davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The evening world., 1911-09-26
By O. Henry

ness me! more visitors coming for din
ner, and nothing to eat but the sand
which In here But you won't think
about that when you meet her. Mer-
riam. You'li propose to her too"
To make a hard story soft. Merriam
did meet her and propose to her. lie
found her 10 be q woman in black. with
hair the color OF a bronze turkeys
wings. n mysterious. remembering
eyes t%hat-wsll. that looked a. II she
might have been q trained nurse looking
on when Eve was created. Her words
and manner. though. were translucent.
as Bibb had said. She spoke vaguely Of
friends In California and some OF the
lower parishes In Louisiana. The tropi-
cal climate and indolent life suited her:
che had thought OF buying al orange
grove later on; La Pas. all in all.
charmed her.
Merriam's courtship OF the SPHINX
lasted three months. although he did not
know that he was counting her. He was
using her a. an antidote for rsmorse
until he found. too late. that he had
acquired the habit. During that time he
had received no news from home, Wade
Gd not know where he was. and he was
rot sure OF Wade's exact address and
afraid to write. lie thought he had
better let matters rest as they were for
q while.
Ono afternoon he and Mrs. Conant
hired two ponies and rode out along the
mountain trail as far as the little cold
river that came tumbling down the foot
hills. There they stopped for 4 drink,
and Merriam spoke his plece-he pro-
posed. as Bibb had p~rophesied.
Mrs. Conant gave him one glance Of
brilliant tenderness. and then her face
took on such 4 strange. haggard look
that Merriam was shaken out of his In
t~oxxlcation and back TO mis- senses.
II beg your pardon. Florence" ne
said, releasing her hand. but IN have
10 hedge on part of what I said. can't
ask you to marry me, OF course. ! killed
a man In New York-a man who was
my f~riend-snot him down-in quite Q
cowardly tanner. understand. or
course the drinking didn't excuse It.
Well. ! couldn't resist having my say:
and I'll always mean II. I'm here al a
IL gltiye from justice. and-I suppose
that ends our acquaintance"
Mrs. Conant plucked little leaves as
s%iduously from the low-hsngins branch
OF a nme tree.
II uppose So" she said In low and
oddly uneve tones: but that depends
upon you. III be as honest az you were,
I poisoned my husband. / am q self
made widow. A man cannot love q MUIR
deress. So ] suppose that ends our 40
quaintance."
She looked up at him slowly. His face
turned a little pale and he stared at her
blankly, like a deaf-and-dumb man who
wa wondering what II was all about.
She took . swift step toward him. with
st!f arms and eyes blazing
The evening world., 1911-09-26

through II. But the second act was
~songiess. 30 this piece will probably be
remembered as something a bit different
from Others Mr.. Conan has dashed on.
Ne may have felt the need OF 4 nttls
change. Anyway. there was every indi-
eSton last night that The Little Mill
ienaire' will coin money.
Mr.. Conan told US hat II We didn't
1.-The the piece he would write another
rust lth> that! However. he need not Be
teid. perhaps. that The Little Million.
AAro'' made a big hit with the crowd.
He has put most OF his cieverness into
Ne songs. New Yorkers," for one.
rzaat straight nome. with its bright aat-
Ire. especially whan the chauffeurs
goAlmsd In and wondered how they would
3aSe at . resort IN the Sound whore
buckets Of champagne and pretty girls
Raas them fear they we're in for .
long wait.
sydney Jsrvls and Miss Josephine
Whittell may nave been iibelous a. q
'pstp Of hlAokmailins newspaper report
~. but their song. w Do the Dirty
Werk." was 10 amusing that even .
h~erd-he.rted editor could forgive thsm,
It.xy really had the argument all In
y " favor when they plaintiveiy sx-
Ained. cts hard to b. bad in . musi-
way"
n Lswls's perpetual Hangover"
tpgtA rather heavily upon the tunslesa
bsoond sct. Lewis 10 funny In his a
eSd Nj. ~ohan has given him very much
~ best { II. but the role of the wine
Assat 10 baily In need Of a little bromo-
sNltssr.
Il was q relief to get THE Musical
Noon" In the third act. This SOM 10 a
clever hit at moonstruck singers. from
"Aady Mack to Nora Bayes and her
husband Jack" II combines snatches
Of old songs nat the audience was glad
TO welcome back,
Having proved that he had a few ideas
Of his own. Mr. Conan came out with
"Barnum Had the Right Idea" and was
kept singing It until he ran out Of
verses. The newest idea of all was
Wrought out IN The Dancing We'd
Stag" an ingenious bit OF pahtomime by
Mr.. Conan. his graceful dancing partner
Lila Rhodes, and George Parsons.
Among others who kept thikgs moving
were George MS doting mother and
tricky father.
''The Little Millionaire" can bank on
its songs. They're as good As Cohan's
daoGns.
The evening world., 1911-09-26
Facts Cleaned From Everywhere.

