Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-20

~ remember topping the screen
floor as ! jumped sid,
ageous gentleman--one OF the rubber
necks who had come in with the tout.
he was too scared, ] imagine, even 10
have the thought Of tackling such for'
midablc things as iron shutters enter
his head. yelled to the stoker to get
them open. and tried to form sort OF
rear guard for him while he. did 1t.
Then I heard them creak on their hinges
and heard him shout. / made dash
for It, but l wasn't quite quick enous
One Of the policemen grabbed me. but
! was playing In luck then. / got IN
fortunate swing and he went down ior
! the count. remember topping INV
screen and the man behind 1t over on
the hoor as ! jumped sideways tor tnf
window: and ] remember a glimpse U.
his terrorized face. his eyes staring al
me. his mouth wide open. as | tOoh
headlong dive over the window slii;
The stoker picked me up, and We stattca
on the run.
THE police were scrambling throush
the window after us. l didn need "
be told that there wouldn't be happ!
time ahead if ! were caught. Apart
from that tout who. though ] had noth-
| ing 10 do with it, gave the AFFAIR very
serious aspect. l was good for the ,imit
on the statute books for resisting arrest
In the first place, and for knocking OUT
an officer in the second. But the stokef
knew his way about. We gave the po'
lice the slip, and little later on we
| landed up in sailors boarding. mouse
run BY one-eyed cousin OF satmm, aSan.
known as Lasc8r Joe. We lay there
hidden while the tout got better. and
the Spanish hidalgo got sent up for L
long term for murderous assault. -
nally Lascar Joe slipped the stokcf
aboard some ship; and week or so
later be slipped nc. the transfer. bcinR
made in the night. aboard Il frowS
tramp bound for New Zealand.
The young man paused, evidently r.
viting comment.
go on" prompted the man with
the Quill toothpick softly.
"Therc isn't very much more, said
the young man. lie laughed shortly.
"As far as l know I'm the sole sur.
vivor from that tramp. She never got
10 New Zealand; and that's how got
here to Samoa. She went down IN Il
hurricane.
~ was washed ashore on one of this
group of islands about forty or fifty
niles from here. I don't know much
about the details; l was past knowing
anything when the bits Of wrecka7e on
which I had lashed myself days before
came to port. There weren any
was going to say white people, on the
island. but I'm wrong about that. The
Samoans are about the whitest people
on Gods green earth. ! found that
out. There were only natives Oh that
oil nd f,p al
two months. and | got to be pretty
friendly with them, especially the old
fellow who originally picked me up hall
drowned and unconscious on the beach
and who took me into the bosom OF his
family. Then the missionary boat came
along. and l came back with it to
Apia here"
The young man laughed again sud-
denly, a jarrins note in his mir,h.
II don't suppose you've heard tina,
original remark about the world being
such small place after all. figured
that back here in Apia Il shipwrecked
and destitute white man would get the
glad hand and at least chance to
earn his stake. Maybe he would or
dinarily; but l didn't. I hadn't said
anything to the missionary about that
Honolulu escapade, and l was keeping
! u uSTh NucH i SOI mere uHI StdTtcu
tell the shipwreck end Of my story over
pgain. Queer. isn't 1t? Lined up in
about the first audience I had was the
gentleman with the pasty face that
had toppled over with the screen in the
old ChinE's faro dump. He was one o!
the big guns here. ana had been away
on a pleasure trip. and Honolulu had
been on his itinerary. That settled
1t. The missionary chap spoke up a
bit for me. III give him credit for
that. though ! had hunch he was
going TO use that play AS an opening
wedge in an effort to reform IN" later
OF. But / had my fingers crossed. The
whites mere turned their backs on me.
and | turned my back on the mission
ary. That's about all there was to il
That was about two weeks ago, and
for those two weeks I've lived in an
other Of Mr.. Dante's delightful circles. .
lie sat suddenly upright. clenche,
fist flung outward,
"Not q cent Not damned so,l.mar-
Quee. Nothing but this torn shirt. and
what's left of these cotton pants! -
He lay back on rho sand quite us
suddenly again, and fell to laughing
softly.
Tick. II was the quill toothpick.
''But at that" said the young man,
"I'm not sure you could call me n
cynic. though the more | tee Of my
own breed as compared with the So
called heathen the less l think of-my
own breed still had card up nv
sleeve. had letter Of Introduction
to real gentleman and landed pro :
prietor here. Ills maine was Manu-, and
he gave me- his house, to live in, and
made me free Of his taro and his bread
Ill l.. Al