Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-12

000 1Y .Na
They passed through fo7es.s ..
down. In one place, on q thousand ton
Inch coco-pAlIas. ~ the giant migns
have looked down upon Arden aseho
strobe over It in his ssven,leaeue
boots. Great bales Of Whatsoever
yellow and brown - autumn leaves.
blocked their progress, and. a4sleas
spread their patchwork blankets o
either hand. Hugs wagons from ~
express yards land the ferries wese
fragile, and ono shining motor-van
bearing the name Ola famous grower.
displayed basket after basket Of sweet
peas that filed Adam with envy. AND
over all the clean sunshine, n milo
dampness breatho1 cut by the plants,
the indescribable ODER Of fresh green
and green trampled underfoot' sule
and decayed-an odor such as one
might dream Of in a nightmare o.
dead woods. Yet there was mucn
fragrance too, and the rangeness @.
pavement, pouring In apd out OF these
low brick build4ngs-the converted
dwellings Of a sordid little street that
was in no way distinguished from It's
neighbors save by the commercian1ed
garden on it's pavemente. And thi
was in New York!
At length woolcraft turned into one
Of the shops. 1t was that Of a spe-
cialist in cut flowers. Indeed, all the
shops were specialists; some carrying
only cut flowers. some only potted
flowers. others only bedding plants n
bulbs, and a great number dealing
only in cold-storage greens. Ferns
that lay on ice for two years; bay and
asparagus and maiden-hair. that had
lain in their v aults an incredible
period. for exactly the same reason
that food is so stored away. The
place into which the e%x-f1ghter led the
way, however, specialized IN only the
highest grade of cut blossoms. 1t was
a great, barren room unadorned save
for its wares and on either ! ran
great shelf like counters, with a table
between, in the center. On these stood
row upon row Of brown jars filled
with blooms in solid bundles-late
daffodils, hyacinths, lilies. roses. car
nations, g%fTlyfower, sweet peas, pansles
every conceivable blossom in season
or. out. In the aisles. a few buyers
from the great florists uptown were
already busy inspecting and ordering:
A red-faeed man in a blue-strlped
shirt. red sleeve-garters and a brown
derby hat far back on his perspiring
forehead, came to meet them. Recog-
nizing woolcraft. he shifted his cigar
sufficiently to allow speech.
pointed a fat forefinger at the boxes
which they carried.
"Mornin'!" he pured. "Whatcha
got, eh?"
sweet peas" said Woolcraft.
Sweet peas and me partner"
The man gave Adam a nod and
&hr,,c< h}o fh,,poho infn fhA
Of his w%aistcoat-
"Open up!" he commanded.
Never in his life, not>even in the
presence of the Junk Trust magnate,
had Adam felt such awe of the
oligarchy. Meek as a lamb. he
obeyed,> with the giants assistance,
displaying the treasures Of thu hard
won cardboard boxes. The fat man
lifted one eyebrow slightly, picked off
a blossom and ate it, as though its
flavor would have weight in consider
ing the price, and nodded several
times, approvingly. Then he spoke,
preliminary and final.
"All right" said he. Market
price"
"They are extra large" said Wool
craft with unexpected thriftiness. I'VE
gotter git a cent above de ordinary"
Half a cent" said the fat man, re-
you're on" said woolcraft, closing
the deal. IN
Then the three Of them set to work
to count the punches out-twenty
stems to a bunch; and the fat man
footed up the total.
"IIl take all you fellers got, while
they stay big" said he as he handed
over the money to Adam. Every fair.
Not a bruise or 'em!"
Were gonner have some shoes
extra size" Woolcraft informed him.
Interested? ?"
"Shure!" said the man. Bring 'em
down. We go in for stinkers more,
though"
All right" said weolcraft, Wen
And then they went out into the
sun again, Adam completely mystiied.
Hell take our lady-slippers when
he sees EN-" said Woolcraft, elucidat-
ing. but he goes in more for de
smelling flowers"
"Oh!" said Adam. II see!" And
bumped into an %overalled, bearded
his arms filled with white roses. like
a bride.
What the hell do you think you're
doin?" shouted the fellow in a very
unbridelike manner.
And Adam turned uptown feeling
that he had witnessed the epitome Of
American civilization when he had
seen the flower-market in the hands
Of longshoremen.
And when they got home, he dis
covered that Woolcraft had taken adj
vantage Of the encounter with the
man>in overalls to steal two Of the
white roses for Pearl.
Is (To he Continued.),