The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-08

things. why, they never does it, You
get me?
This guy lived up state in one OF
them manufaCturn' towns. There was
river runnin' through the place, and
after the whistle blew in the summer
time this guy used to beat it fer the
swimmin' hole. 1t was his only bad
habit--swmmin' And. tracin' it back,
ii was swimmin' that made a"
Here WATSON lowered his voice and
looked around az If he expected to see
accusing faces staring at him out Of
the chaos Of the snowblnd night.
"Wcll. gents. swimmin' made "a near
murderer of that guy-that did it
swimmin' and a woman and one of them
notions-pretty near murderer
maybe chair case.
Yes, this felcr's name Wen call
George. and George was like boy
about the swimmin' hole. No fish had
anything on him. He was all black
from bein naked i'm the sun, an swim
min packed muscles on his shoulders
until they looked like the buttocks of
fire horse. and the upper part of his
legs was that hard he could crack nuts
on his thighs. And mind like "A boys.
"Thcre come a theatrical show to town.
say, last winter. In ii was a manager
named Charles -. Longstreet, nicknamed
Nickel because he never charged
nothin' more than five cents to any Of
his summer attractions. Maybe you
seen his ads in the ShoiCmdn. He runs
the White city Park. There's a Y. NJ.
6. a. tank in that town and Nickel
Longstrcct. one night when the Merry
mount Burlcsuuers were playin' In town.
happens In to some swimmin' and dlvin'
exhibition. and what's he see but George
swimmin' in that tank.
| "'Come down and work for me sum
mers as a life guard he says. putin
| his hand on Georges wet back. where
muscles was st1ndn' out like walnut
| shells. It's somethin' soft-good pay
and short hours, an | want a big. good
lookin' Teller like you fer the women
to stand and look at
George bushes an says: Il don't
care nothin' fer that. What could / do
| wlnters?'
flake candy from children or get a
| job with a taNlcab-it's all the same to
me- says Longstrcet. You're 80 If
you're n day Nix on the machine shop
fer yours any longer
George took the job. He moved his
mother down to one of them little apart.
| ments over on the hill on the north
side of town and got a job in a garage
| tunin' up cars. and when 1t got along
| toward spring the boss let him take out
a few parties in the seven passenger.
| by June the guy had knocked Off work
| with the automobiles and Sunday, the
| sixth. he appears on Long Beach with
red trunks and white, armless shirt
stamped White city Bathhousc. Life
| Guard
"On Tuesday he swan out twice fer
two fools who had gone out beyond
Seal Island when the water was still
| under 80. and II was "A newspaper story.
and Sunday 1000 Young wrcns pointed
| him out to each other. an some ask ed
him foolish questions. and he paid about
as much attention to any Of 'em as he
would to the forms in show window.
He'd got the habit of not seem women
except as the half of folks who wear
skirts. Swlmmin' was his passion. an
when night came he got into his clothes
and beat it home just as when he was
in the machine shop. ate his supper
took off his shoes. curlcd his toes in
his socks, and read the baseball news
and any story there was about criminals
or detectives or the like OF that. and
then yawned and went To bed.
Maybe when his mother died the
change came. She went four days be-
fore the Fourth, an Nickel Longstreet
would have been glad to let the guy on
even though Sunday and the holiday
| came one right after the other hut
George turned up fer work. He seemed
the samc-unly, maybe. a little more OF
a slmp-hig an good naturcd an stupid
an VIII "A new look In his eyes, Ike O
child that's lost.
1T was the middle Of that montt
when one afternoon about four-thirty
the special officer half mile down tn,
beach, blew emergency on his pea
whistle. George was rowin' around II
the shallow water opposite the band
stand, an he jumps out on to the sane
and hikes 1t down toward the dane,
hall with long strides. Then he sees
pair of arms reaChin' for hold on the
air an a red cap comes up out there
where the eel grass grows an he know,
it's a woman an that she is about al
in.
"IIe does the Crawl stroke in racin
time, SOS the little crowd on shore say
he goes like a high power motor boat
an he leaves a wake of suds on tn,
water behind. He picks her out an
gets her chin over his arm an he starti
back, an when he gets on shore M
wades out holdin' her over his arm lik'
you'd hold a wet overcOat. Her hair wa,
gold color and hang.n' all loose an,
tlappin' against his leg as he walked
He mutioned the crowd aside, ant
the special officer, who was waitin
says to a frankfurter salesman:
"'He's the boy, amt he? Watch hin
lay her down fer me to attend to an
walk away. That's the way he Away
does He treats 'em like dog what
killed a woodchuck.'
And at that the special was II
wrong; George broke his rules II
held the girl over the crook of his elbow
Her face was turned up to the sun
cream white, the color of the back of
Cclluloid mirror Her tiny arms lay
across that welt of an arm Of his an u
stopped a bit an looked down at her ar
pulled his breath.
"'Let her alone he says. 'Gimm
room an he turns her over to let IN
water run out of her, an then he lay
her on the dry sand as easy as you
handle a door mat, an he works owe
her lungs an moves her arms until sh