The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-01-10
BREAK -
. O. Day
JuStuS Miles FOrman
Copyrighted, 1913, by the News
paper Enterprise Association.


Jimmy Rogers ceased to listen to
the girl beside him and leaned
forward in his chair. His manner
was exactly that of a hostess who
is trying to collect eyes at the
end of dinner.
Speaking of romance" said
he to the company at large. No
body paid the slightest attention
to him.
The people about the table were
all talking very fast and apparent
ly listening not at all, but he
leaned forward once more with a
determined CLEAN In his young
eye.
Speaking of romance" he
said loudly. Three or four of his
friends looked up at him and
grinned.
Jimmy Rogers sat back in his
chair, and the girl beside him
gave little giggle Of delight.
What's the use of trying to
talk to this crowd OF maniacs?" he
demanded morosely. "They won't
give you a chance-not a chance.
And they're all my friends too.
I'm going to drink myself to
DEATH"
He had an assortment of things
to do 1t with. He drank them all,
scowling across the table at Sibyl
Carteret, who had observed his
struggles, and was making tri-
umphant faces at him over his de-
feat.
But when at last there fell an
other pause.
Speaking of romance" said
Jimmy Rogers in a determined
tone, and his host grinned down
at him and beat upon the table
with his hand.
Jimmy Rogers" said he, 'is
bursting with romance-as usual.
Please, everybody, listen to him
or he'll be cross all the evening. F"
"A long time ago." said Jimmy
Rogers, "our little friend Sibyl
Carteret-now engaged in max
ing a hideous face at me across
the aforementioned the word
romance. II reminded me of a
gentleman | met this morning
down on that old public pier at
the Neck which nobody uses any
more except to fish from. He was
weather-beaten gentleman with
an experienced eye, and he was
shabbily dressed. What called
| my attention to him was the fact
that he was lying on pile OF
bags of something and looking out
to sea. asked him IL he was
watching for the new big liner,
The shabby gentleman said he
wasn't interested in liners. He
said:
az like to watch the tramps-
the poor old rusty, ratty tramps
like to watch 'em go sneakins
out without anybody on the pier
to wave handkerchief at 'em, and
without any band to play. ] like
to wonder where they're going to
and what'll happen to 'em before
they come back again.
''He said:
Think O. the ports they're
bound for! Rio, like as not, or
Buenos Ayres-' And he pro-
nounced Buenos Ayres right, too.
Or maybe round the Horn, or
maybe round the Cape or Perth
and Melbourne and Sydney; or
right out East to Hongkong and
Yokohama.
And maybe" he said, they'll
never get there at all. Oh, yes,
it's the tramps l like to watch"
81 asked him il he'd ever been
to sea and he stared at me and
said of course he had. Every
body had. He said he knew all
the seas in the world and most
of the lands too, but that there
were still some places left, and he
was sure they'd be worth going to
like the Others"
Mrs. Stanley, the hostess, gave
a little laugh of delighted inter-
est and clapped her hands togeth-
er before her.
Tell us more! More!" she
begged.
"More?" said Jimmy Rogers.
ooh, yes, have saved the best
for the last-that is, it would be
the best. I'm sure, IL one could
make it out. / asked this chap
what he was doing here and he
said he was looking for the
break o. day. Yes, just like that
the break o. day."
The people about the table be-
gan to laugh and to besiege
Jimmy Rogers with questions, but
Stanley observed that his wife did
not laugh with the others. She
had suddenly gone very white
and she bent her head down SO
that her face was In partial
shadow; and after a moment, he
saw her lift her champagne glass
to drink from 1t, and he saw That
her hand was shaking.
AS instinctively as he would
have sprung to help her In anoth-
er sort of danger he came forward
now to her aid, attracting the at
tention of Jimmy Rogers and his
other guests by rapid flow OF
comment and question.
: About mid-afternoon of the fol-
Bwing day Eleanor Stanley
slipped out of the house and
down the long hill slope toward
the shore.
Mrs. Stanley went down the