duesd by disease. Trees can even be In
oculated and made 10 furnish the COW
stsd sum.
On the thirteenth Of September the
Univsrsity of st. Andrews In Scotland
was 700 years old. The celebration OF
the anniversary was participated in by
Ambassador whitelaw Reid and Andrew
CsnenA
A negro pearl hunter tho other day
found . pearl Weighing forty-ssven
grains In the waters of Lake Boitenesu.
near Shreveport. La. said TO be of
the largest gems Of It's kind IN tho United
States. The finder sold It in Shreveport
for $3.50, and tho purchaser In turn re-
ceived $500 for the stone, The second
owner was a merchant. but the third a
professional buyss. Thts lAst values the
sem at tio.ooa
The evening world., 1911-09-26
Adventures of an
UnattractiVe Girl
BY oAlma Woodward


shA.x o. rhs Nv Tea WoaD.
] cbsved Immediately. she iooksA q
me With . hsif saA. Msif scsera e=xO-
sion in her eyes that frAsht0eA 0sL
was very ssns<ivs-<unAttraotavS -.
ps usually ars).
Up to that time I beiisvs I AaA osv1R.
consciously. looked In q mirror. hsv
what other girls Of my a9s looked ma
and I took II for granted that ! ~
Just like thsm-luke the onas I AAmarsA
I mean.
My standard Of an arl-rouad epoA
sport was . girl VINO could ahinny On q
iagpcle ~ we'll ~ . boy and throw an
overland hall that got somewhere near
the spot she VA aiming At
90. whom. . few days later. my motAsr
oiied in the drssmAksv to alter my
clothes. instead OF being dAIshtsd 10
mink ! wa really osAng 'fusssd" over
and trtmmsd un my soul ~ piunSsd in
the dspths Of AsspAasi
There was . Iot q lace end rsbhon
flying around-two tAangs I had never
been adornsA WatA-heoause bssbed wire
fences and me seugh barb Of trees are
WYNN foes q Sua-0s-eoia
I ~ meAe - sand Tor Aours. n
sssmsl. WAAs 0sv msasursd and pinned
and npDs4 TAan tbsv tackisd my hair
an red 30, that he'd always flown
rscAisssiy eShanA ~, With w q rib
bon or comb - bind Il into one 70.
spsCtsois DsaoA
They fused and fused over my sair.
Each n Of ths dear nstghbors tried
her hand q . coinur~ bsattins q slrl
OF f~ourtssm-And each gave II up IN
despair.
All this e1ms I was standing directly
before . mirror and had never once
glanced at my reflection In the siaa.
annoyed At % muoh hdpstias
about my head without any definite re-
suits' u turned around sharply and aaad
to one OF the woman:
, Wei. why can't you M nv ~, 4,
suit your"
And n answered swsstiy-oA. -
sweetly that I can hear hsr unoty.us
slippery one to this dAyi
because you are not what ons vuuaA
cali a pretty child. my dsasr'
Then I looked In the mirror Az -
nrst time. deliberately and Nh an
scales falkn from my eyss-aad the e.
insertion that met my saxs corroessaAed
what tho woman had said.
was distinctly NOT . prstty 49,
In fact. ! was wildly without ORR
and It was thsn the little pain Arst 80
INTO my heart and . lump tn my tAs~aa
thu wal hard to swaliowi
Te he contnusd.)
The evening world., 1911-09-26

old life. The horrid tragedy in which he
had played such a disastrous part now
began, for the first time since he stole
on board the ~fruiter. a wretched fugi
tive. to lose its sharper outlines. Dis
anc lent assuagement TO his Wow.
Btbb had opened the nood-gates Of .
stream Of long -dammed discourse. over
3oysd to have captured an audience that
lad not suffered under . hundred rspeti-
lions OF hts views and theories.
"Ous year MORE" said Bibb. and I'll
80 back to Gods country. oh. I know
It's pretty here. and you get dolce far
niente handed to you In chunks. but this
country wasn't made for a white man
TO live In. You've got to have 10 plug
through snow now and then and sec q
same of baseball and wear a stif collar
and have q policeman cuss you. Still.
La Pal 10 a good sort OF a p!pe-dream my
old hole. And Mrs. Conant 10 here.
When any OF - feels particularly like
jumping into the sea We rush around to
her house and propose. It's nicer to DO
drowned. And they aay drowning 70 a
delightful sensation"
MANY like her heraf" asked Merriam.
mot any where" said Bibb with a
comfortable sigh. She's the only white
woman In La Pax. The rest range from
. dappled dun to the color of Q b-fiat
piano key. She's been here = year.
Comes from - we'll. you know how .
woman can taik-ask en- 10 say string
ana they'll say crows foot or cats
cradle Sometimes you'd think she was
from Oshkosh. and again from Jackson
vilis, Fla. and tho next day from Cape
Cod"
''Mystery7' ventured Miriam.
"M-weil. she looks IT,. but her talks
translucent enough. But that's a wom-
an. suppose II the Sphinx were TO
begin talking she'd merely say: Good
The evening world., 1911-09-26

II the yarn / am anxious for you 10
read II true. but the Spanish purser OF
the fruit steamer ii Carrsro swors to
me by the shrine Of Santa Guadalupe
that he had the facts from the U. s.
vics-Consul At La Paz-a person who
could not possibly have been cogniIsnt
OF half of them.
As for the adage quoted above. I take
pleasure In puncturinS It by Anirming
that I rca IN . purely nctional story
tho other day the line: BE II so.'
said the policeman" Nothing 80 strange
has yet cropped out in Truth.
When H.. Ferguson Hedges. millionaire
promoter. investor and man-about-Nsw
York. turned his thoughts upon matters
oonv1vdal. and word OF II went down
the line" bouncers 0 a precautionary
turn at the Indian clubs. waitars put
ironstone china IN his favorite tables,
cAb-drivers crowded close to the curb
stone in front of all-night cafes. and
careful cashiers In his regular haunts
charged UP a few bottles to his account
by way Of preface and introduction.
As a money power a one-milnonaire
Is Of small account In a city where the
man who cuts your slice Of beef behind
the free-lunch counter rides to work In
his own automobile. But Hedges spent
his money as lavishly. loudly and show
lily as though he were only . clerk
sq~uanderins a weeks wages, And, after
all. the bartender takes no interest In
your reserve fund. He would rather
look you up on his cash regtAter than In
Bradstreet.
On the evening that the material allie
cation OF facts begins Hedges was bid
ding dull care bsgone In the company Of
Ave or six good fsliows-aoouaintances
and friends VINO had gathered In his
wake.
Among them were two younger men
Ralph .Aerrism. . broker, and Wade. his
friend.
Two dssp-ssa eahmsn were chartered.
At Columbus Circle they hove to long
enough to revle the statue Of the great
navigator, un~patriotcally rebukins him
Tor having voyegsd In search Of laa6
|iDStsad ot nqu3d. Nnlns0he evSrte0lI
The evening world., 1911-09-26

