Evening star., 1921-05-08

Pug's into the battle with New York
What had he won? Thix house: a
bank acceunt-discipliHe. He had for.
gotten how to laugh; hefslt his soul
| within him as dry as a bean in a pod
disciplined out Of all semblance to
| a soul. He remembered what denials
had gone into the making of his
power, such as it was. He had want
ed romance and had turned his back
on it. Other men had gone down the
world while he sat at his mahogany
| desk watching the ships drift out Of
the harbor into the open sea. He had
dreamed Of adventure and had worn
| groove in the city asphalt between
/ Bowling Green and East 35th street
He had longed for color. for the
warmth of human experience, for open
skies. the exuitation Of Gods world
! and what had he had? In voice he
| scarcely recognized as his own he
| asked Pug: How would you like to
go to Magellan
Pug shouted. "Magella, Oh, great"
Theyse fS putting Es,,st,, new raj railway va
ras. Bianchi is having trouble with
the Magellans. They don't want it
not an American railway. at any rate.
! I could send you down. Only there
mustn't be failure"
P0gs voice was solemn. Failure.
! Oh, dad. why in heavens name didn't
you send me before? There's trouble
down there, and I've been playing
tiddledy- winks on Broadway" He
put his head in his hands and groan-
ed. "Magella. Why. I've wanted to
go there ever since I was a kid"
Yes" his dad said, kraveiy. $50
have ] You can 90. That is. IL you're
ready for scrap
Pug jumped up. I'm ready" he
"NowT'
This minute"
They laughed. and pus's dad put
his arm around the boys shoulder
There's steamer on Saturday that
there you'll have to wait your luck
on board coastins steamer. unless
you happen to catch one OF the COM
panys boats. Come into the library
and III explain
'pCG knew the big map that hung
behind his dads desk in the
library: he knew every irreguIarity
in the Magellan coast line, every
river. every mountain peak, every
town. The city of Mageiia itself
was, in Pug's mind. big black star
halfway down the map. Behind it,
irregular. creepy lines marked the
vast. crowding peaks of the Santa
Christina. But Mr.. Fairchld saw
more than a black star and the
g., shadowy thumbprint of mountain
ranges; Magella was the source OF
his wealth. his hobby. his fetish, per-
haps his religion. He had dreamed
for twenty years OF the little citys
sun baked streets and succeed ar
cades; at his mahogany desk, fifteen
stories or SO above Bowling Green
he had PLAYED with MaYella'S 6nap-
cial and political destiny. a monarch
who mad never set foot in his kins
dom. Presidents came and went in
Maselia; dictafors strutted. fought
died: revolutions swept across the
| little republic like acrid clouds OF
dust spinning before a sudden wind
Yet an endless stream of gold poured
down from Santa Christina to the
seaboard. American gold. mined by
Americans and shipped eventually to
of Pug's dad to see that nothing
stopped that flow of gold-hate. fury
envy or ambition. Magella hated
Pugs dad with a concentrated. child
ish hatred that led to frequent tan
trums: now and then Magella, de-
face. kicked its heels, and howled
Then there were secret killings
shots were fired in the streets: the
American consulate was spattered
with mud and showered with stones
And Pugs dad, at his mahogany desk
in Bowling Green. saw TO II that the
golden stream rolled steadily down
to the coast and into the company's
ships waiting for il there.
He put his finger on the black stal
and tsrned to Pug with a quiet smile
There's Mageila. Here are the Co
lumbia mines. up in the Santa Chris
tina. Bianchrs railway runs only So
far. From this point all the hauling