The Caucasian., 1913-11-30

but LlS0EpUOl duu LIE ldu luush Li
common. We were without decorous
clothes or ways and means of exist
| ence. and, as the saying goes. misery
certainly does enjoy the society Of ac-
| completes.
"Our job on old McSpinosa's planta-
ton was chopping down banana stalks
and loading the punches of fruit on
| the backs Of horses. Then a native
dressed up in an alligator hide belt,
machete and a pair of AA sheeting
paiamas. drives 'em over to the coast
and piles 'en up on the beach.
"You never been In a banana grove?
It's as solemn as a rathskeller at
| a. NJ It's like being lost behind the
scenes at one of these mushroom mu-
! sical shows You can't see the sky for
the foliage above you. and the ground
/ is knee deep in rotten leaves, and it's
so still that you can hear the stalks
growing again after you chop 'em
down.
"At night me and Liverpool herded
In lot Of grass huts on the edge of
the lagoon with the red, yellow and
black employees of Don Jaime. There
we lay fighting mosquitoes and listen
ing to the monkeys squalling and the
alligators grunting and splashing In
the lagoon until daylight. with only
snatches Of sleep between times.
1--WE soon lost all idea Of what time
of the year it was It's just about 80
| In nopoyohor and .Innp
and on Fridays and at midnight and
election day and any other old time.
Sometimes it rains more than at 9th
ers, and that's all the difference you
notice. A man is liable to live along
there without noticing any fugiting of
tempus until some day the undertaken
calls In for him just when he's begin
ming to think about cutting out the
gang and saving up little to invest in
real estate.
"I don't know how long we worked
for Don Jaime. but 1t was through two
or three rainy spells. eight or ten hair
cuts and the life Of three pairs Of sail
cloth trousers. All the money we
earned went for rum and tobacco. but
we ate, and that was somethnG.
"All of a sudden one day me and
Liverpool find the trade Of committing
surgical operations on banana stalks
turning to aloes and Quinine in our
mouths. It's seizure that often comes
upon white men in Latin and geo.
graphical countries We wanted to be
addressed again in language and see
the smoke OF a steamer and read the
real estate transfers and gents outfit
ting ads in an old newspaper. Even
Soledad seemed like center OF civ
ilization to us. so that evening we put
our thumbs on our nose at Don Jaimes $
fruit stand and shook his grass burs
off our feet
at was only twelve miles to Soledad,
but it took me- and Liverpool two days
to get there 1t was banana grove near
ly all the way, and we got twisted
time and again 1t was like paging the
palm room Of New York hotel for a
man named Smith.
"When we saw the houses of Sole
dad between the trees all my disincli-
nation toward this Liverpool Sam rose
up in me- stood him while we We're
two white men against the banana
brindles. but now, when there We're
prospects Of my exchanging even cuss
words with an American citizen, I put
him back in his proper place. And he
was sight. too, with his rum painted
nose and his red whiskers and elephant
feet with leather sandals strapped to
them. l suppose looked about the
same
"'It looks to me- says I, like Great
Britain ought to be made to keep such
gin swilling. scurvy, unbecoming mud
larks as you at home instead Of send
ing 'em over here to degrade and taint
foreign lands We kicked you out Of
America once, and we ought to put on
rubber boots and do 1t again
"'Oh, you go to the deuce says Liv.
erpooi, which was about all the rep
artee he ever had.
well, Soledad looked fine to me
after Don james plantation. Liver
pool and me walked into 1t side by
side from force of habit, past the Gala
DOSa anu the f1Olel ITduue, uOWI
across the plaza toward Chica's hut
whele we hoped that Liverpool being
a husband of hers might work his lucb
for a meal.
"As we passed the two story frame
house occupied by the American clut
we noticed that the balcony had beer
decorated all around with wPeaths ot
evergreens and flowers and the fae
was flying from the pole on the roof
Stanzey. the consul. and Albright, 6
gold mine owner, were smoking on tht
balcony. Me and Liverpool waved oul
dirty hands toward 'em and smiled
real society smiles, but they turned
I their backs to US and went on talking
And we had played whist once will
i the two of EN- up to the time wheI
: Liverpool held all thirteen trumps fol
+ four hands In succession. 1t was some
e holiday, we knew, but we didn't know
5 the day nor the year.
IT.