Don't look at me like thati' she cried
as though she were IN acute pain. Curse
me or turn you back on mo. but don't
look that way. Am I . woman TO be
teatenT II ! could show you-here on
my arms and on my back are scars
and II a been moro than a year-scars
that he made In his brutal rages A
holy nun would have risen and struck
tho fend down. Yes. ! killed him. The
foul and horrible words that he hurled
at me that last day are repeated In my
eprx every night when ! sleep. And then
came his blows n the end Of my en-
DURANGO. I got the poison that after
noon. II was his custom to drink every
night IN the library before going TO bed
a hot punch a Of rum n wine.
Only from my fair hands would he re-
ceive tt~-because he knew tho fumes OF
spirits always sickened me. That night
when the maid brought II to me ! sent
her downstairs on an GRAND. Before
taxing him his drink I went to my little
private cabinet and poured into II more
than q ~teaspoonful OF tincture OF AGO.
n~its-enough to kill throe men. 30 had
learned. had drawn 5000 that l had
In bank. and with that and a few things
In a satchel I left the house without any
one seeing me, As I passed tho library
] heard him staKger up and fall heavily
on q couch. I took u night train for
New Orleans. and from there ] sailed to
the Bermudas. / finally cast anchor In
La Paz. And now what have you to
sny3 Tar you open your mouthT'
Merriam came back to iffa
Florence he said earnestly. II want
you. ! don. care what you've done. II
tho world''-
Ralph" she interrupted. almost With
a scream, ''bs my world"
Her eyes melted; shs relaxed magnin-
Gently n swayed toward Merriam 20
suddenly that he had to Jump to catch
her.
Dear mel IN such scenes how the talk
runs into artificial prose. But II can't
te helped. It's the subcons cious smell
OF the footliyhts' smoke that's In all OF
US. Stir tho depths of your cooks soul
sufficiently and h will discourse IN
Bulwer-Lyttoness.
Merriam and Mrs. Conant were very
happy. He announced their engagement
at the Hotel oriila del Mar. Eight for
eignerA and four native Astors pounded
a!s back and shouted insincere ~oonEratu-
.lRtions at him. Pedri.o. the Casttlian-
hammered barkesp. wac goaded to extra
duty until his ABILITY would have turned
a Boston cherry phosphate clerk . pale
lilac with envy.
CTo BE ~Continusd.)
The evening world., 1911-09-26
The Beginning.

-HE heroine Of every story.
every play. y beautiful One
would think the world peopied
with descendants of the n
- Do Milo. II the writer's. play
wr1shts and artists are to b believed.
And yet this u so far from truol
There are 30 many Of ~ who have got
ten q lean deal In the beauty line. Why
doesn't sor- one write Of themf
I'm going toll I'm going TO write OF
myself-an u~nsttractivs Giri-to let the
world know Just what u means 20 a
woman to be dsprivsd OF the facial
charm. magnetism ana destinations h
should be the attributes Of nsr ser.
III never forget che Arst day I discev-
crsd I waa not beautiful. I was four
teen. and the sharp little pain nat name
to my heart that day hhs . CROWNS
In intensity ever since.
You 80. UP 20 thAt time I was 5ust
''ons Of the boys." I WAIVED fences.
played baseball and roasted potatoes In
the cornsr lot along with the = . Ct
them. And I was popshari
Then one day. when I was fourtssn, .
nelghbor, who had no children Of her
own. but VINO considered herself . hTvt
AID 20 mothers. came ovR 10 the house
ard told my mother thAA I was getting
too old to race around With the boys
that was, and that my LEGS looked vsry
long and should b covered With . mod
est length sdrt.
That put the seal 70 my good times
and also, alas, TO my popular day.
for I'VE never been popular sincei
After the kind % nsEhbor had had
her tea and gingerbread and departed
nv the front door my mother came out
on tho back porch and called me. We
were playing French-and-indAan va. !
remen. .or. and the Indian part NM
tested itself chieny in biood-ourduns
warwhoops and . portion of the snake
anoe. 40 she had to call moro tflAn once
The evening world., 1911-09-26
The Romance Of q New
York Exile and the
"Only Woman"

