The Washington herald., 1920-10-19

WILLARD GEDDIE. consul for
w the United States in Coralio.
was working leisureiy on his
yearly report. Goodwin, who had
strolled In as he did daily for a
smoke on the much coveted porch,
had found him so absorbed in his
work that he departed after roundly
abusing the consul for his lack of
hospitality. -
+ Il shall complain to the civil serv-
| ice department.. said Goodwin;-"or
/ Is 1t a department?-perh it's
only a theory. One gets neither civ
iiity nor service from you. You
won't talk; and you won't set out
! anything to drink. What kind of a
way is that of representing your
government
Goodwin strolled out and across
to the hotel to see il he could bully
/ the quarantine doctor into game
OF Coralio's solitary billiard table.
! His plans were completed for the
| interception of the fugitives from
| the capital; and now 1t was but a
waiting game that he had to play.
The consul was interested in his
report. He was only "a. and he had
not been in Coralio long enough for
: his enthusiasm to cool in the heat
! of the tropics-a paradox that may
! be allowed between Cancer and
Capricorn.
! So many thousend punches of ba-
nanas, so many thousand oranges
! and cocosnuts, SO many ounces of
gold dust, pounds of rubber, coffee,
! indigo and saTsaparilla-actua
! exports were 20 per cent greater
{ than. for the previous year!
through the consul Perhaps, he
thought. the State Department, upon
reading his Introduction, would no.
ftice-and then he leaned back in
his chair and, laughed. He was get
ting as bad as the others. For the
moment he had forgotten that CO.
ralio was an Insignificant town in
an insignificant republic lying along
! the by-ways of a second-rate sea.
He thought of Gregg, the quaran-
! tine doctor, who subscribed for the
/ London Lancet, expecting to find it
quoting his reports to the home
board of health concerning the yel-
low fever germ. The consul knew
that not one in nifty of his acquaint-
ances in the States had ever heard
OF Coralio. He knew that two men.
at any rate. would have to read his
ireport-some -underling in the State
! Department and a. compositor in the
public printing office. Perhaps the
type sticker would note the increase
! of commerce in Coralio, and speak
OF it, over the cheese and beer, TO a
| friend.
He had just written: Most un-
accountable is the supineness of the
large exporters in the United States
in permitting the French and Ger
man houses to practically control
the trade interests OF this rich and
productive country"-when he heard
/ the hoarse notes Of a steamers ST.
rem.
Geddie laid down his pen and
gathered his Panama hat and UNI
brella. BY the sound he knew II
to be the Nalhalla. one of the line
of fruit vessels plying for the We
suvius Company. Down to ninos OF
hve years, every one in CoraIio
could name you each incoming
steamer by the note of her siren.
The consul sauntered by a round
about. shaded way to the beach. BY
reason of long practice he gauged
his stroll so accurately that by the
time he arrived on the sandy shore
/ the boat of the customs officials
was rowing back from the steamer.
| which had been boarded and in
! spected according to the laws of
! AnChuria.
There is no harbor at Corslio.
| Vessels of the draught of the VAL
halla must ride at anchor a mile
from shore. When they take on
fruit it is conveyed on lighters and
freighter sloops. At Solitas. where
there was a fine harbor, ships of