Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-06-04
nothing more than hard work, and a

nothing more than hard work, and
man"
Norris slapped the table with his
hand
"Oh, no, it's not" he jeered fiercaly
"and don't you go off believing 1t, neith'
er I've worked. I've worked twelve
hours a day. Heating even has work
ed eighteen hours a day-all his life
but we never wrote The Passing Of tn,
Highbinders,' nor the Ships that Never
Came Home nor Tales of the Ten
derloin,' and we never will. I'm a bet
ter news-gatherer than Charlie, l cal
collect facts and l can put them to-
gether we'll enough too, so that If
man starts to read my story he'll prob
ably follow it to the bottom Of the col
umn, and he may turn over the page
too. But can't say the things because
/ can't see the things that Charlie sees
Why, one night we sent him out on 6
big railroad story. 1t was a beat, wee
got it by accident, and we had 1t al
to ourselves, but Charlie came across
a blind beggar on Broadway with
dead dog. The dog had been run over
and the blind beggar couldn't find hi:
way home without him, and was sit
ting on the curbstone, weeping ovel
the mongrel. Well, when Charlie came
back to the office he said he couldn't
find out anything about that railroad
deal, but that he'd write them a dog
story. OF course, they were raging
crazy, but he sat down just as though
it was no concern of his, and, sure
enough, he wrote the dog story. And
the next day over five hundred people
stopped in at the Office on their way
downtown and left dimes and dollars
to buy that man a new dog. Now, hard
work won't do that"
Heating had been taking breakfast In
the wardroom of H. M. s. "Indefatiga-
ble." AS an acquaintance the officers
had not found him an undoubted ac-
quisition, but he was the representative
of seven hundred papers. and when the
"Indefatigable's" ice-machine broke he
loaned the officers mess a hundred
pounds of it from his own boat.
The cruisers gig carried Keating to
the wharf, the crew tossed their oars
and the boatswain touched his cap and
asked, mechanically, Shall return to
the ship, sir?"
Charming stretched on the beach
with his back to a palm tree, observed
the approach of Heating with cheerful
appreciation.
1T is gratifying to me-" he said. "to
see the press treated with such consid-
Grafton. You came In just like Cleo
patra in her barge. If the flag had been
flying, and you hadn't steered 80 badly
should have thought you were at
least an admiral. How many guns does
the British navy give Consolidated
Press reporter when he comes over the
side?"
Heating dropped to the sand and
crossing his legs under him, began
tossing shells at the water.
"They gave this one a damned good
breakfast" he said, 'and some very ex-
cellent white wine. OF course, the ice
machine was broken. 1t always Is, but
then Chablis never should be iced II
it's the real thing"
"Chablis! Ice! Hah!" snorted
Charming. Listen to him! Do you
know what l had for breakfast"
Heating turned away uncomfortably
and looked toward the ships in the har-
Dor.
We'll, never mind" said Charming
yawning luxuriously. 1.-The sun is
bright, the sea is blue, and the conf
dences of this old palm are sooth-
ing. He's a good old gossip, this
palm" He looked up into the rustling
fronds and smiled. HE whispers me
to Sleep" he went on, "or he talks me
awake-talks about all sorts Of things
things he has seen-cyclones, wrecks
and strange ships and Cuban refugees
and Spanish spies and lovers that meet
here on moonlight nights. It's always
moonlight in Port Antonio, isn't it?"
You ought to know. you've been
here longer than l." said Heating.
And how do you like 1t, now that
you have got to know it better? Pret-
ty heavenly, eh?"
Pretty heavenly" snorted Keating
Pretty much the other place! What
good am / doing? What's the sense OF
keeping me here? Cervera isn't going
to come out, and the people at Wash
ington won't let Sampson go In. Why
those ships have been there a month
now, and they'll be there just where
they are now when you and are bald
I'm no use here. All do is to thrash
across there every day and eat up moro
coal than the whole squadron burns In
a month. Why, that tug of mines cost
ing the G. P, SIX hundred dollars a day
and I'm not sending them news enough
to pay for setting 1t up. Have you seen
'em yet?"
Seen what? Your stories?"
mo, the ships"
Yes, Scudder took me across once In
the Tduna.' l haven't got a paper yet
so l couldn't write anything, but"
well, you've seen all there Is to IT.
then; you wouldn't see any more II
you went over every day. It's just the
same old harbor- mouth, and the same
old MORO Castle, and the same old
ships drifting up and down; the
Brooklyn full of smoke stacks, land
the New York with her two bridges
and all the rest Of them looking just
as they've looked for the last four
weeks There's nothing in that. Why
don't they send me to Tampa with the
army and Shafter-that's where the
story is."
"Oh, | don't know" said Charming
shaking his head. II thought 1t was
bully"
Bully, what was bully?"
"Oh, the picture" said Charming
doubtfully, "and-and what 1t meant
What struck me about It was that II
was so hot, and lazy, and peaceful
that they seemed to be just drifting
about--just what you complain of.
don't know what | expected to see: