Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-01
A HOT AFTERNOON.
Alice L Roop.

II was mid-afternoon in August so hot
and sitting that il was an effort to live.
MI morning ! had l8bored TO get news for
the society column. but my efforts had
met with small success: Tired an0 dis
couraged. desired above all else an oppor-
runtv 10 GO home. but | had to wait for
an important telephone call
The dingv walls Of the stuffy newspaper
office closed around me like a cage. The
dusty desks and battered chairs OF the
men who shared the office with me were
deserted. The leather cushion in my chair
was uncomfortable. my fingers stuck TO
the typewriter keys. The muffied roar OF
the presses IN the basement shook the
flQor: the steady throb Of typesetting
machines on the third floor made the cell
ing tremble In the next room a telegraph
instrument clicked mOnotOnously and the
typewriters clattered Waves Of heat
surged through the room, reeklng with the
fumes OF rank tobacco smoke and fresh
paint | could trace the source of the first
smell. In the next room | knew the
editors we're lOungIng after their hard
mornings work | could picture them
sprawling in their chairs. feet propped on
the desks as they dreamllv smoked their
oldest pipes The other odor was tar, and
/ crossed To the window TO lnvestiate
Outside II was even hotter than within
Yet, in spite OF the Inerciless RAYS Of the
sun three WOrkmen were painting the iron
gratings of the bank windows opposite
me. They swept their brushes languldly
over the arabesques of the grating wearily
Transforming them from rust TO battle
ship gray The color was dull and soggv.
and hated il wondered why the work
men had chosen the hottest day Of summer
nd EIlv
lated on their chance OF having a sun
stroke
AS | lazily glanced away from the
painters, | saw a steam roller stationed
almost beneath my window II looked
like q horrId monster belchIng out fiery
smoke At the sight of IT | remembered
that they had been paving Market street
that morning, and ! looked 10 see if the
men were still at work To my surprise.
the swarthy Italian laborers were swing
ing their picks almost as vigorously as
they had done earlier. Every few minutes
however, they paused and mopped their
burning faces with gay bandannas. Steel
changed on stone as the cleaning picks
rose and fell Across the car tracks
could see the black, vicious mass which
covered that side of the street II looked
sernI-liQuid and | imagined that if one
stepped on it, it would suck one down
ike quicksand and smother one in hot,
sticky folds
Few people were out In the scorching
heat Several scantlly-clad newsboys
dropped on the patch Of shade cast by
on awning and droned, evening papers
\ whilc-clad girl strolled down the street
charming and cool beneath her green
parasol In the clinging discomfort Of my
wilted frock j envied her Of her Immaculate
comfort After a brief interval, in came
a stout, rcd-faced man He stopped be-
meath the awning famed himself with
his straw hat and wiped the ropes Of
perspiration from his shining bald head
4 stylish girl passed him. In vain did she
try to delude herself into a belief that she
was cool She wore punk sweater and
crocheted wool hat.
Silly goose, ! thought You We just
finished knitting that sweater and want
TO show it off ! would not touch wool on
a dav like this if a sailor were freezing
here for sweater ! could knit.
Suddenly heard swishing Of water. |
saw that the janitor was sprinkling the
pavement I'M hope Of cooling the atmos-
phere Almost as soon as the water touched
the fiery bricks it evaporated, For an
instant | dreamed that | was a silvery
fish doing in deep green river Then the
telephone rang sharply and the noises and
SMELLS and heat enveloped me again