The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1913-07-04
O. HENRY STORIES
No. l
Carte
In Which Vietuals Triumph.

ing tobacco and listening to the pour
ing rain and meditating Oh the many
yicissitudes that come to a man during
the seventy years or so Immediately
preceding his funeral.
Il must have dozed a little before
morning, for my eyes were shut, ana
when l opened them it was daylight,
and there stood Name with her hair
all done up neat and correct and her
ewes bright with admiration Of eX-
istence.
Gee whiz. jeff she exclaims, but
I'm hungry. l could eat a
Il looked up and caught her eye
Her smile went back in. and she gave
me a cold look Of suspicion. Then |
laughed and laid down on the floor to
laugh easier.
"'Don't he angry. Mame; I says,
for I couldn't help it. It's the funny
way you've one up your hair. If you
could only see it"
"'You needn't tell stories, sir said
Name. cool and advised. My hair is
all right. l know what you are laugh
ing about. Why. Jeff. look outside
she winds up, peeping through a chink
between the logs. l opened the little
wooden window and looked out. The
entire river bottom was flooded. and
the knob Of land on which the house
stood was an island in the middle of a
rushing stream Of yellow water a hum
dred yards wide. And it was still
raining hard.
HT ~, x>,r n oIr,i{ that ontynrSo-
lions and amusements languiShed dur
ing that day. I was aware that Name
was getting q too prolonged one sided
view Of things again, but I had no
way to change 1t. Personally l was
wrapped up in a desire to eat. I had
Authorizations of hash and visions of
ham, and I kept saying to myself all
the time: 'What'u YOU have to eat.
Jeff? Whatll you order now, old man.
when the waiter comes" I picks out
to myself all sorts Of favOrites from
the bill Of fare and imagines them
coming. l guess it's that way with all
very hungry men. They can't get their
cocitations trained On anything but
something to eat,
81 sat there. musing along. arguing
with myself quite heated as to how
Id have my steak-with mushrooms or
a la creole. Name was on the other
seat. pensive, her head leaning on her
hand. Let the potatoes come home
fried I states in my mind. 'and Drown
the hash in the pan. with nine poached
eggs on the side I felt careful in my
W pockets to see if I could find a
peanut or a grain or two of popcorn.
"Nivht came on again with the riv-
er still rising and the rain still falling.
I looked at Name and I noticed that
desperate look on her face that a girl
always wears when she passes an ice
cream lair. I knew that poor girl was
huncry-maybe for the first time in her
life. There was that anxious look in
her eye that a woman has only when
she has missed a meal OF feels her
skirt. coming unfastened in the back.
1T was about II o'clock or so on the
second night when we sat. gloomy, i'll
u shipwrecked cabin. kept jerk
ing my mind away from the subject
of food. but it kept Topping back again
before | could fasten it. | thought of
everything good to eat I had ever
heard of. I went away back to my
kidhood and remembered the hot bis
cult sorped in sorghum and bacon
gravy with partially and respect. Then
I trailed along up the years. pausing at
green apples and salt. fapjacks and
maple. I've hominy. fried chicken Old
Virginia style, corn Oh the cob, spare
ribs and sweet potato pie and wound
IN with Georgia Brunswick stew.
which is the top notch OF good things
to eat, because it comprises EN- ain
"They say a drowning man see4 a
panorama of his whole life pass before
him. Well. when a mans starving"he
sees the ghost of every meal he ever
ate set out before him and he invents
new dishes that would make the for.
tune of a chef. If somebody would
collect the last words Of men who
starved to death they'd have to sif,
'em mighty fine to discover the senti
ment, but they'd compile into a cook
book that would sell into the millions
II guess l must have had my con
science pretty we'll inflicted with Gull
nary meditatons, for, without intend
ing to do so. l says, out loud, to the
imaginary waiter. Cut it thick ant
have it rare, with the French fried
and six. soft scrambled. oil toast
"Mame turned her head quick as
wink. Her eyes were sparkling. an,
she smiled sudden.
"'Medium for me- she rattles out
with the Juliennes, and three, strai.h
m Draw one, and brown the wheat>