The Washington herald., 1920-07-02
THE POET And THE PEASANT e. % n e @ b. o HENRY


neld and the vaudeville stage,
that he excited only WEAKNESS
ana suspicion. And the wisp of
hay In his hair was so genuine,
SO fresh and redolent Of the
meadows, 80 clamorousiy, rural
that even q shell game man
would have put up his peas and
FOLDED his. table at sight of It.
Hsylocks seated himself upon
. night of stone steps and once
more exhumed his roll Of yellow
packs from the valise. The outer
one, a $50. he shucked on. and
oeckoned to a newsboy.
Son." said he. run somewhere
and get this changed for me. I'm
mighty nigh out Of chicken feed.
l guess you'll get q nickel IL you
VIII hurry up"
A hurt look appeared through
the dirt on the newsy's face.
Aw. watchert'ink. G'wan and
get yer funny bill changed your
self. Dey amt no farm clothes
yer got on. Gwan wit yer
stage money!
On a corner iounged a keen
eyed steerer for a gambling
house. He saw Haylocks. and his
expression suddenly grew cold
and virtuous.
Mister" said the rural one.
I've heard Of places in this here
Town where fellow could have
good game of old sledge or
peg a card at keno. ] got $3.50
IN this valise,. and / come down
from Ulster to see the sights.
hnow where a fellow could get
action on about 50 or $40? I'm
goln to have some sport, and
then maybe I'll buy out a busi-
ness Of some kind.
The steercr looked rained, ami
invt vtstigatcd a white spsck on his
LETT forefnger nail.
Cheese II, old man" he mur-
INJURED reproachfully. The Cen
tral ONCE must be bughouse to
send you out looking like such
Rillie. You couldn't get within
Two blocks of a sidewalk crap
game in them Tony Pastor props.
Ine recent Mir. Scotty from Death
valley has got you beat cross
town block in the way Of Eliza
oethan scenery and mechanical ac-
cessories. Let IL be skiddoo for
yours. Nay. / know Of no gilded
nails where one may bet a patrol
wagon on the ace"
Rebuffed again by the great
city tfat is 50 swift to detect ar
tihcialities. Haylocks sat upon the
curb and presented his thoughts
to hold a conference.
TITS my Clothes" said he:
~curned IL IT amt. They think
I'm a hayseed and won't have
nothin' TO do with me. Nobody
never made fun OF this hat in Ul-
ster County. / guess IL you want
10 notice you in New York you
must dress DIP like they do"
SO Haylocks went shopping in
tho tazars where men spake
through their noses and rubbed
their hands ard ran the tape-Iine
ecstatically over the bulge in his
inside pocket where reposed a red
nubbin OF corn with an even num-
ber Of rows. And messengers
bearing Parcels and boxes
streamed to his hotel on Broad
way within the lights OF Long
Acre.
At o'clock in the evening one
descended to the sidewalk whom
Ulster County would have fore.
sworn. Bright tan were his shoes;
his hat the latest block. His
light Sray trousers were deeply
creased; a gay blue silk hand
kerchief tapped from the breast
pocket of mis- elegant English
walking coat His collar might
have graced &c laundry window:
h!s blond hair was trimmed close
tn" wisp Of Ray was gone.
For an instant he stood, re-
splendent, with the leisurely air
Of a boulevardier concoctinc in
his mind tho route for his even
ing pleasures. And then he turned
down the gay. bright street with
the easy and graceful tread of
millionaire.
But in the instant tha. he had
paused the wisest and kcenest
eyes in the city had envcIopcd
him in their field of vision. A
stout man with gray eyes picked
two Of his friends with a lift
OF his eyebrows from the row
CT lorngers in front of the hJtel
The juiciest jay I've seen in
six months" said the man with
gray eyes Come along"
1t was half past IL when a man
galloped into the West Forty-sev-
enth street police station with the
story Of his rongs.
Mine hundred and fifty dol
lars" he gasped. "all my share
OF grandmcther's farm"
The desk sergeant wrUnG from
him the name Jabez BuIltongue. of
Locust Valley Farm, Ulster Coan-
~. and then began 10 take de-
scriptions Of the strong-arm gen
tiemen.
When Conant went to see the
editor about the fate of his poem,
he was rec sived over the head OF
the office boy into the inner room
that Is deco rated with the statu-
cites by Rodin and ]. c. Brown.
When read the first line Of
The Doe and the Brook" said
the editor. II knew it to be the
work OF one whose life has been
heart to heart with Nature. The
finished art Of the line did not
blind me to that fact. To use a
somewhat homely comparison, 1T
was as II a wild, free child of the
woods and fields were to don the
garb of fashion and walk down
broadway. Beneath the apparel
the man would show"