Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-12-28
! MACK" IS SS WORD IN RIDING COAT
BY BILL.

the third degree" what
 rd degree was and how it ted. Movies l have seen orpulent actors with phony
 on their hard-boiled put
 breed chins stood omin-
 ver the rich scion of the
 atic family and forced
 he squirmed under the
 a super-light, the details
 erime, while his young wife l as only a poor working
 til she married him and e's still poor, but not work N oked on, trying to impart thru loving glances some N H own strength of chara-a-ac- % his, l thought, must be the & hegree.
 later on I rubbed against a
 practical view of the third
 :" In certain large cities l
 endly with the police. And 5 no small thing to accom-
 especially when you desire
 friendship more than they
 urs. Anyway, l use to mo-
 room in a certain police sta khere the door was heavy and to the walls. At times l
 T thru this door. The room
 always bare. There were no
 light shades, no crucifix-
 where victim would cave
 the constant glover of
 tening eyes. There wasn't
 bookcase with volumes on
 best ways to achieve the
 chic surrender" The floor
 hard, being made of that W durable material-concrete.
 to that police station they ; to bring various sorts of A sullen, surely, defiant. Men
 records, and men without,
 of that indomitable courage
 comes to those when life and Eh are all the same. These men hlly were secretive. The desk eeant would question them and invariably were silent. Some es they replied with abuse.
 wiser ones said nothing, so an Beer told me.
 Eve seen these men go into that I'm as silent as a Sphinx and he out talkative. They might unrecognizable, but the man It took them in knew all they kw when he brought them out. 6s, I was told, was the real third Eree.
 In the army they had a third gree that would make an Irish ck private tell on his buddy. But none. of them-the movies, metropolitan police, Hardboil- Davis and the rest-knew any ing about the third degree, com red to what the Elks know about at initiation meetings.
 So I became an Elk. On initia- ,n night the lodge rooms were owded. They hearded the mo- ces together and members would ray in and look them over rue- lily. They had a tall, swarthy llcw-a sort of provost marsh and officer of the day combin- came around and said eerful things.
 "BrOther-SOon-tO-be," he said me, "you look pale" I laughed a sort of sickly laugh. Then , walked away.
 In the meanwhile we were look g for cues. We noticed that lere were two ever-recurring ords among the members. "The ass word," said my bumptious sighbor. Let's spring it." l tied a restraining arm. Let's mt, said I, there's a trick in ;" And then came those words gain. One tall Elk came up to a tile Elk and whispered some ing. q don't know" replied the lcrt fellow. "See Mack" That as it. Everytime anybody ask a question, the answer was gen. ally "See Mack"
 Then the officer of the day came ack. He approached the victim lat was sitting next to me. "Brother," he said. "We believe good fellowship and that it is IT duty to cast aside dull care, Id sip the honey from the flow : of pleasure. Do you care to p9 Have you got a sip?" "See Mack" said my companion. t was flour and not flower, he cant l learned later, and wheth- the reply-"see Mack "-got my iend anywhere l can't say. Then the o. d. came back to c.
 My young friend" he said, "we e here tonight to bring into our .es the sunshine of human sym ,thy. Have you got a match ?'' "See, Mack" l said before 1 lew it and several present seem- to make mental notes of what as said and done.
 And then we went into another om. l didn't know where I was ,ing, but 1 was on my way. As 2 approached | caught glimpse a green shaded light. "It's the ird degree from the movies" {" id 1 to myself. Then l saw a lb in q corner. "No," said 1, t's the other one"
 And then something happened. am not permitted here to write |wn what took place. I could t if it was my privilege, for in few moments things never seen heaven or on earth appeared. $ something beyond description,