Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-29

the glrder. He was grinnInr. Don't osk
me to explain It. Men have died trving
TO explain Africa.
Ihe white man had stopped and boIf
turned. He stood, a little straddlinR. on
tue siruer, and switched the sianbolS to
unu iro. His eyes were blazing. From
nus nps cropped patter of all the vile
MpIus IN Landin, Swahill and half a dozen
other dialects-the words that n white
man man learns first II he listens TO natives
me rne 'arson seemed to incite the blacks.
tney worked as clumsIly as ever. but
.aIuer' They started to sling. as the
AT AMLriCan does when he's getting up a spe-
clai ourst OF speed Then the white man
W. a'neu no on the girder on our side, out
vi tne way. 'Now's our time | whIs-
pered to Bodsky He shook his head
SLOWLY from side to side, but was al
READY under way. I walked Tin to tho
White man and asked him IL he could lei
us across. He glanced around as n he
naan seen our outfit till that moment
80 '"gM ,I ne looked me squarely In the
that was all. '' anu
Il turned back I'd been angry before
put never as angry as that Bodsky wes
already getting up the fly of n tent Il
sn" ~ coming, he said with his quiet lit
Tie laugh that you never hear when
theres anything to laugh at. Look here.
Dousky, L said, let's walk to the old
crossing. And he answered, NV dear
chap. I'm going to sit right here.
Mouidh miss this for n shot at elephant.
lhat man Is Ten Percent Wayne
Where'd you meet hlm? asked,
Never met him. said Bodsky, but
I've heard of him, so had I. we sat
uoWn together under the hy on n couple
OF loads and propped two whlskIes and
warm water on another load in front of
US ana watched Wayne while Wayne
watched his men.
suppose we offer him drink said
ana ran the sweat off my eyebrows with
my finger. s''
Bodsky looked at me pltyingly. so
you want to get burned again. Does that
man look to you as though he was think
ing about drink? Well, let me tell vol,
ne isn't. Every bit OF him Is thinking
aDout that bridge every minute. Cod
l haven't seen men driven like that since
was boy. Once more there's some
thing new in Africa! And i've never seen
man drive himself like that anywhere
All the Mongolian and Tartar that Is said
10 lurk IN every Russian seemed to he
leaking out of Bodsky's narrowed eyes,
we sat there and dranl. and smoked
ana sweated, and I sulked Every once
IN while Bodsky would say something,
FIRST II was: Those boys are from the
nave DTOuEnC them with
him' Ihen 1t was: He Knows something
ABOUT the sun. He keeps his head in the
shade-spot from that lonely palm. And
hnally: 'Collingeford, l never despIsed
your intellect before What are Won sulIk-
ing for? Can't you see what's up? Can't
you understand that If n man will stand
for two hours shifting an inch at n time
with the shade rather than disturb half n
dozen niggers at work to 20 and get n
helmet he isn't going to call those mig
gers off to let n couple of loafers like us
crawl across his girders? What you and
are staring at is just plain common
garden Work with n capital w, stark
naked and ugly, but by God. it's great
And right there I saw the light To
us two the mystery of Ten Percent Wayne
was revealed. He could drive men. He
could make bricks without straw. While
work was on. nothing else mattered. Right
and wrong were measured by the needs
of that bridge and death was too good
for the shirker And with the light I for
got the brute In the man Nearing along
the dizzy height of the glrder to lash n
loafer and only remembered that he had
risked his life to avenge just one moment
stolen from the days work"
The stem of CollIngefords wine glass
snapped between his fingers. I'm sorry"
he said. laying the pieces aside. He smiled
a little nervously on the three tense faces
before MIN. Il don't tell that story often.
1t goes too deep. Not everybody under
stands. Some people call Wayne no bet
ter than n murderer; but I'm not one OF
them. And Bodsky says there have been
a lot of murderers he'd like to take to
his club"
~. Y, there's somebody listening at the
door" said the Captain. 'Been there
some time"
j. Y. swung around and threw open the
door. He sprang forward and caught
Glenn in Nahe act of flight. He brought her
back into the room and sat down, holding
her upright beside him. ]. Y was proud,
and for moment Collngefords presence
CALLED hirl. what were YOU doing,
Glenn" he asked.
Clematls was in that degree of embar-
rassment and disarray which makes love-
~ youth a shade more lovely. Her brown
hair was tumbled about her face and
down her back Her cheeks were flushed
and her thin white neck seemed to trem-
BILE above the deep red of her slightly
yoked frock. Her lips were moist and
parted in excitement She was l6 and
beautiful beyond the reach of hackneyed
phrases. The four men fixed their eyes
upon her, and she dropped hers. II was