The Washington times., 1922-09-03

tuht y tOTclC COuiu FcCdh anu IL
IL odd that the sense came just as
she was going into q machine
shop to work-and:
"They sure were tough, them fel-
lows. Lots older than me. Gee.
that was q bear-cat Of a joint!
was about sixteen. They used to
challenge each other at lunch time
In q ring with Q regular trainer.
and that's how I learned to fight
good and how to stand q knock
down and take q lot Of punching.
That's what made me hard. all
right.
A REAL FIGHT.
"And when they saw that I
could spar pretty good, they
wanted me in the gang. They
were rough. and I certainly got
the stufffng kicked out of me.
had to 20 to q doctor to get
bandaged up and I knew my
grandfather would be wild. and
was afraid to 60 home. but I did
in .ths early morning. You can
imagine what happened.
He gave me an awful Iacing.
saying that hereafter I was 60.
ing out only with him. and he
told me to try to remember that
was . girl and not q boy. but
I had always been q boy.
. Yes. used to feel timid now
and then. thinking what might
happen II that gang ever found
cut ] was q girl. but when I
felt that way I braced up and
forgot about It. I used to try to
picture myself in girls clothes,
sometimes, but there was nothing
to It. II I was a girl, I'd have
had to stay at home.
DRIVING MOTOR TRUCKS.
But I'd learned how to run a
motor truck by then and how TO
repair them; and then one night
the gang planned to take the first
truck that came into the shop
for . Joy ride with a bunch Of
girls.
They'd always put the hard
work UP to me because I was
young, and they always wanted to
be sure I wasn't yellow. We
came to . truck. I jumped in
and found It locked. I had a
switch key, but the steering wheel
was locked, and then the owner
came out.
Hot Dogi There was q squad
Of plainclothes men on us in a
minute. We beat It, and next
night tried again. We pulled a
car by breaking in a garage. The
burglar alarm went off. but we
got the car and changed the H.
censs and chiseled out the engine
numbers and went after the girls
and had our ride.
NEAR DEATH.
Il was driving, and at high
speed We hit . Ford ana knocked
It over. Our front wheels went
right on top Of It 4 crowd came
and the Ford driver and I were
hurt . little. We beat Il, but a
boy and girl were caught, No.
they didn't squeal. In . gang.
you know. you promise not to
ts1l, and you can't be . rat II
anyone gets time. they serve It.
Anyway you don't give q girl your
right name.
After that We kept ourselves
scarce. hanging around 50 as not
to get the cops suspicious and we
got away with It was cut up
and q sight that night. Grand
father was asleep and wasn't
going to pull q baby face and
wake him. So washed up but
he found out next day and soon
after took me out Of town again.
$50 next place we lived for any
time was In Brooklyn, when I was
about eighteen. I got job with
Bliss 4 Company in East New
York. They made shells during
the war there and sent them down
to Du Points to be filed. I was
living with grandfather on Col.
umbia Heights.
my Job was running a crane.
first an electric crane on the in
side that lifted iron from ma
chimes that sawed them in pieces
and put others in place. The SUI
perintendent Of that department
took a liking to me. He saw I
was pretty husky and said he
thought I could throw coal, so ne
made me a fireman on the steam
crane"
A BOYf. NO, A MAN!
As Florence Gray went into this
phase Of her wandering, adventur-
Gus life. the MILDLY blouse and the
blue skirt and the silken stockings