The Washington herald., 1915-10-03
".Al right says l. There's no use arguing


against the rum question. You take his feet.
I'VE lifted the three-hundred-pound stone
god. and carried him into the back room of the
cafe-the. temple. mean-and leaned him
against the wall 1t was more work than bounc-
ing three live ones from an ali-night Broadway
joint on New Years Eve
Then High Jack ran out and brought in
couple of them Indian silk shawls and began to
undress himself.
"'Oh. 6gs!' says l. Is it thus? Strong
drink is an adder and subtractor. too. Is it the
heat or the call of the wild that's got you9
But High Jack is too full of exultation and
cane-juice to reply. He stops the disrobing
business just short of the Manhattan Beach
rules. and then winds them red-and-white
shawls around him. and goes out and stands on
the pedestal as steady as any platinum deity
you ever saw And looks through peek-hole
to see what he is up to.
In few minutes in comes the girl with the
flower wreath. DANCED if / wasn't knocked
little silly when she got close. she looked so
exactly much like Florence Blue Feather I
wonder says 70 myself. if she has been re-
incarcerated. too? If could see.' says to
myself. whether she has mole on her left
But the next minute thought she looked one
eighth of shade darker than Florence; but
she looked good at that And High Jack
hand't drunk all the rum that had been drank
The girl went up within ten feet Of the bum
idol. and got down and massaged her nose with
the Aoor like the rest did, Then she went near
er and laid the flower wreath on the block of
stone at High Jacks feet. Rummy as was,
thought it was kind of nice of her to think of
offering flowers instead of household and kitch-
en- provisions. Even stone god ought to ap-
preciate a little sentiment like that on top of
the fancy groceries they had piled up in front
of him.
And then High Jack steps down from his
pedestal. quiet. and mentions a few words that
sounded just like the hierogyphics carved on
the walls of the ruin. The girl gives little
jump backward. and her eyes fly open as big
as doughnuts but she don't beat it.
why didn't she2 I'll tell you why think
why. It don't seem to girl so supernatural.
unlikely. strange. and startling that stone god
should come to life for her. If he was to do it
for one of them snub-nosed brown girls on the
other side of the woods. now, it would be DIFF
ferent- but her! I'll bet she said to herself:
Well. goodness me! you've been a long time
getting on your job. I've half mind not to
speak to you.
But she and High Jack holds hands and
walks away out of the temple together. By the
time Id had time to take another drink and
enter upon the scene they was twenty yards
away. going up the path in the woods that the
girl had come down. With the natural scenery
already in place, it was just like play to watch
'em-she looking up at him. and him giving hsr
back the best that an Indian can hand out in
the way of goo-goo eye. But there wasn't
anything in that recarni6cation and revulsion to
tintype for me.
Hey! Injun!' yells out to High Jack.
We've got board bill due in town. and you're
leaving me without a cent. Brace up and cut
out the Neapohtan fsher-rnaiden. and let's go
back home
But on the two goes without looking once
back until, as you might say. the forest swallow
ed EN- up. And never saw or heard of High
Jack Stakeholder from that day to this. don't
know if the Cherokees came from the Aspics;
but if they did. one of EN- went back.
''All could do was to hustle back to that
Boca place and panhandle Major Bmg. He de-
tached himself from enough Of his winnings to
buy me ticket home And I'm back again on
the job at Chubb's. sir. and I'm going to hold II
steady. Come round. and you'll find the steaks
as good as ever.
Wondered what Hunky Magee thought about
his own story; so | asked him if he had any
theories about reincarnation and transmogrih-
cation and such mysteries as he had touched
upon.
Nothing like that said Hunky. positively.
What allied High Jack was too much booze
and education. They'll do an Indian up every
time"
But what about Miss Blue Feather?" per-
sisted.