e,
who caught a monlentary vision Of the
yard through the gate, observed of
flee" printed in fairly large letters over
the sid door.
AT stated hours. mostly in the eve
nlng, roughly dressed men called at the
office stayed awhile, and went away.
Two dilapidated ladders made their APP
pearance in the yard, c~onspicuously
lifting their persisted rungs above the
gate level.
Il tried to buy an old builders cart
and q wheelbarrow today" said Mr..
Jones to a workman. "Ill probably
get it tomorrow at my w price, and
it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a few
sacks of lime and a couple of cart
loads of sand and bricks in, also a few
road pitchers to give it a finishing
touch"
The workman grinned.
you've got this place ready in time,
Connor." he said.
Mr.. Connor-for such ~. Jones,
Builder n Contractor" was-nodded
and picked his teeth meditatively with
a match stick.
I've seen for a long time the other
place was useless" he said with a
curse.
TT was bad luck that Angel ound
US there last week. I've been fixing up
this house for a couple of months. It's
a nice neighborhood, where people don't
go nosing around, and h boys can
meet here without being the WISER"
And old George?"
wen settle him tonight said the
other with a frown. Bat is bringing