The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-08-18

resses, got up as Loreleis, were NOV
ing about among the guests delivering
orders for refreshments.
The westerner sat down In a corner
and looked about him. The walls were
decorated witlI~crude purple crayons
Of underfed sirens. A statue Of nude
woman distressed Clay. He did not
mind the missing clothes, bue she was
so dreadfully emaclated that he
thought 1t wise for her to cling to the
yellow-and-red draped barber pole
that rose from the pedestal. On the
base was the legend, 1.-THE Weeping
Lady" After he had tasted the Sea
Siren fare the man from Arizona sus-
pected that both her grief and her
armenia arose from the fact tnat she
had been fed on 1t.
A man in artists velveteens, minus
a haircut, with large, fat, pasty face,
sat at an adjoining table and dis
cOursed TO his friends. Presently, dur
ing an intermission Of the music, he
rose and took the rest Of those present
into his confidence.
Bourgeois to the core" he an
nounced, speaking Of the United
States. "What are the idols we wor-
ship? Law, the chain which binds an
enslaved people, thrift, born Of childish
fear; love of country, which is another
name for Grass prGvincialiSm. II am
a Cosmopolite, not an American. Bo-
hemia is my land, and all free souls
are my brothers. Why should 1 get
wrinkles because Germany sunk the
Lusitania month or two ago? That's
her business, not mine"
Clay leaned forward on q search for
information. Excuse me for buttin'
in, and me stranger. But isn't it yore
business when she murders American
women and chlldrenW
The pasty-faced man looked at him
with thinly disguised contempt. "You
wouldn't understand If l explained"
"Mebbeso l wouldn't, but you take
a whirl at it and I'll listen high, wide,
and handsome"
The man in velveteens Unexpectedly
found himself doing as he was told.
There was suggestion of compulsiOn
about the gray-blue eyes fastened on
his, something in the clamp of the
strong jaw that brought him up for
a moment against stark reality.
1.-The intelligentsia of country
know that there can be no freedom
until there Is no law. Every mans
duty is to disregard duty. So, by FAR
Ing far on the wings of desire, he helps
break down the slavery that binds us.
Obey the Cosmic Urge of your soul re-
CARELESS Of where it leads you, young
man."
1t was unfortunate for the poet OF
Bohemia that at this precise moment
Kitty Mason, dressed In sandals and
lilac-patterned smock, stood before
him with a tray Of cigarettes asking
for his trade. Tie naive appeal In her
soft eyes had its weight with the poet.
What is the use of living In Bohemia
IL one cannot be free to follow I'M
pulse? He slipped an arm about the
girl and kissed the crimson lips up
turned to him.
Kitty started back With a little cry
of distress.
The freedom taken by the near-p0et
was instantly avenged.
A Cosmic Urge beat in the veins of
the savage from Arizona. He took the
| Inv
less Impulse where it led. Across the
table long arm reached. Sinewy
| fingers closed upon the flowing neck
wear of the fat-faced orator and
dragged him forward, leaving over
| turned glasses in the wake Of his
course.
The man in velveteens met the eyes
| Of the energetic manhandler and
! uuailed. This brown-faced barbarian
looked very much like business.
Don't you touch me! Don't you
dare touch me !" the apostle of anarchy
| shrilled us the table crashed down.
"I'll turn you over to the police!
Clay jerked him to his feet. Hard
| hlluthitS DltSStu tlutiiS llNO bhS o'll
throat Of the ViIager. cit down on
wore ham bones ana beg the lady's par
don. Tell her you're Il yellow pup, but
you don't reckon you'll ever pull a
bone like that again"
The companions of the poet rushed
forward to protest at the manhandllng
of their leader Those in the rear
jammed the front ones close to Clay
and his captive. The COW puncher
gently but strongly pushed them back
don't get on the prod" he advised
in his genial drawl 1.-THE poet he's got
an important engagement right now
A kind of scuffle developed. The pro
prietOr increased it by his hysterical
efforts to prevent any trouble. Mer
Joined themselves to the noisy grouE
of which Clay was the smiling center
The excitement increased. Distant
corners of the room became the refuge
of the women. Some one struck at thu
COW puncher over the heads of thost
about him. The mass Of closely packed
human beings showed convulsive &c
tivity. 1t became suddenly the mos
popular indoor sport at the Sea Sirer
to STAY this barbarian from the deser
who had interfered with the amuse
mentS of Rohpmia