Evening star., 1920-02-08
BY SEWELL FORD

meat and produce markets. and Ne
was cutting meat?" 1faA
"Eh!' says I. ',Sure 1t was Victerf'
do you think l could mistake that
faceT demand Sadie.
But why was he in q show win.
dow" I goes on. They usually have
their meat blocks in the back, don't
they? Sounds a bit odd"
II don't care" says Sadie. II know
what I saw. Only there was such q
crowd around watchin him that L
couldn't get very close. II 1 hadn't
been in a hurry l should have gone
In. But there he was. cutting meat In
show window"
Huh" says !. Guess I'll have to
scout around up there myself tomor-
row"
So the next noon / takes q run up;
and sure enough, I hadn't walked
more'n block before located him.
1t was just as Sadie had described.
except that there wasn't any show
window. The glass had been taken
out and an iron ralln' run across,
leaving a sort of booth effect, inside
OF which was Victor. dressed immacu-
late in white duck, with q white
chefs cap set jaunty on the back OF
his head and presidin' behind a white
enameled meat block. Out front was
crowd. mostly women. that nearly
stopped the traffic, while inside was
another bunch watchin' him through
the glass partition.
'Cours stops and edges my way
in. finally gettin' up to the rail right
In front OF him.
Hello. Vic" says l. What you
doin' here--givin' exhibition"
AS he sees who 1t is he grins and
waves boning knife that looks as
sharp as a razor. wait a few min
utes. shorty" says he, "and I'll knock
of for lunch. Soon a. I Anish thls."
30 hangs up and watches with the
others. Tho operation was worth
watchin'. I'll say. What he begins
with looks like an ordinary rib reast
Of lamb. but 1t don't look that way
long. He cuts away at It ~ skillfui
as surgeon eliminatin' an appendix.
whittlin' OF the ends Of the ribs, cut
tin out some Of the middle. and then
twistin' the whole thing until its the
shape Of basket. Next he runs the
surplus meat through q chopper. pats
it into the basket affair. decorates The
rib ends with paper frills like they
put on French chops. adds parsley
and sprays Of watercress. and wraps
the thing in oiled paper.
What do you call it-a meat bou-
QuetT I asks.
Grown roast" says Victor. Rather
neat. isn't it,"
Almost poem" says I. Never
saw u roast OF lamb fixed up as fancy
AZ that before. Where'd you get to
be such An artist"
He don't explain until he's shed his
white uniform and we've wandered
down the street to grill room.
Il took lessons Of the best meat chef
in New York." says he. Got the notion
from the way Mollie learned to play
bridge. II that was worth while study
ing. thinks i. surely what you have to
make your living at must be. too. OF
course. began n q plain steak slicer
down in Washington Market STALL But
as soon as they found / could do ths
fancy stun they put me At 1t. Then
read books about different ways Of cut
ting meat and dressing game and psui-
try. Even invented 9 few tricks Of my
own. Wish could show you how I can
prepare turkey for the pan or ! roast
ing pig or = tray Of quail Surprising
how much you can learn about this
game when you really 60 SITTER it."
you've surprised me already" says
!. How did you como to get this show
window job uptown?'
asked for it," says Victor. "Ana
after I'd shown 'em what could %
they gave it to me. At the end Of the
week I told 'em was going to quit
unless they paid me my price to stay.
They paid. Honest. Shorty, I'm getting
nearly twice a. much n my hank SAL
ary. Besides, I'm enjoying the work
more and I've got my health back"
But still" says I.
II know" says Victor. "A banker 10
somebody and q meat cutter isn't. They
say I'm the best in the country though.
and that's something. And I'm not
going to stay here long, you know"
What next" says !.
General demonstrator for the Kssfe-
Collins Company" says Victor. They
own chain Of big resort hotsls-one IN
tho White mountain. another at Allan.
tic City. two in Florida, one in Calf
ornia, etc. Mr.. Collins, the president.
happened to see me at work one day