The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-06-15


that the crowds swirling by invariably
halted for a second or two to look US
over
Might as well go this way as any
other, concluded Jack, at last, as he
picked up his two suit cases, headed
west on Forty Second, hit Fifth avenue
and then proceeded south along that
thoroughfare
Everybody Looks
1T was noon then - and the curb
stones were cluttered up with gather
ings of workers out for the lunchtime
airing. A group spotted US as we
ambled along and one of them yelled:
Look at this-look at this
Everybody within hearing of his
voice did, and little wonder! For I'll
always believe, in the light of later
events, that Jack Price and | con-
stituted the strangest looking pair
that had strutted the worlds most
aristocratic thoroughfare in many,
had photo now Of Jack and | as we
ha da photo now of Jack and I as we
hiked Fifth Avenue that day.
1--WE both wore suits a few sizes
roomier. as was the eastern style. We
believed in comfort. Our suits were
stylish enough for the western min
ing camps-but I've since learned that
box coats had gone out of fashion 10
years or so before we arrived Our
trousers, impressed since we had left
Salt Lake, looked baggy to a stage
comedian extreme.
Some Class.
Our suit cases were of paper-and
badly cracked and battered at that.
Our shirts were the typical western
type; open at the front-neat. but not
gaudy. We wore trick shoes. Our
hats were sombreros-and we sported
the classiest badger haircuts that are
imaginable. The hair cuts had been
ordered by Jack, who insisted that he
knew the latest thing in tonsorial
styles and that to look real classy
when We hit New York we had to
have just that type of haircut.
From the mining camp viewpoint,
II guess we did look classy enough.
But I've learned that class in a boom
camp and class in New York have a
slightly different meaning.
And each Of US was carrying two
suit cases.
1T was somewhere in the neighbor-
,, hood of Thirty-Eighth Street, where a
gang of fellows proceeded to have
some fun with US One of them started
off by sneaking up back of Jack and
! knocking his cowboy hat to the side
walk.
Drops One Suitcase.
Jack dropped one suitcase and
rushed for his hat. AS he did so the
| fellow made a snatch for the suitcase
/ Jack quit grabbing for the hat and
tried to protect the suiteases from be
/ ing stolen whereupon several of the
| fellows kicked the other suitcase into
the street, knocked my hat off and
! then, in trying to get away safely, acci
, IDENTIFY bumped the stopping Jack, who
| promptly took header
| In time, Jack and / got ourselves
all together again-and started along
And crowd now numbering of SOC
or more was following us-and it was
| getting bigger all the time. About
every 20 steps one of the original gang
/ of joshers would slip up back of us
and try to knock off our hats or kick q
] suitcase out of our hands.
| Gets Into Game.
1T began to look like a good game
! to me-and | decided to get into it
| So when one of the tormentors got
close | made swipe and knocked his
| hat off Just then another one
knocked mine off and third kicked
a suitcase from my hand. | picked VI
a loose hat and sailed it across the
street. The owner of the hat Their
kicked mine half a block. Jack go
into the spirit of the thing, too, anC
was pausing every so often to kick
punch or slap one of the mob.
Eventually the crowd tired of the
sport perhaps because Jack was hit
ting too hard to make it sport any
| longer-or maybe it was because {
policeman, hove into sight only a hal
block away At any rate the crowC
thinned. then disappeared-and Jacl
and | continued to hoof it along Fiftf
Avenue unmolested.
Along about seth STREET, Jacl
grabbed my arm:
Hey, look, he yelled, there:
somebody that knows us Lookit-
he's waving at US
| Some Friend
ct looked and saw that the drive
| Of a funny little carriage was really
Leckoning at Jack. My classy man
ager impulsively dropped his bags
rushed into the street. jumped onto
| the wheels of the hack and enthus
tiastically shook hands with the fellow
Then I saw the smile on his face
little A minute or so later he came
back y
who's your friend?' asked, happ,
over the possibility that we knew som'
one in the big town.
"'Oh, he didn't know us-just wa
waving to US to come for ride in hi
hack for 50 a ride, replied Jack, hi
crest fallen. That's boob way the,
have here of doing things
I'VE turned off Fifth Avenue finally
hit street where elevated train