The Washington herald., 1920-07-04

CITY was Ao<e~e
ain and red uproar Of patriotism'
Billy Casparis told me this story.
In his way. Billy Is ulysses, u.
Like Satan. he comes from gong
to and fro upon the earth and
walking up and down In It To-
morrow morning while you are
cracking your breakfast egg he
NAV be OF with his little alliga-
tor grip to boom a town site In
the middle of Lake Okeechobee
or to trade horses with the PatA-
Eonfans.
we sat at a little, round table,
and between US were glasses
holding big Jumps OF ice, ana
above us leaned an lartinciai
palm. And because our scene
was SET with the properties ec
the one they recalled to his mind,
Rflly was stirred to narrative.
1T reminds me-" said he, -of .
Fourth I helped to ceieorate
down In Salvador. Twas wnue
/ was running an Ice FACTORY
down there, after unloaded tnat
silver mine / had in Colorado.
had what they called conoi-
tional concession They made me
nut up $1,000 cash forfeit tnat
vould make ice continuously Tor
sir months. II did that could
drau down my ante. II failed
{ 10 do 40 the government took the
not So the inspectors kept
dropping in, trying 10 catcn ine
without the goods
"0ne day when the tnermome-
ter was at 10. the clock at haf-
past one, and the calendar at
July 3. two of the little. brown,
oily nosers in red trousers slid
in to make an inspection Now,
the factory hadn't turned out
pound of ice in three weeks, for
n couple of reasons The Saliva
tdor heather wouldn't buy 1t; they
said IL made things cold, they
mt IL In. And I couldn't make
any more, because I was broke.
All was holding on for was 10
get down my thousand SO could
leave the country. The SIX
months would be up on the sixth
of July.
"well, I showed 'em all the Ice.
I had. 1 raised the lid of a dark
fsh vat. and there was an ele-
CANT 10o-pound block Of ice'
beautiful and convincing to the
eve. I was about to close down
the lid again when one OF those
brunette sleuths fiops down on
his red knees and lays a SLAM
derous and violent hand on my
guarantee of good faith. And In
two minutes more they had
dragged out on the floor that
fine chunk of nodded glass that
had cost me $50 to have shipped
down from Frisco.
"Ice-y? says the fellow tnat
played me the dishonorable
trick; 'verree warm ice-y. Yes.
The day is that hot. senior. Yes.
Maybeso 1t is of desirableness TO
leave him out to. get the cool.
Yes
Yes says I. yes for / knew
they had me. 'Touching's belieV-
ing. amt 1t, boys? Yes. Now
there's some might say the seats
of your trousers are sky blue, but
tits my opinion they are red.
Let's apply the tests of the lay
ing on of hands and feet And
$50 l hoisted both those fnspec-
tors out the door on the toe OF
my shoe, apd sat down to cool on
on my block of disreputable
glass.
And. ASH live without oats,
while / sat~there,- homesick for
money and without a cent to my
ambition. there came on the
breeze the most beautiful smell
my nose had entered for year.
God knows where IL came from
in that backyard of a country
IL was a bouquet of soaked
lemon peel, cigar stumps, and
stale beer-exactly the smell OF
.Goldbrick Charley's place on
Fourteenth street where used
to play pinochle of afternoons
with the third-rate actors And
that smell drove my troubles
through me and. clinched 'em at
the back. I began to long for
my country and feel sentiments
about it.; and / said words about
Salvador that you wouldn't think
could come legitimate out of an
iea factory.
And while I was sitting there,
a6wng through the blazing sun.
shfpe in his clean, white clothes
comes Maximilian Jones. an
american interested in rubber
and rosewood.
{ ssreat carrambos' says I,
when be stepped in. for I was in
. bad feuper admit I have
<stastrophes enough2sI know
what you Want You want to
ten me that stary again about
Johnny Ammiger and the widow
ion the train. You've told IL nine
times already this month
1T must be they heatS says
Jones, stopping IN the door.
amazed. Poor Billy. He's got
bugs. Sitting on ice, and calling
his best friends pseudonyms. Hi!
muchacho" Jones called nv force
of employees. who was sitting in
the sun, playing with his Jtoes,
and told him to put od his
trousers and run for the, doctor.
Come back says I. Sit
down, Maxy. and forget it. 'Tis
not ice you. see. nor a lunstic up
on 1t. 'Tis only an exile full of
homesickness sitting on a lump
of glass that's just cost him a
thousand dollars. Now what was
1t Johnny said to the widow first?
I'd like to hear it again, Maxy-
honest. Don't mind what / said
"Maximilian Jones and sat
down and talked. He was about
as sick of the country as I was,
for the grafters were squeezing
him for half the profits of his
rosewood and rubber. Down in
the bottom of a tank of water
had a dozen bottles OF sticky Fris-
co beer; and fished these up, and
we fell to talking about home
and the flag and Hail Columbia
and home fried potatoes: and the
drivel we contributed would
have sickened any mans enjoy
ing those blessings. But at that
time we. were out of EN- You
can't appreciate home till you've