The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-01-27
CHAPTER VII.

Webster reached New Orleans at
the end of the first leg Of his journey,
to discover that he was one day late
to board the Atlanta-a banana boat
of the Consolidated Fruit cOmpany's
line plying regularly between New Or
leans and that %company's depOts at
Limon and San Buenaventur8-whlch
necessitated a wait Of three days for
the steamer La Estrellita Of the Ca
ribbean Mai line, running to Caracas
and way ports.
He decided TO visit the ticket office
Of the Caribbean Mail line immediate
ly and avoid the rush In case the
travel should be heavy.
The steamship office was In Canal
street. The clerk was waiting on two
well-dressed and palpably low-bred
sons Of the tropics. to whom he had
just displayed a passenger list which
the two were scanning critically.
Their interest In It was so obvious
that unconsciously Webster peeped
over their shoulders (no difficult task
for one Of his stature) and discovered
It to be the passenger list Of the
steamer La Estrellita. They were con-
versing together In low tones and Web
ster. who had spent many years Of
his life following his profession In
Mexico, recognized their speech as the
bastard Spanish of the peOn.
He sat down in the long wall seat
and waited until the pair, having com-
pleted their scrutiny Of the list. turned
to pass out. He glanced at them cas-
ually. One was a tall hin man whose
bloodshOt eyes were inclined to "pop"
q little -%infalllble evidence In the
Latin-American that he is drinking
more hard liquor than is good for him,
His companion was plainly Of the
same racial stock, although Webster
suspected him Of a slight admiXture
Of negro blood. He vas short. stocky,
and aggressive looking; like his cor
panion, bejeweled and possessed Of a
thin, carefully cultivated moustache
that seemed to consist of about nine
teen hairs ON one side and twenty ON
the other. Evidently once upon n
time, as he story books have 1t. ne
had beer shot. Webster suspected a
Mauser bullet. fired at long range. II
had entered his right cheek. just be.
low the malar. ranged downward
through his mouth and out through
a fold Of fabby flesh under his left
1owl. 1t must have been a frightful
wound. but 1t had healed well except
at the point of entrance, where II had
q tendency to pucker considerably,
thus drawing the mans eyelid down
on his cheek and giving to that visual
organ something of the appearance Of
a bulldogs.
Webster gazed after them whimsi-
cally as he approached the counter.
I'D hate to wake up some night
and find that hombre with the puck
cred eye leaning over me. BY the
way" he continued, suddenly appre-
hensive, do you get much of that
paraqueet travel on your lineT
about so per cent. OF 1t Is off color.
SIR" )3
Webster pondered the S0-per-cent.
PROBABILITY or being Oerthed In the
same s~tateroom with one of these
people and the prospect was as re-
voting to him as would be an unin-
yited negro guest at the dining table Of
q southern family. He had all a
Westerner's hatred for the breed.
n "Well. Iwant a ticket to San Buena-
ventura" he Informed the clerk. "but
Isdon't relish the idea of a 6reaser In
the same staterOom with me-. | won
der II you couldn't manage to fix me
with a stateroom all to myse- f, or at
least arrange II so that In the event
of company I'll draw q white man,
'T'm sorry, III. but I cannot guar
ontee you absolute privacy nor any
lind Of white man. It's pretty mixed
(tavel to all Central American ports"
'How many berths In your snrst'
W~&1 ~<~t~nnNvna 80 H.