The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-12-13

feet-bags such as, while loaen.
cities, he had seen warIly transfe...a
between express wagons and re,
doors. The remaining space IN ~
vehicle was filed with parcels OF WV e
GUS sizes and shapes.
As the surrey swept even with =.
side tracked tramp, the bright ssa va
girl, seized by some merry, madcon ..
pulse, leaned out toward him WIN
sweet, dazzling smile and cried, "NIes.'
Christ-mas| In a shrill, plalnt,,,
treble.
Such a thing had not often honne,,a
to Whistling Dick, and he felt hama,
capped I'm deyising the correct resnors.
But, lacking time for reflection no =.
his instinct decide, and snatchiny -, 80
his battered hat he rapidly extend I.
at arms length and drew Il back w,a.
a continuous motion and shouted
loud, but ceremonious "Ah. therew
The sudden movement OF the girl h.a
caused one OF the parcels to become
unwrapped, and something linn ana
black fell from it into the road. ma
tramp picked IL up and found &c 10 he
a new black silk stocking, long and ans
and slender. ...
"Ther bloomin' little skeezicksp sa,a
Whistling Dick, with broad grin M.
secting his freckled face. "w'ot a WOW
think OF dat. now? Merry Chris.mus,
Sounded like q cuckoo clock. daps
what she did. Dem guys is swells Too
bet yer life, an der old un stacks dem
sacks Of dough down under his trotters
like dey was common as dried apples
Been shoppin' fer Chfismus, and a.
kids lost one Of her new socks w'ot she
was goin' to hold up Sanity Wild"
whistling Dick folded the STOCKING
carefully and stuffed II into his pocket
1t was nearly two hours later when
he came upon signs Of habitation. The
buildings OF an extensive plantation
came into view.
The road was Enclosed on each side
by a fence, and presently as whistlinr
Dick drew nearer the houses he sud.
denly stopped and shifted the air.
IF dere amt a hobo stew cookt'
somewhere I'm dis immediate precinct
he said to himself, ''me nose has QUIT
tellin' de trut'."
without hesitation he climbed the
fence to windward. He found himself
In an apparently disused lot, where.
piles OF old bricks were stacked and
rejected, decaying lumber In a corner.
he saw the faint glow OF FIRE that
had become little more than bed Of
living Goals. and he thought he could
see some dim human forms sitting or
lying about 1t. He drew nearer, and
by the light OF a little blaze that SUD.
denly flared up he saw plainly the fat
figure OF a ragged man I'm an old brown,
sweater and cap.
dat man." said whistling Dick to
himself softly, lis a dead ringer for
Boston Harry. I'll try him wit de high
sign"
He whistled one or two bars OF a rag
time melody, and the air was imme-
diately taken up and then quickly end
ed with peculiar run. The first whis-
tier walked confidently up TO the fire.
The fat man looked up and spake In a
loud, asthmatic wheeze:
Scents, the unexpected but welcome
addition to our circle Is Mr.. Whistling
Dick, an old friend of mine for whom
I fully vouches. The waiter viii lay
another cover at once. Mr.. w. ID. VIII
join MS at supper, during which func-
ton he will enlighten us I'm regard to
the circumstances that give ms the
pleasure OF his company"
For the next ten minutes the gang
of roadsters, six in all, paid their undi-
vided attention to the supper. In an
old five gallon kerosene can they had
cooked a stew OF potatoes, meat ana
onions, which they partook OF from
smaller cans.
Whistling Dick had known Boston
Harry OF old and knew him to be one
OF the shrewdest and most successiui
OF his brotherhood. He looked Ike
prosperous stock drover or solid mer-
chant from some country village. he
was stout and hale, with rudy, a.
ways smoothly shaved face. The four
other men We're fair specimens OF the
sinking, iii clad, noisome genus.
After the bottom OF the large can
had been scraped and pipes lit at the
Goals two of the men called Boston
aside and spale with him lowly ano
mysteriously. He nodded decisIveis
and then said aloud to Whistling Dlch
Listen, sonny, to some plain taihs
talk. We FIVE are on lay. I've guar
anteed yor to be square and you're 70
come in on the profits equal with the
boys, and you've got to help. Two nun
dred hands on this plantation are eA-
pecting to be paid weeks wages To-
morrow morning. Tomorrow's Christ
mas and they want TO lay OF. says
the boss, Work from 5 to 8 In the
morning to get trainload OF sugar on
and I'll pay every man cash down lor
the week and day extra They say
'Hooray for the boss! 1t goes ne
drives to Moo Orleans today and fetcnes
back the cold dollars. Two thousano
and seventy-four fifty is the amount i
got the figures from man who talks
too much, who got 'em from the book
kaener Nav baJf af This haul goes 10