Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-24

buildings end and stood before US.
The voice had not belied him. He was
a most atrociouS spectacle OF man
He was gaunt and hungry, he wore a
broken old grass hat and the calico
blouse of coolie. over a pair of
denim trousers, and to the eye he was
so offensive he did not look even pitt
full. The thing you noticed most about
him was that he was disreputable and
unclean as a man who lives among
coolies must be disreputable and I'M
clean and that he was physically mis-
cradle His eyes were Sunken and he
had a stubble of beard and tray of
sickly sweets hung from his shoulders
with a few flies sanitary English
colony permits to exist lowering over
them. And he stood there swaying in
silly fashion and he said "Walla,
baby"
"Allez vous-en," said Judson. Jud-
son was rather proud of any French
he knew.
But the man only blinked at US and
said, Il don't speak it"
Get out, then" said Judson. Like
all men of his kind he felt pride OF
competence in little situations.
And the man simply stood there
and stared at my knees. He may
have been adequate to meet the Mar
fever and the serpents and the jungle,
but he certainly was not adequate
to facing Judson in white linen. fresh
from luncheon a. the club. He looked
me in the face Tor a moment and he
stared again at my knees. but he
was a poor thing. He could not
be impIdent even to Judson. to whom
many people in Demerara offer i'm
pudence.
"Walla. baby he said. and turned
away. He hesitated at the corner of
the High street and stared at me
again. The uncleanliness and the
misery of him made me uncomfort-
able. just as the cleanliness and self
satisfaction of Judson made me un
comfortable. l picked up the paper
to go to my room.
"Walla. baby said the voice in the
distance.
Taking leave of Judson. tried
naturally to use the speech he seems
to think effective. Rum beggar," l
said. wonder what the story is be-
hind him"
mo story at ALL said Judson. Eek
cept that he wants to sell candy and
be Wallababy and that he's willing
to be a Younghusband and a Peary
and Stanley to do it,"
So by going upstairs / got rid of
Judson and put the paper away for
later perusal and changed into fresh
clothes and finally came down again
to find William Pitt the Barbados
head waiter and general factotum Of
the Tower Hotel. storming at the
same Cayenne miserable in the door
way. William Pitt was once a bar
of the proprietia& The Wallababy
meant to ask me something: meant
to ask it despite William Pitt and my
own look of disapproval.
Gould l. he Questioned: and then
licking his dry lips: Gould =
ha RI Eri oh he
only pointed foolishly at his wretched
tray and said again "Walla, baby"
And he slipped away. as one of the
white jacketed, blue-trousered black
constables strolled past. I went in
to dinner where William Pitt apollo
gized profusely for the toughness Of
the beef and inquired again as to
what emotions had been aroused
within me by the first flying fish and
sea eggs breakfast ever ate at
Bridgetown.
A day or two later ] saw the Walla-
baby beside the iron wall of the Star
brock market. The Hindu barber who
shaves his fellow countrymen in such
shade as the wall affords was con-
sidering investment in the children s
sweets and was discussing shrilly the
price to pay. The Wallababy was
dirtier and thinner than before. His
lips were tightly drawn and the
necessity OF hard bargain driving was
strong upon him, but he left the trade
to come toward me where ] stood
trying to buy lctt"rwood stick from
a usurious Portuguese.
Gould T. began the Walla baby.
Get along with YOU" said the Irish
sergeant in charge Of the black con-
stabulary. And as the Wallababy
slipped away: Was he annoying
you sir?
NO" I said. vaguely disturbed
about il because the mans slaVlshness
was so complete. / should have been
willing enough to buy his trayful OF
sticky stuff and distribute 1t among
the little black boys of the market.
The sanitary code was preventive
against it's powers of illness. The
sale might help him on toward Mar
tiniuue or Guadeloupe or even Paris.
II that was really where he wanted
to go. If they didn't care enough
about him to send him back to the
penal settlement why should they
hound him SO? Since it had permit
ted him to come through the hor-
rors Of wilderness why should civili-
cation try to f1atten him with its own
refinements? And l heard him before
the market gate: "Walla, baby!"
1t was hot in the Tower Hotel and
the black washer-woman was late
about getting back the particular suit
Of whites I wanted to wear. The ex.
plantations and apologies and sugges-
finn of thor SnitS nv William, PIT