The Washington herald., 1920-05-09
THE MAN HIGHER UP
A CROSS our two dishes Of spa

ghetti. In q corner OF fro-
venxano's restaurant. Jef
Peters was explaining to me the
three kinds OF graft.
Every winter Jen comes to
New York to eat spaghetti. to
watch the shipping In East River
from the depths Of his chinchilla
overcoat. and to lay In supply
OF Chicago-made clothing at one
Of the Fulton street stores. Dur
ing the other three seasons he
may be found further west-his
range Is from Spokane to Tampa
In his profession he takes a
pride which he supports and de-
fends with q serious and unique
philosophy of ethics. His pro-
fesslon Is no new one. He Is an
Incorporated. uncapitalized. un-
limited asylum for the reception
Of the restless and unwise dollars
Of his fellowmen.
In the wilderness of stone In
which JEFF seeks his annual lone
ly holiday he is glad to palaver
Of his many adventures, as a
boy will whistle after sundown
In q wood. Wherefore, 1 mark
on my calendar the time of his
coming, and open a question of
privilege at Provenzano's con-
corning the little wine-stained
table in the corner between the
rakish rubber plant and the
framed palazzio della something
on the wall.
There are two kinds of
CRAFTS" said JEFF. that ought to
be wiped out by law. I mean
Wall Street speculation. and burg
larry"
Nearly everybody will agree
with you as to one of them"
sAlu l. Win q laugh
well. burglary ought to be
wiped out. too" said JEFF: and I
wondered whether the laugh had
been redundant.
About three months ago."
said JEFF, "it was my privilege to
become familiar with a sample
of each of the aforesaid branches
Of the illegitimate art. was
sine qua grata" with a member
of the housebreskers' union and
one of the John d. NapoIeons of
finance at the same time"
Interesting combination" said
with a yawn. Did 1 tell you
l bagged a duck and a ground
squirrel at one shot last week
over in the Ramapos?" l knew
well how to draw Jefrs stories.
Let me tell you first about
these barnacles that clog the
wheels of society by poisoning
the springs OF rectitude with
their upas-like eye" said JEFF
with the pure gleam of the muck.
raker in his own
"As said. three months ago
got into bad company. There are
two times in a mans life when
he does this-when he's dead
broke, and when he's rich.
Now and then the most Iegiti-
mate business runs out of luck
1t was out in Arkansas l made
the wrong turn at a cross-road
and drives into this town OF
Peavine by mistake. 1t seem:
l had already assaulted and dis
figured Peavine the spring of tht
year before. had sold s60I
worth of young fruit trees ther'
-plums. cherries. peaches ant
pears. The Pcaviners were keep
ing an eye on the country roaC
and hoping | might pass tina
way again. l drove down Mali
street as far as the Crystal Pal
acc drug store before realize,
had committed ambush upol
myself and my white horse Bill
The Pcaviners took me b,
surprise and Bill by the bridl
and began a conversation tha
wasn't entirely disassociated witt
the subject of fruit trees.
committee of 'em ran some trace
chains through the armholes o
my vest. and escorted me through
their gardens and orchards.
Their fruit trees hadn't live
up to their labels. Most of 'er
had turned out to be persimmon
and dogwoods. with a grove o
two of blackjacks and poplar.
The only one that showed an
signs of bearing anything wa
. fine young cottonwood that ha
put forth hornets nest an
hAlf an old corset-cover.
The Peaviners protracted ou
fruitless stroll to the edge o
town. They took my watch an
money on account; and they kep
Bill and the wagon as hostages
They said the first time one q
them dogwood trees put forth a
Amsden's June peach I Nigh
come back and get my thing