Evening star., 1917-05-27
ROD---By Booth Harrington ~

go on" said Mr.. Williams.
Well. there wasn't any fire In tae
we weren't goin' TO do anything'd hurt
him. SO we put him in there
I'm the furnace?"
1T was cold" protested Sam. Theirs
hadn't been any fire there since last
spring. Course we told him there was
fire in 1t. We had to do that" he con-
unued earnestly, because that was
part of the 'nishiation. We only kept
him in 1t little while and kind OF
hammered on the outside little. and
then We took him out and got him 10
lay down on his stummick. because he
was all muddy anyway. where he fell
down the cellar; and how could 1t mat
ter to anybody that had any sense at
all? Well, then we had the ritual. and
-and-why. the teeny little paddlin' he
got wouldn't hurt flea. 1t was that
little colored boy lives in the alley did
it-he isn't anyways near half Georges
siZe-but George got mad and said he
didn't want any old nigger to paddle
him. That's what he said. and 1t was
his own foolishness. because Nerman
won't let anybody call him nigser. and
il George was goin' to call him that.
he ought to had sense enough not to
do 1t when he was layin' down that
way and Nerman all ready TO be the
paddler. And he needn't of been so mad
at the rest of US. either. because II took
us about twenty minutes to get tho
paddle away from Nerman after tnat'
and we had to lock Verman up in the
laundry-room and not let him out TN
it was all over. Well, and then things
were kind of spoiled. anyway: so we
didn't do but just little more-and
that's all"
Go on, What was the just little
more?"
"well-we got him to swaller a little
teeny bit of asafidity that Penrod
used to have to wear in bag around
his neck 1t wasn't enough to even
make person Sneeze-it wasn't mucn
more'n half spoonful-it WASN'T
hardly a quarter of a spoonf-
Hal" said Mr.. Williams. That ac.
counts for the doctor. What else?"
"WelI--we-we had some paint left
over from our flag. and we put Just
little teeny bit of II on his hair
and"
"Haw said Mr.. williams. That &C.
counts for the barber. What else%'
That's ALL" said Sam. swallowing.
Then he got mad and went home"
Mr.. Williams walked to the door. and
sternly motioned to the culprit to pre-
cede him through 1t. But just before
the pair passed from her sight, Mrs.
Williams gave way to an uncontrolla-
BILE impulse.
SAM" she asked. what does In-or-
In stand for?"
The unfortunate boy had begun to
sniffie.
Tit means-Innapenent Order of
onward to his doom.
Not his alone: at that very moment
Master Roderick Magsworth Bits, jr..
was suffering also, consequent upon
telephoning on the part of Mrs. Bas-
sett. though Roderick's punishment
was administered less on the ground
Of Georgie's troubles and more on that
of Roddy's having affiliated with an
order consisting SO largely of Herman
and Verman. AS for Maurice Levy, he
was no whit less unhappy. He Jared
as i'll.
simultaneously, two ex-members Of
the In-Or-In We're finding their lot for
tunate. Something had prompted them
to lfnger in the alley in the vicinity
of the shack, and it was to this fated
edif1ce that Mr.. Williams, with de-
moniac justice. brought Sam for the
deed he had in mind.
Herman and Verman listened-awe-
stricken-to what went on within the
shack. Then, before 1t was over, they
crept away and down the alley toward
their own home. This was directly
across the alley from the Schofelds'
stable. and they were Mortified at the
sounds which issued from the interior
of the stable ssSreroom. It was the
St. BartholomeWCs- -sve Of that neigh.
borhood. -
Man. man" said Herman, shaking
his head. Glad l aim no white boy.'
Verman seemed gloomily to assent.
Copyright, 1917, by the Wheeler Syndicate, Incl.