, 1919-08-14
Elsie Takes
Command
BY WILL T. AMES
Copyright, 1919. by the Mcclure News
paper Syndicate.)

A ferry boat load of the shipyard
men piled nell-mell over the wharf,
across the railroad tracks and INTO the
main t~horoughfare of the town, at. the
foot of which lay the makeshift slip.
They were roughly clad and grimy and
strong, and. many of them, handbook
ing.
There had been a crap game on the
boat coming over and ii had not gon
smoothly. Three of the men among the
thousand showed the marks of it, for
they were more or less bloody and still
white with anger.
The three, each with n friend or two,
stopped at the saloon at the foot of the
street to wash off the stains of the
row. The rest of the workers paid no
heed but hurried on homeward. There
was little laughter or Joking. What
conversation there was among them
was unsmiling and 1t was plain to be
seen that the yeast of discomfort was
ut work..
At the street corner two blocks from
the wharf a girl stood by the curb,
watching the passing throng and look
ing for some one. By and by h
caught sight of a tall, toughly fash
toned young fellow with thick hair that
looked flaxen by contrast with his sun
burned skin.
He spied the girl at the same in
slant, said a brief word to the COM
panions Of the moment, and stopped
beside her, automatically reaching out
for the bundles she carried.
The girls eyes were shining. what
do you know, Billy? I found a place!
an honest-to-goodness apartment. Mrs.
Ellis heard about a couple that are CO.
ing out of town-sOmebody she knows.
She's a good old thing, after all, Billy,
and she went right down there and got
them to keep still about it till we could
get a chance at the place.
I've been down today and engaged
it. It's an old house, Billy, but there's
three rooms and a bath and only one
other family, the folks that own 1t;
they live downstairs. l guess they're
boosting the rent two or three dollars.
But we should worry-with your pay.
It's our lucky day, isn't it, Billy?"
But Billy Noxon didn't respond to the
happy mood of his young wife nearly
as she had anticipated. While Elsie
lay in wait for him there she had FIX
pected that he would throw up his
hat and shout. Places to live-to
really live and keep house like regular
civilized peOple-were simply unob-
tainable in the town. The Noxons had
been Eight housekeeping" in a single
room for four months. like hundreds
of others.
Don't know as there's any use in
fussing about it, Chick" the boy finally
replied soberly. "We're likely to have
to get to blazes out of this mans town
any time now. The gangs pretty sore,
and they're likely to tie a an, any time
at all, to the bunch of grafters that
are running the tea kettle factory over
the river"
what do you mean, Billy Noxon-
a striker"
Its n heap sight more than just
one strike, when the blowoff comes.
The working man has been carrying
the tar end of the stick about as long
as he's going to in this country.
Here's you and me living like a couple
of buns in a coop of a n me
sweating my hide off owe there on
those hulls-and n lot of loafers that
don't hit a ship a lick from the time
she's doped out till she's overheard,
and haven't ever got a dollar of their
w money in the plant, pulling down
millions.
Living in palaces and dressing their
wives in thousand-dollar furs and
swelling around in limousines and play
ing golf while we play on a rivet gun
and all off usl All stolen from the
working man and his familyl And
then, when we hit them for a lousy dol
lar a day raise, to help pay for the
profiteering prices on the grub we eat,
they give us the boot"
Elsie was looking very steadily and
studiously at her big husband. "WellT'
h said, as he ran out of breath.
well" Billy resumed. "it's about all
over, sis. There's going to be some
thing doing, and that right quick. l
dunno's it's worth while for us to
change from one room to three. May
be werl be in the middle of a hard
boiled shindy in a week or two-and
either nave some Klnu OF n decent
share in things or nothing at all.
Deaths better than slavery" The
hoy stared goomily at a passing tour
ing car.
The girl was about an inch above
five feet-her husband about an incl
above six. Her eyes had been grow:
ing bigger and bigger as she listened
to his dour speech. Now she seized
him by the arm end said: BILLY Nox-
on, you come home with me. straight.
And don't you speaker ever
think-a word till 1 tell you to-" The
somber face of the boy thawed INTO a
sheepish grin as he permitted himself
to be marshaled along six city blocks
to the place where they lived in Mrs.
ELS furnished second floor back.