the party maroonsd IN the . Of .
chap cafe uptown.
Hedges was arrogant. overriding and
ouarrelsome. He was burly and tough,
iron-gray but vigorous. good for the
rest Of the night. There was . dispute
about nothing that matters-and the
h~ve-hngered words were passed-the
the lists. Merriam played the role Of the
verbal Hotspur.
..sdges rose quickly, seized his chair.
swung II noe and Amashed wildly down
at Msrrlam's head. Merriam lodged,
drew q small revolver and shot Hedges
In the chest. The leading roysterer
stumbled, fell In . WHY heap and lay
stu.
Wade. a commuter. had formed that
habit Of promptness. He tuTgled Mer-
Ram out a side door. walked him to the
corner, ran him q block and caught a
Ransom. They rode Ave minutes and
then got cut on q dark corner and dis
mtksed the cab. Across the street the
lis hts Of a small saloon betrayed Its
hectic hospitality.
go in the back room OF that saloon"
aaid Wade, and wait. I'll 60 ind out
what's doing and lot you know. You
may lake two drinks while I I'm gone
no more"
At ten minutes to 1 o'clock Wade 70.
turned.
Brace up, old chap" he said. THE
ambulance got there Just as I did. The
doctor says he's dead. You may have
one more drink. You lot me run this
thing for you. You've got to skip. I
don't believe q chair ds legally q deadly
weapon. You've got to make tracks.
that's all there 10 to It,"
Merriam complained OF the cold quar-
ulously and asked for another drink.
Did you notice what big veins he had
or the back Of his handsf" no said. II
never could stand-I never could
Take one more" said Wade, and
then come on. III see you through"
Wade kept his promise so we'll that at
II o'clock the next morning Merriam,
With q now suit case full Of new clothes
and hair brushes. stepped quietly on
board q little 60o-ton fruit steamer at
an East River pier. The vessel had
brought the seasons hrst cargo OF lines
from Port Limon and was homswAFd
bound. Merriam had his bank balance
Of $500 In his pocket In large bills, and
brief instructions to pile up a. much
! water v he could between himsAlf and
New York. TAsrs VA 10 time ~ any.
tAla0 oegA
The evening world., 1911-09-26
Fashion
Whispers.

HE three -picce velvet suits vSa -
general favor.tss chs ssaoou-
Tho wnlSt. however, 10 usueSiy
made Of chiffon or some orhsr sn.ear
fabric. and Is trimmed with the vsavst,
a. . waist of h latter material wsusd
DO rather heavy.
Those suits ara usually trimmed wSeh
braid or fringe. IND later on fur win b
irst choice.
T~hroe-pieos suits are also larrcdy
made up of silk serge. wool velour.
peau Dc so,ris n other high-class now
city fabrics. The favor1te colons are
black, blu~ goldsn brown and purple
Wide fur bands will be largely ussd
for trimming evening and afternoon
dressea These stripe II fur are from
three to four inches wide. and both
black and white fox AZ well as skunk
and molesnn ere used to edge
tunica or shi1ta Narrow stripe of
matching fur No used for tho waist.
An evening dress OF brocade silk had a
plain perticoat with two broad bands OF
black fox. above which was a nins-inch
band Of Vsn4ns lace.
Metal effects VIII b. very popular In
footwear the coming season. Tho metal
brocades. gold and silver. are all used.
and whom the satin slipper Is preferred
II 10 always slAboratsiy embroidered In
metal effects.
Tho displays OF new waists strongly
emphastze tho fact that veilings are 20
bs very popular. Most OF the waists to
no worn with the tailored suits are Of
tho soft. cltnging fabrics, such as crepAs
de Chtne. silk crepons. lace or chiffon.
with tho latter strongly IN the lead.
The Innings of tho majority OF the
waists are OF white or cream nets and
laces.
Even though the small and medium
sized hats are being used for general
wear. the picture hat will retain ~
popularity cci orssv vsnR
The evening world., 1911-09-26
The World and the Door

