Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-01
West Wind Drift
BY GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
Copyright. 1870. BY osorps Barr MocsteAson

clowly laboriously out or the asne
.o.s n new hull, q a.stancher one thai
,,s Inflated predecessor. The yea
was,ed in the building Of the first shi
was ,amented but not mourned. Cheer
fiSSr1noSshout fS1nssSh % the village. No man. ..
,rnyan lifted the voice Of complaint
pealsnation took the form OF stoioism
4 sort Of dogged taciturnity was meas
ursSy - rel,sUsq eSls,saadsTyie gy RI There was even
sbsse neople toward each other-es o
courage sbtTy kept up by scofiins. EveI
Ssath' on his somber visits. was re
garded with strange s 9sr,s'Sn Sa py ynsats' eaos'
Kin, not once, but many times. and theJ
nncted him in their souls.
HST'm not afraid Of death" WAS bucl
chIxlers contribution. i've Just a.s
covered that death e shs s,tSsr Waits n,
sou spu get ,e Toe too blamed old to fight or else he
humps NJ, you when YOU ain't looking. or
yshap yo,,ire 30 weak from sickness YOU
ANT care what happens. I used to be
AFRAID OF death. And whyY Because
wasn't onto the old bum. why. iook N, y,
,I,tIs babies and feeble old women and
h's,o .nd horses, Now, I'm onto him. and
7 amt got any use for cheap sport
nv The little community had taken to
religion As is invariably the case. ad.
,srsity seeks surcease In some form VI
s,stv Men who had not entered q
rhuych since the days of their childhood,
snon who had scoffed at the sentimental
,tv NJ religion, now found consolation
n tho thing they had once despised
They were abashed and bewildered AZ
frst, as one after another tney teit rhas, hso
were surprised to find something that
,ney needed something that made life
smpler and gentler for them. something
uplifting, o,o.r rsss OF Puritans," re-
nected Randolph Fits. "Yon Know is tnss
y' out and wrung its neck last night
after ali the time. and trouble. and pa,
tlence he spent in giving her sweE
private education. There never was q
bird that could swear so copiousiy as
that bird OF Bob's, He taught her
and night to provide her with an up-to-
date vocabulary. He used to lie awake
nights thinking up new words for old
Polly 10 conquer. Now he says the
blamed old rip was deceiving him All
the time. She began springing exple.
| tves on him that he'd never heard ot
before In all his forty years before the
mast. She first began using them
couple Of months ago when he under
| took 10 reform her. He started In TO
| teach her to say good gracious and
4 GOODNESS me- and 'holty-toity' and nj!
| fuch stun, and she cursed so loud and
90 long that he had to throw bucket OF
water on her.
Every time he came home from
church, that red headed harridan would
open up on him with such string or
vituperatIon that he had to hold his ears
eo's not to forget himself and backslide.
Well, It got so that Bob couldn't live
with her any longer.
"she simply wouldn't puritanize. The
nearest he ever got her to saying good
was when she said It with only one o.
and then as a prefix to dammit So he
decided the only way to reform her was
to murder her. She managed TO nip
Il, however, and he's had the hump all
day because he fell from grace and said
something he'd oughtn't to. Yes, sir;
we're queer mess OF Puritnns. Look at
us. Catholics. PrcsDytcrians. Baptists
Methodists. Jews, infidels. Theosophists-
even Christian Scientists-all rolled up
into one big bundle labeled Handle with
Prayer We know nearly all the Ten
COMMANDMENTS by heart, and the Beati-
tudes flow from us in torrents. My wife
was saying only the other night that II
Sheriff Shay didn't arrest that bird for
using profnne language, she'd start a Pc
tition to have-Hello, Soapy! I didn't
Know you were present"
What was she going to do?" de-
nanded the sheriff Of Trigger Island.
There's no use telling you now. It's
700 late Polly has gone to a place I
oont dare mention, SO what's tho use
talking about TT"
parrots" growled Scapy. Besides. In,
!ne teller that learned her most of the |
euss-words old Boz never heard before. |
never saw bird that was 50 anxious
70 improve. She used to set there with
Isarr her ear ar cooked. Just simply crazy to
see see me coming. she'd begin to hop up |
ara down on her perch and cali me |
names fgurin' I'd lose my temper and |
eve her q tongue lashin' Gosh, I'm glad |
n';I que dead 1t was gettin' to be an awful |
nuisance hoaS4 chasing parrots out OF the trees |
tS0n,, uUS OF Bob's house. They got SOS
Tmeyd .m come down there and set around
Sn aay pickn' up things she said, Some
Isry ps rSot 'oiu ,, me the other day he heard a
IRsrot way up in the woods swee rim
,Uta Ma u sailor He fired club at IL, and
"'Tt 70 40 yeu think It said to him?''
soon,. '9u weren't such an ungodly liar.
Malone ''' sa'u Chiet JUSTICE
""ITsSpy ga regarded him sorrowfully.
boH you Keep on sayin' things li,xs
,nn M'' Judge. III have to tell YOUR wife
'" ".n an 'rue to her." said he.
rons n"u IL mat would be the most prodi-
kialone! !e you ever told" exclaimed Mr..
kut sure %nNi, You and me know it's a lie.
'0u ketch hell just the same"
Tho CHAPTER XVI ,
equation OF Trigger Island ms
er Relieving SnS Ing tho example of Buck ch,z-
dubious Ime Ioy.so governor himself, scores Of
ke1ed knS N dispelllng certain misg,vinSs
n nv ,os uouots lurking in the heartsnot
Sbresa consclences-of approximataiw I
bn tba ms or the unmarried woman
Father Frsd. Island. with the result that
We're kan, "nclsco co and Parson Mackenzie
per of we Weeks efSssCeedingly busy for a num-
ine state" guided bv tim ,o,..
S,ea kven chief justice, extracted "oM,s ,,or,
kted ~ more severe than those incornnr'
tesplte thn me marriage service And vel,
Jain candiSa,,amIp ,,mphalic declarations Of GER, ,,
femained edi'ttSs-pr,nSipaily in the J, male-there
kanS lingering doubt, On the otbss
kones, several ardent and undouhtoa1,,
the ohian.'em were unable 10 MART
|mple Sss ressa, OF their affection for The
Pble to reonu mat too many people ware
|adiss themss,vtdnSe tne lamentations Of the .
bf the y svaso WAS customary to suffer because :.
husbands nsrse wera sran and agony, their poor
arson IaS case Sa. of Joe Hooker anH e M. .,uso h
btimataTyvs TsS 81 particularly dlstressing anS !.
brastic IS ied to the passage Of q satna ra
|on%e lew was sSR ~. oy the council. Judge MAJ q
Fdsd for me IT, father Of this law. II pro q
y previous i9 10 automatic ss, annulment of h
Lb.sswNto swo years - provided, hoSsIa e1p,ratiSn n
10 contes. husband or wife didn't t,,r, me un
(ranteS she me matter. This law o,a up "
Busbsnd absolute freedom to the sbsa also !,
horzsd to Sr rsms,rw %,fe; who was thereby au.
|lce-or words rSarry .n without further no 8
Fs'tG.lared Rand RandoiI0ob i0 that a.. effect. 1t was, q
boubta ana ao. eIuable law, and wo,rS wpoerrtSectly {
u peopia se the minds Of quite n NUM-, no n
beard Of Il IN far'ofr lands-if thew ever p