The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-12-02

HH'm; Ticketed &c Angels" RE Nut
tered Half to Himself.
shacks ePIebald" is Q sort of am elias
tic word. as the dictionaries define ii
and it might apply TO almost any
sbeast-markings out of the ordinary
But the horse / was gaping at fell cas-
| lily within any or all of the definitions
it was true calico" white and light
sorrel in grotesque patchings: unniS
fakably ''piebald" if purist in the
use of the mother-tongue- like Cousin
Percy. for exampIe-wished to call IL
So
Before / could rush back to the
stewards sentry-box in the vestibule of
the car our train was chasing along
again
Hey shouted; what's the name
Of that place where We stopped to wa-
ter the engineer
"Atropia.
"Death-sleep." / translated with a
grin. IT fits, all the way down to the
ground What are the industries of
Atropia?'
4 don't get youn
Excuse me; I'll try to put. it I'm
simpler form. Why is Atropia?''
Hh appeared TO have reached the
| conclusion that was an escaped luna
tic, safe enough. most probably a
harmless one He looked first at the lit
tie colored slip sticking in my hat-band
and then consulted notebook drawn
from his pocket
Hin; ticxeted to Angels" he NUT
tered half to himself And then to me:
Was you expectin' to have friends.
meet you at Angels?a
This was too much, and, anxious az
/ was to find out something more about
Atropia. felt it an imperative duty
fool-like-to do my small partrtoward
| enliyening rather sad world. So /
said, solemnly:
i shall be met by a parade of the
Angels fire department, in uniform,
and with the apparatus, headed by a
brass band But this is irrelevant to
the present burning question. What I
am thirsting to know la why there
should be a dog with a face half
white and half black standing ON the
Atropia station platform, and a pie
bald pony hitched to the HORSEBACK
On the Atrepia public square,
That finished him.
Say, young Teller, you've got 'em
bad" he commented. 'Rut that'll be
all right. Just you wait till we get to
Angels, and then you can find out all
these funny things you're so dead anx-
ious to know"
Hold on minute" / interposed as
he was trying to escape. "Atropia
hasn't always been as dead as 1t ia
now, has it? What was its name when
it was alive and able TO sit up and take
nourishment?"
''Huh?" he queried; and then: "Oh,
T get you, now; it used to be called
Plaeervflle.''
THANK you; that helps. Now how
much farther is it TO Angels r.
Bout twenty miles,.
.'AIl right And when viii there be
a train coming back To this Atropia
| placer
"Way-freight tomorruh mornin'-
eight-thirty out o. Angels"
II 1DOA. ANON Il lxkOSE nAE DCODiE anu
the brass band don't miss me" /
couldn't resist the temptation TO give
him a final shot, and it hit the bulls,
eye. AS he edged away could see by
/ his expression that he still thought me
crazy.
When / got back to my Pullman
after luncheon / perceived at once that
/ the train conductor had promptly
passed the word about the episode in
the dining ear. The Pullman conduc-
tor evidently had his weather eye on
me, and the negro porter SHE'D every
time he passed my section. This was
rich, bur If | could have known the
/ tenth part of what was going To pop
out of this Pandora box that | had
foolishly dug up in the dining car, the
amusement feature would speedily
have been forgotten III pretty
strenuous eifert 80 straighten things
out Willie tlaele Has yet time.
/ descended from the train at my
ticket-named destination of Angels.
and found a typical mining camp of a
single street and a tawdry, dusty
dIaarincSs scarcely exceeded by that
of the dead-aliNe Atropia. The first
| thing / saw on the Station platform
was my train conductor talking earn
estly TO a large. desperadoish-loQ king
man whose greatest need was for m
clean shave. BY the manner of the two
/ saw that their talk was aiming itself
at me: the railroad man was only too
plainly warning the Angelic person
that Angels the Blest had a probably
harmless, bur possibly dangerous.
maniac In its midst.
Still / saw only the humorous side
OF il and refused TO be disturbed. Fired
BY the ambition to find some way of
returning at once TO 4Atropia, before
the magic horse and dog should disap-
pear. / tramped OFF in search of place
where i could leave my two grips. The
place that offered. and the only one,
I A. Il