From Port Limon Merriam worked
down the coast by schooner and sioop
to Colon. thence across the tsthmus to
Panama. whore he caught q tramp
bound for Callao and such intermediate
ports - might tempt the discursivs
skipper from his course.
1t wal at La Pas that Merriam de-
cidsd to land-La Pas the Beautiful. .
little ~harborless town smothsred IN q
living green ribbon that banded the foot
OF a cloud piercing mountain. Here the
little steamer stopped TO tread water
while the captains dory took him ashore
cocoanut market. Merriam went too.
with his suit oase. and remained
Kalb, the Vics-ConSul, . Grasco-Ar-
menian citizen OF the United States.
born In Hesse-Darmstadt and educated
In Cincinnati ward prlmariss. considered
all Americans his brothers and bankers.
Ho attached himself to Merriam's elbow.
introduced him to every one In Ia Paz
" 10 wore shoes. borrowed 80 And went
back to his hammock.
There was q little wooden hotel IN tho
edge Of a banana grove. facing the sea.
tina catered to the tastes Of h few
foreigners that had dropped out Of the
world into the trhte Peruvian town. At
r.alb's Introductory. Shake hands with
-" he had obsdisntly exchanged
manual salutAtions with q German doc
tor, one French and two italian nnsr-
chants, and three or four Americans
who were spoken Of ~ gold men. rub.
Der men. mahogany msn-anything but
men Of living tisTus.
After dinner Merriam sat In . corner
OF the broad front Galsria with Bibb. a
vermonter interested In hydraulic min
irs, and smoked and drank Scotch
''smoks." The moonlit ssa. spreading
in..nitely before him, seemed to separate
him beyond all apprehension from his
The evening world., 1911-09-26
CHARLES DARNTON.

own play At his own
theatre. A pair of legs
parted company and
started of In opposite
directions: an eye
cooked itself at the
rim OF a tilted straw
hat; a slender yellow
stick cut circles IN the
air: a wsistilns was
reduced to Q wrinkle;
aud two feet with but
a single thought car.
ried out the rest of
the programme.
Everything was a.
1t used to be. even to
the confidential wink.
-Four q At the
managsr's de * and
the authors table had
u,nRkAA -
The evening world., 1911-09-26
A NARROW ESCAPE.

4 groceryman In a small town over In
jersey had an exhibit OF eggs In his
show window, On Easter he removed
the sggs and filled the window space
with q brood Of tiny chickens. A col
cred woman who dealt at the store
happened to pass and stopped, aghast.
'sWeil. To- do !an's sake!' she ex-
elstmed. ~ dem eggs hahn done gone
en- hatched!'
SWELL. what OF ~" smil!nEly querisd
. %oystsndsr,
'VWhat of it," cried the colored
Woman. "Why. jes' fnk what a narrer
seoaps dat lie angel cake dat ! made
a. 0ddAr day had from bein' Q chicken
p0tDls!"-Philsde lphia Telegraph.
The evening world., 1911-09-26

THE Chinese water bunaloss. when
turn the wheels Of tho machines
used for raising water for trriga-
ton purposes, are biindfoldsd to prevent
dizziness.
There were In Argentina At the CLOSE
Of 1910 approximately 1876 miles OF rail-
ways. AZ compared With lA.sO miles N
1909. II v estimated that the length OF
the Argentine railways In mi will BE-
1850 miles.
The grapevine was brought from me
island Of Crete and introduced into tho
Cansrtes In the Aftssnth o~sAtuyy-ths
source Of the famous wine named for
these tAsnds.
1xpsrtmsnts prove that the Snma =
6sA - hAgAiS DHssA ~ ~. ~ ~
The evening world., 1911-09-26


| The ueoond instaiment Of MAX, }
! TE 10Y SCOUT" viii be found ;
! on another page Of te-dAy's I
Dvs1AAS world.
The evening world., 1911-09-26

FAVORITE dodge TO set your
story read by the public 10 to
assert that It 10 true. and then
add that Truth 10 stranger
than Fiction. l do not know
The evening world., 1911-09-26

'!hsnI iSio' oJ pouo'eusJ' ress o"''
PART I.
The evening world., 1911-09-26

NSpsrtmsnts prove that the sums q
lDeA - hl0Aiv DstssA ~ 40. ~ ~
Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-07-14

finger nails for more than ten years.
His hair and beard also were uncut.
Two months ago he fell, fracturing
his right leg. The wound was neg
lected until Thursday, when the coun-
ty authorities ordered him to the st.
Louis hospital When he was brought
in DR.. Dyer, the receiving room ply
stefan, ordered the nails pared. Smith
objected strenuously, but finally sub
mitted. He insisted, though that he
void have lockjaw if the nail were
cut of the index finger of his right
hand. This nail is more than three
Inches long He declared he had it
cut once, and had had lockjaw, and
did not want to take any chances.
When they reached the toe nails,
the attendante took chances on cut
ting the mans toes. The nails had
reached a length averaging three
inches, and had turned under, until
they reached we'll under the soles Of
his feet.