Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-12-08
CHAPTER !.
At ChaudIere'R.

Al Chauoieres.
1t was at Chaudiere's that Griswold
had eaten his first breakfast in the
Crescent city, and 1t was at Chau-
diere's again that he WAS sharing
farewell supper with Bainbridge of the
Louisianian. Six weeks lay between
that and this: forty-odd days of dis
couragement and failure superadded
upon other similar days and weeks
and months.
Without meaning to, cambridge had
been strswiug the path with fresh
thorns for the defeated one. He had
Just been billsted to write up the ba-
mana trade for his paper. Boyishly ju-
biant over the assignment, he had
dragged the New Yorker around to
ohaudiere's to q small parting feast.
Not that Il had required much per-
suasiol. Griswold had tasted for "a
houra. and II Bainbridge were not
friend In . p1rist's definition of the
torn, he vas at Least q friendly &C
quaintanoe.
The burden Of the table talk fell
upon Bainbddgs. and It occurred to
the host that his guest was less than
usually responsive, q fault not to be
lightly oondoned under the Joyous cir
oumstanoss. Wherefore he protested.
Whats the matter with you to-
night. KennetA. old mani You're more
than commonly grumpy, It seems to
ma: and that's needless"
0riswold looked up with . smile
that was almost nl.natured. and quot
ID cynically: Unto everyone that
hath shall bc given. and he shall have
abundance; but from him that hath
not. shall be taken away even that
which he hath"
Bainbridge's laugh was tolerant
enough to take the edge from his re-
tnrt
That's . pretty thing TO ding at .
man who never knitted you or pistoled
you or tried to poison you'll An inno-
cent bystander might say you envied
me-"
7 do" rsjoined Griswold sravely.
Il envy any man who can earn enough
money to pay for three meals q day
aAd . place to sleep in."
"Oh. cats foot!-anybody can do
that" asserted cambridge. with the
air Of one to whom the struggle for
sxistenoe has been . mere athletes
practice run.
Il know; that Is your theory. But
the facts disprove It. l can't. for one"
Grfsvold was Q fair man. with red
dish hair and beard and the quick and
sensitive skin Of the type. A red flush
of anger orept up under the closely
cropped beard, and his eyes were
bright
| Bainbridse scofied openly; but he
was Good-natured enough to make
amends when he saw that Griswold
was moved.
Il take II all back" he said. Il sup
pose the book-ehioken has come home
again To roost, and q returned manu-
script accounts for anything. But.
seriously. Kenneth. you ought to get
down TO bedrock facts. Nobody but
= crazy phenomenon can fnd a pub
Usher for his first book, nowadays.
unless he has had some sort of an
Introduction In the magazines or The
newspapers. You haven't had that
% far a. ! know, you haven't tried
a..
"Oh. yes. have-tried and failed.
Il isn't In me to do the salable thing,
and there isn't q magazine editor in
the country who doesn't know It by
this time. tell you, Bainbridge. the
conditions are all wrong when a man
with vital message to his kind can't
get to deliver 1t to the people who
want to hear It."
Bainbridge ordered the small cof-
ct.
That is about what l suspected"
he commented impatiently. You
couldn't keep your peculiar views
muzzied even when you were writing
4 bit of a pot boiler on sugar plant
ing. You drop your fool socialistic
fad and write book that a reputable
publisher can bring out without COM
mitting commercial suicide. and you'll
stand some show"
Call II what you please; names
don't change facts. Listen"-Griswold
leaned upon the table: his eyes grew
hard and the blue In them became me-
talhc-"For more than a month l
have tramped the streets of this
cursed city begging-yes. that is the
~ord-begging for work of any kind
that would suffice to keep body and
soul together. and for more than half
of that time have lived on one meal
Q day. That Is what we have come
to; We of the submerged majority.
And that Isn't all The wage worker
himself. when he is fortunate enough
70 find q chance to earn his crust, is
but serf; a chattel among the other
possessions OF some fellow man who
has acquired him in the plutocratio
redistribution Of the earth and the
fullness thereof"
Bainbridge glanced at his watch
l.. 4. a