The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-11-19
lady kittenish.

TO DICK out GuS uySell. ne pOuuy,
bald-headed party with round, high
colored face and cut-up twinkle in
his eye 1 knew then that we should
hear more or less from Gus. And we
did. He was a comedian along his
own lines, Gus was. Inside of five
minutes he'd decorated himself with
one of the ladies' hats and was
paradin' around the lobby draped in
some woman's checked coat and
everybody was gigglin' at him.
Gus didn't hav the field all to him
self, though. Half an hour later a
tall, thin guy with a face like horse
came on the scene and was hailed
Joyous by everybody in sight as
Little Pete" Wearin' his hat over
one ear and a cigar in one corner of
his mouth seemed to be Pete's spe-
cialty. It wasn't such KILN act
but it got bowls of merriment out of
the CROWN multitude.
For the cars kept on arrivin' and
unloadin' more noble Knights. They
hardly looked the part. If I'd been
guessin' without any inside dope from
Alonzo 1 might have sized 'em up as
delegates to Cow and Hog Products
Convention, or something rural like
that. Anyway, few of 'em was noble
to look at. They was mostly plain,
ordinary folks; some painfully plain,
and others more ordinary than usual.
But they didn't seem to mind that.
Not a bit. By the time hundred or
so had collected and got to greetin'
the ones they'd met before, and the
new members was bein' introduced
around. and Gus and Little Pete had
thought up new acts to spring, the
lobby was lively spot. There was a
hum of chatter like a flock of fiivvers
startin' on low, with frequent out
bursts of giggles and smokers and
haw-haws as some little group let
itself 90 over new joke or maybe
NSNO~~
an old one.
And right in drifts the rest of our
party from the card room where
they'd been stagin' a bridge game
Yo should have seen the look on
Oggie's face, not to mention Pinck-
ney's expression. ..
"What-what the deuce!" says
Iinckney. 81 say, Shorty, how long
has this been going on?"
ooh, about an hour" says l.
"But what's it all about?" demands
oggie. "Who are all these weird per-
sons?"
"Huh!" says I. Cant you tell a
Noble Knight of Ninevah when you
see one? Well, that's what they are.
And these are their noble ladies with
'em. Annual conclave, you know
More coming every minute. The hotel
is going to be full of 'em for the next
two days"
ooh, say!" protested Oggie. GLOW
perfectly DREADFUL
That seems to be Pinckney's YER
dict, too, and Mrs. Blair and Sadie
agree with 'em. First off they was
for packin' up and hikin' right out,
but then they decided it's too late
for a jump to another town and that
they'd best stick it out.
"May be rather amusing, after ALL"
says Pinckney. I've never mingled
much with noble knights before"
Don't kid yourself" says I. You
amt going to do much minglin' now.
We're rank outsiders at this show"
So we were, too. When our little
sixsome drifts down for a seven
o'clock dinner the annual banquet
was in full swing. We are towed to
a corner table at the far end of the
idnin' room and one of the buss boys
is assigned to take our orders, all the
regular mattresses being busy with
the Noble Knights.
What an awful clatter! says
Madge Blair.
Seem to be a folksy bunch, don't
they?" says I. "Got a lot to say to
each other over their food, Ell "
Positively disgusting!" says Oggie.
I had to grin at that. But about
then someone begun hammering with
a fork on water glass and from a
big flower decorated table in the CEN
ter of the room rises the poddy form
of Alonzo T. ellis. He's no longer
the meek party who lunched in a
dark corner. On his wide chest is
pinned jewel set gold badge as big
as a saucer and around his shoulder
he's wearin' sort of crimson silk
scarf edged with gilt fringe. Also his
big, high-colored face is beamin'.
"Noble knights and Ladies'" he
begins in a thin, pipin' voice.
At which up rises Gus, the coined
he roars out.
feo