South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-12-22
The Theory and the Hound by O. Henry

No- many days ago nv OLD friend
from the tropics j. p. BridScr.
United States consul on The island of
Eatona. was in the city. We had
wassaii and jubilee and saw the
Flltifou buildiug. anu missed see
ing the BrOuxlcss menagcrie soy
about a coupe Of nights. AnG then.
az the ebh tide. we were walking up
street thai parallels and parodies
Broadway
a woman with a comcIy and
mundane CountCnauce passed us,
holding iE leash a Wheeling. vicious,
waddlIng brute of yellow pug.
The dog entauglcG himself with
Bridgers legs and mumbled mis-
aHFlcs M snarliEg, p"evish. sulky
bite. BridEer. with a happy smile
kicked the breath out Of the brute.
the woman showcred US with
quick rain OF WCll-conceived adjec-
tives that left us IN no doubt a. 20
cur place in her opinion. and We
passed on Ten yards farther an
OLD woman with disordered white
hair and handbook tucked we'll hid
den beneath her tattercd shawl beg
bed. Bridgcr stopped and dIsin-
tered for her a quarter from his
holiday waistCOat.
ON the next corner q quarter Of
a ton of well-clothed man with
rice powdered. fat. white jowl,
stood holding tho chain Of a devil
born bulldog whore foreIecs were
strangers by the length OF q do schs-
hund A little woman I'm a last-sea-
sons hat confronted him and wept,
which was plainly all she could dc,
while he cursed her in low, sweet,
piacticed tones.
Bcidger smiled aeaiu-strictly 70
hiuself-and this time he took out
a little memorandum book and
made note Of il. This he had no
right to do without due explanation,
and I said so.
It's a new theory said Bridger,
that ! picked up down in Ratona.
I've been gathering support fer IL as
I knock about. The world isn't
ripe for IL yet, but-well I'll tell you:
aId then YOU run your mind hack
along the people you've known and
see what YOU make of it"
And SO I cCrncTed BridSer in 2
place where they have artificial
palms and wine: and ne told me the
story which is here in my words on
his responsibility.
One afternoon at o'clock, on the
Island Of RatOna, a hoy raced along
the beach screaming, "Pajoro
ahoyi"
Thus he made known the keen
ness OF his hearing and the justice
OF mis- discrimination IN pitch
Fe who first heard and made
oral proclamation concerning the
tOOt Of an approaching steamers
whistle, and correctly named the
/ e-r0 a IN
! tOna-undl the next steamer came.
Wherefore. there was rivalry among
the barefoot youth of RatCna, ara
/ many fell victims to the softly
blown conch shells of sloops which.
as they enter harbOr, sound sur
| prisingly like a distant steamers
| signal. Aud some could name you
l the vessel when its call. in your
duller ears. sounded no louder than
/ the sigh OF the wind through the
I branches Of the cOcoanut palms.
But tolay he WHO proclaimed the
PaJarO gained his hone RS. Ratonl
bent its ear 10 listen: and soon the
deep-tonEUed blast grew louder ana
nearer, and at length Ratona saw
above the line Of palms on the low
I point the two black tunnels Of the
| fruitcr slowly creeping toward the
mouth Of the harbor
You must know that Ratona is an
I island 20 miles of the south of a
South American republic 1t is a
| port Of that republic; and it sleeps
/ sweetly ia n smiling sea, toiling not
/ nor spinning. fed by the abundant
I tropics whore all things ripen,
/ cease and fall toward the grave"
Eight hundred people dream life
\ away in 4 green -embOwered village
/ that follows the horseshoe curve Of
| It's biiou harbor. They are mostly
4 Spanish and Indian Tnestizos, with a
i shading of San Domingo negroes, q
] tightening OF pUreblood Spanish Of
\ fCiais and n slight leaveninE of the
/ froth of three or four pioneering
/ white races. No steamers which
/ take on their banana inspectors
! there on theic way to the coast
1 They leave Sunday newspapers, ice.
/ Quininc, bacon, wateTn elOns and
/ vaccine matter at the island and
/ that is about all tho touch Ratona
/ gets with the world.
! The Pajaro paused at the mouth