The Washington herald., 1920-12-08
An 0.HenryStory
A Municipal Report
CONTINUED from Yesterday

Twas sule that Impy had not had
time to leave the house. inquired
concerning street car lines and took
my leave. After ] was well on my
way ! remembered that 1 had not
learned Azelea Adair's name. But
tomorrow would do.
The same day / started in on the
course Of iniquity that this unevent-
full city forced upon me. I was in
the town only two days. but in that
time I managed to lie shamelessly
by telegraph. and to be an accomplice
after the fact IL that is the cor
rect legal term-to a murder.
AS l rounded the corner nearest
my hotel the Afrite coachman of the
polychromatic. nonpareil coat seized
me, swung open the dungeony door
OF his peripatetic sarcophagus, fiirted
his ritual: step right In. boss. Car
riage " clean-jus' got back from a
funeral. Fifty cents to any"
And then he knew me and grinned
broadly. 'Scuse me. boss: you is de
genrman what rid out with me dis
mawnin.' Thank you kindly, sub"
Il am going out to s61 again to-
morrow afternoon at three" said 1.
and IL you will be here. I'll let you
drive me. So you know Miss Adair?"
1 concluded. thinking of my dollar
bill.
u belonged to her father, Judge
Adair, suh," ne replied.
Il judge that she is pretty poor"
said. "She hasn't much money to
speak of. has she?"
For an instant I looked again at
the fierce countenance of King Get
tiwayo, and then he changed back
to an extortionate old negro hack
driver.
"She amt gwine to starve. suh."
he said slowly. she has reso ces.
sub: she has reso'ces."
II shall pay you fifty cents for the
trip" said l.
Dat is puffeckIy correct, suh." he
answered humbly. IT JUS had to
have dat two dollars dis mawnin',
boss
went to the hotel and lied by
electricity. I wired the magazine: I:
"A. Adair holds out for eight cents
a word"
The answer that came back was:
Give it to her quick. you duffer."
Just before dinner Maj" Went
worth Caswell bore down upon me
with the greetings of a long-lost
friend. I have seen few men whom
1 have so instantaneously hated ard
of whom 1t was so difficult to be
rid. 1 was standing at the bar when
he invaded me; therefore I could not
wave the white ribbon in his face.
would have paid gladly for the
drink, hoping thereby to escape an
other hIIf he nf 40
spicable. roaring, advertising bib
bers who must have brass bands
and fireworks attend upon every cent
that they waste in their follies.
With an air OF producing millions
he drew two one-dollar bills from
a pocket and dashed one of them
upon the bar. looked once more at
the dollar bill with the upper right
hand corner missing, torn through
the middle, and patched with a
strip of blue tissue paper. It was
my dollar bill again. 1t could have
been no other.
i went up to my room. The driz-
zle and the monotony of a dreary,
eventlcss Southern town had made
me tired and listless. I remember
that just before I went to bed I
mentally disposed of the mysterious
dollar bill (which might have
formed the clew to a tremendously
fine detective story of San Fran
cisco) by saying to myself sleepily:
Seems as II a lot of people here
own stock in the Hack-Driyers'
Trust. Pays dividends promptly, too.
Wonder IL" Then I fell asleep.
King Cettiwayo was at his post
the next day. and ratified my bones
over the stones out to S81. He was
to wait and rattle mo back again
when was ready.
Azalea Adair looked paler and
cleaner and Trailer that she had
looked on the day before. After she
had signed the contract at eight
cents per word she grew still paler
and began to slip out Of her chair
Without much trouble I managed to
get her up on the antediluvian horse
hair 8 ia. and then ran out to the