The Washington herald., 1921-01-05

VI AOHAAlAdSB anu beautiful ShaWlS
worth 500 apiece that the Indian
women weave of a kind of vegetable
fibre like silk. All of EN- got down
and wriggled on the floor in front Of
that hardfinish god, and then
snesked off through the woods
again.
II wonder who gets. this rake
on? remarks High Jack
Oh, says I, there's priests or
deputy idols or a committee of dis
arrangements somewhere in the
woods on the job. Wherever you
find god you'll find somebody wait
ing to take charge of the burnt
offerings
And then we took another swig
Of rum and walked out to the parlor
front door to cool off. for it was as
hot inside as a summer camp on
the Palisades.
And while We stood there in the
breeze we looks down the path and
sees a young lady approaching the
blasted ruin. She was, barefooted
and had on a white robe, and car
ried a wreath of white flowers in
her hand. When she got nearer
We saw she had a long blue feather
stuck through her black hair And
when she got nearer still me and
High Jack Stakeholder grabbed
each other to keep from tumbIing
down on the floor; for the girls
face was as much like Florence
Blue Feathers as his was like old
King ToXicology's.
And then was when High Jacks
booze drowned his system of
ethnolgy. He dragged me inside
back Of the statue, and says:
Lay hold of it. Hunky. Well
pack it into the other room. 1 felt
it all the time says he I'm the
reconsideration of the god Loco
motor-ataxia. and Florence Blue
Feather was my bride a thousand
years ago. She has come to seek
me in the temple where I used to
reign
"'An right says I. There's no
use arguing against the rum ques-
ton. You take his feet
I'VE lifted the 300-pound stone
god, and carried him into the back
room of the cafe-the temple,
mean-and leaned him against the
wall. 1t was more work than
bouncing three live ones from an
all-night Broadway joint on New
Year Eve.
Then High Jack ran out and
brought in a couple of them Indian
silk shaBls and began to undress
himself. Pc,
"'Oh. figs" says 1. Is it thus?
Strong drink is an adder and sub
tractor, too. Is it the heat or the
call of the wild that's got you%
But High Jack is too full of ex-
ali
stops the disrobing business just
short of the Manhattan Beach rules,
and then winds them red-a and white
shawls around him, and goes out
and stands on the pedestal as steady
az any platinum deity you ever saw.
And 1 looks through a peekhole to
see what he is up to-
In a few minutes in comes the
girl with the flower wreath. DANCED
II l wasn't knocked a little silly
when she got close, she looked so
exactly much like Florence Blue
Feather. I wonder says I to my
self, ''if she has been reincarcerated,
too? If I could see.' says I to my
self, whether she has a mole on her
left But the next minute I
thought she looked one-eighth of a
shade darker than Florence; but she
looked good at that. And High Jack
hadn't drunk all the rum that had
been drank ,,.,... ..
The girl went up within ten feet
of the bum idol, and got down and
msssaged her nose with the floor,
like the rest did. Then she went
nearer and laid the flower wreath
on the block of stone at High Jacks
feet. Rummy as I was, 1 thought
it was kind of nice of her to think
of offering flowers instead of house
hold and kitchen provisions. Even
a stone god ought to appreciate a
little sentiment like that on top of
the fancy groceries they had piled
up in front of him. sab 4I-s.Iht
And then High Jack steps down
from his pedestal, quiet, and men
tions a few words that sounded just
like the hieroglyphics carved on the
walls of the ruin. The girl gives
little jump backward, and her eyes
fly open as big as doughnuts; but
she don't beat it.
Why didn't she? I'll tell you why
I think why. 1t don't seem to a girl
so supernatural, unlikely, strange,
and startling that a stone god
should come to life for her If he
was to do it for one of them snub-
nosed brown girls on the other side
of the woods, now, it would be diff
her! I'll bet she said
to herself: Well, goodness me!
you've been p long time getting on
your job. I've half a mind not to
speak to you
But she and High Jack holds
hands and walks away out of the
temple together. By the time I'd
had time to take another drink and
enter upon the scene they were
twenty yards away, going up the
path in the woods that the girl had
come down. With the natural
scenery already in place, it was just
like a play to watch 'em-she look
ing up at him, and him giving her
back the best that an Indian can
hand out in the way of a goo-goo
eye. But there wasn't anything in
that decentralization and revulsion to
tintype for me.
Hey! Injun! yells out to High
Jack. We've got a board-bill due in
town, and you're leaving me without
a cent. Brace up and cut out the
Neapolitan fisher-naiden, and let's
go back home
All COulu uO was 10 huSlIe DaCh
to that Boca place and panhandle
Major Ring. He detached himself
from enough of his winnings to
buy me a ticket home. And I'm
back again on the job at ChubSs,
sir, ond I'm going to hold it steady.
Come round and you'll find the steak
as good as ever"
wondered what Hunky. Magee
thought about his own story; so 1
asked him il he had any theories
about reincarnation and transmo-
and such mysteries as