The Washington herald., 1920-11-19

(Pubiished In. The Cosmopolitan.
october. 1914 Probably written in
1904. or shortly after o. Henry's
frst successes in New York;
TsHB drug clerk locks sharply at
] the white face half concealed
By the high-turned overcoat collar,
II would rather not supply you."
he said doubtfuliy. 4 sold you
. dosen morphine tablets less than
an hour ago"
The customer smiles wanly. The
fault 10 In your crooked streets.
didn't intsnd to call upon you
twice. but Ruess ! got tangled
pp. Excuse me-"
He draws his collar higher. and
moves out. slowly. He stops under
an electric light at the corner, and
jugBles absorbediy with three or
four little pasteboard boxes. Thir-
ty-six." he announces to himself.
more than plenty" For a gray
mist had swept upon santone that
night, an opaoue terror that laid
/ o hand to the throat of each OF
the city's guests. 1t was computed
that 5000 invalids were alternating
| in the town. They had come from
far and wide, for here. among these
goddess Ozone has elected to linger.
You might think from the river
winding through our town that we
are malarial. but, no, sir! Repeated
experiments made both by the gov
ernment and local experts show that
our air contains nothing deleteri-
j ous-nothing but ozone. sir. pure
, ozone. Litmus paper tests made all
along the river show-but you can
/ read II all In tho prospectuses; or
the Santonian win recite 1t for you,
word by word
We may achieve climate but
weather IL thrust upon US. Santone,
then, cannot be blamed for this cold
gray fog that came and kissed the
lips of the 5000. and then delivered
them to the cross. That night the
tubercles, whose ravages hope holds
in check, multiplied. The writhing
fingers of the pale mist did not 60
thence bloodless. Many Of the
wooers Of ozone capitulated with
the enemy that night. turning their
isolated apathy that so terrifies
their watchers. On the red stream
of Hemorrhagia q few souls drifted
away. leaving behind pathetic heaps
white and chill as the fog itself
Two or three came to view this at.
mospheric wrath as the ghost OF
Impossible Joys, sent to whisper to
them OF the egregious folly 1t Is to
lfnhale breath into the lungs. only to
exhale It again. and these used
whatever came handy to their re.
lief. pistols. gas or the beneficent
mpriate.
The purchaser of the morphia
wanders into the fog, and at length
finds himself upon a little iron
bridge. one OF the score or more in
1.-THE heart of the city, under which
1.-THE small tortuous river flows. He
leans on the rail and gasps. for here
the mist has concentrated, lying
like a foot-pad to garrote such of
THE Three Thousand as creep that
way. The iron bridge guys rattle
to the strain of his cough. n mock
ling phthisical rattle. seeming to say
Ito him: "Clickety-c -ciack! just little
Irusty cold. sfr-but not from onf
river. Litmus paper all along the
banks and nothing but ozone
lClackety -clack"
The Memphis man at last re-
covers sufficiently to be aware oi
another overcoated man ten feet
away, leaning on the rail. and just
coming out of paroxysm. There IL
la freemasonry among the Three
Thousand that does away with for.
malities and introductions. A cough
is your card: hemorrhage a letter
of credit. The Memphis man. being
nearer recovered. speaks first.
"Goodall. Memphis - pulmonar,
Tuberculosis - guess last stages
The Three Thousand economize or
words. Words are breath and they
need breath to write checks for the
doctors.
"Hurd," rasps the other. "Hurd
Of Tleder. T'leder. Ah-hia- Catarrha
bronkeetis. Names Dennis, too
doctor says. Says I'll live -four
weeks IL I-take care of myself
loot VOW w.itin~ paners vet?"
my Doctor" says Goodall of Mem
phis, q little boastingly. gives M
three months"
"Oh," remarks the man from To
ledo, filling up great gaps In his con
lyersation with wheezes, damn tn
difference. What's months, Expec
to-cut mine down to one week-an,
die in q hack-a four wheeler, not ;
cough. Be considerable moanin' o
the bars when put out to sea. Tv
patronized 'em pretty freely since
struck my--present gait. Say. Good
all of Memphis-if your doctor ha
set your pegs so close-why dom
you-get on a big spree and. go-t'
the devil quick and easy-like Tn
doinsr