Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-04-18

Continued from Tenth PaGeD
CRY Hank turning out multf-million
aire. while The twirls the dust
Stetson on a long foreflnger:
What have you been doing all thes
| yearsg" asks Burch. gain at hin
! curious.
| ooh. going to and fro in the worl,
and walking up and down in IT,. say
Bill. springin' that quizzin' smile: =
little OF everything. from writing fol
the daily press 10 travelling with G
medicine top. ] have sung in church
choirs for the fun OF IT, and ! have
dealt faro for a fixed salary. ] was
with Leonard Wood in Cuba when he
cleaned up Havana. and went Into
la wson c!ty with Sweetwater Bill the
yea- OF the big placer strikes. Some
of the enterprises in which ! have
taken a hand ] had rather not go Into
details about. \ few were highly prof
liable for a time. more were quite
the reverse. but all were interesting
l regret not e one. A for my present
state-well you can guess, As Omas
put 1t 30 we'll
1--we drowned my Glory n a shallow
And sold my Reputation for a song.
Drink" suggests Burch.
why phrase II 40 crudely'' pro-
tests BIN. You remember that i'm
mortal alibi--
j" oh Thou who didst with pItfall ana
with gin
8eset the road was to wander in
Well, why blame me- What did the
hand then of the Potter shake" Any
way. I've had my share That IS. UP
to date. For the last year. however
my clay with long oblivion has gone
dry. In other words. Hank. l have
suffered from the general ariG:ty which
has settled upon what Mike Slattery
a friend of mine down in Dallas calls
the great O'Hara desert"
He was a fluent cuss. Bill Coogler
and more or less entertalnin' TO listen
10. Also he seems as much at home
in that swell apartment, movin
droppin' easy into a deep-cushioned
armchair. as if he'd been hoidin' forth
in a Bowery lodgin' house. H. Milton
Burch has recovered some from his
fidgets and is gain at him sort OF
reminiscent.
Same old Bill. aren't you?" he re-
marks. How did you happen to FIND
out that l was here"
Simply by reading the newspapers
Hank" says Coogler. Your goings
and comings are fairly well adver.
tised. you know. Must have a good
press agent. And when l read tina,
little human interest story about how
you had come forward so nobly to the
aid of that unfortunate young artist
who had collapsed from hunger while
working as a street cleaner-well
thinks I. if Hank has reached the
point where he writes checks for to.
tai strangers the time is ripe for me
to cash in on that Pythian pact. Now
don't shudder. my dear Hank. ] am
no, one to insist on my pound oil
flesh, nor shall / demand one-third Of
all your worldly goods. You will fino
me a reasonable person
All" says Burch, sighin' relieved
But just what do you propose Il
ask"
Merely loaf Of bread beneath the
Dough. Hank" says Bill, "a flask OF
wine. book of verse. and Thou. We
will omit the singing. for as remem
Der. Hank. your singing wasn't much
I will supply the musical interludes il
you'll furnish the rest"
I'm more concrete and less poetica
terms, however, suggests Burch.
Board. lodging and raiment." says
Bill. Plenty of room here for two
more, I should say" and he glance.
around at the various doors openin
off the big Twin room.
Two more?" echoes Hank
Couldn't leave out Wesley Deake
could we:" says Coogler. Hes In
town. you know. Oh. yes, Running a
secondhand furniture shop over or
8th avenue. / haven't seen him person
ably, but looked him up in the direc-
tory and telephoned him to meet me
here on business OF Importance. He's
late. as usual, but he ought 10 be
here"
a Mr.. Deake to see you. sir" whis-
pers the butler. tiptoein' in
En-" says Burch. "Deake:" Well
show him in. Might as we'll"
He amt quite so seedy lookin as
Bill Coogler. but he's no mirror OF
fashion. A heavy set, poddy, round.
shouldered party with grizzly gray
hair. scowlin' brows and bags under
his eyes. He stares around the grour
cold and suspicious, and even ate,
he's been notified hilarious by Coog
Ter that once more the Fabians Three
are met together he don't seem to &c,
the spirit OF the reunion.
What's the idea?" he demands.
This" says Bill. wavin' the creased