The Bolivar County Democrat., 1923-08-11

| ieie lIey are :! cried Ratcliffp
Jude's nose did not seem to want
any rubbing, nor her face. Descended
from generations of crockery Worship
ers and careful housewives. instinc
lively hating Cleary, Sellers. Cark.
and all their belongings feeling with
perfect illogic that they had been
done out of the treasure o. the "skele-
IONS somehow through Cark, she was
convincing. Satan with rare art had
worked her up to the part. She was
not crying; her mind was raging
above tears.
"Hullo, Kid" cried Sellers, as the
noat ground alongside and filthy
ruinan with handkerchief twisted
round MS head clawed on with boat
nook. What's the matter, Kid?
What's up with you? Where's
Satan?
Who're you kiddln'T cried Jude,
as Sellers came aboard, followed by
Cleary Where the hi are your
renders? Comm cuttin' the paint off,
you and your skullintons! Where's
Satan? He's down below drunk as
Billy be d-n and cuttin' the lights
out of the ship"
Hes been at the eyewash l was
tellin' you Of" said Cleary. "Look.
he's broke a bottle of It, Lord! don't
the place stink?"
well, drunk or sober, he's got to
bail up said Sellers. ITS my belief
he's been spoofin' us all along"
"Spoofn' who?" cried Jude.
"Cark an me-"
"Cark an you-that old leather
face an you. Satan been spoofin'
you-pair Of yeggmen! Satan's
straight, the on'y straight man in Ha-
vana. Get off this ship! Come In
the mornin if you want to try an rob
him. Off with you now ~
why" cried Sellers, half-laughing,
| half-angry, "what's the matter with
the kid? What's gingerin' you up?
The answer came from anolner
smashed plate below.
| Jude made one spring for a deck
mop standing handy, twirled 1t so that
the water sprayed from it in rain
| bow, and brought it to the charge.
Cleary slipped over the rail.
."Off with you'll" cried Jude.
PUT down that mop!" cried Sellers,
| now suddenly furious. 'Put down
that mop, you braying little devil
.. Con get inter your petticoats! You
| amt boy l never b'lieved It, not
| for the last six months, an now !
know. You've give yourself away
| proper. Why, look at you, as round
as tub-you're wumman!"
Radcliffe looked on Mortified Jude
revealed her sex. In her excitement
she looked for a moment almost beau
tiful. Her tongue had done the rest
The smashing of the plates had
brought the woman out of her as a
conjurer brings rabbit out of hat
'Put down that mop!'
Jude from rose color had turned
| awfully white; then with the elan and
/ dash of a gRmecock she charged. The
wet swab hit the rtffian full In his
| flat face, and he fell on the deck with
a bang.
| In a second he was up and scram
| bling over the rail. Again she charged
| the swab meeting him this time full
on his stern and sending him over into
the boat like bag of oats.
A slush tub, fortunately, half-full
and marked by her president mind
was her next weapon. The contents
caught Cleary full In the face, and as
the boat made off, the oars, all at
skies and sevens, wildly rowing, she
pursued it with the battery of the
tongue till it was out Of range. Then
, she broke down and cried, shifted,
with her arm hiding her face, and then
flushed, like thing Of shame dived
below.
Ratcliffe knew.
Her sex proclaimed aloud by the
shameless Sellers was as a garment
stripped off her publicly. On the very
first day Satan had stated her case
and she didn't mind, though he, Rat
cliffe, had been a stranger; but 1t was
different now, somehow. 1t was as If
the end Of her boyhood had come.
Sellers would no doubt proclaim the
fact in Havana.
He heard voices from below.
II don't care If I'd killed him
Wish't l had! Lea me alone-for two
cents I'd go drown myself Look at
them plates! You've broke the two
blue pattern ones an the clancy one
with the bird on 1t, the best we had,
an not a cracked one touched! Hain't
you no sense?"
"Never you mind; I'll get you some
more"
"Pm not wanting more. Them
mates were other's-much you care
If you must be breaking and cutting
ND. couldn't you a broke the cracked
ones? An where's the sense in break
ing them anyhow?"
"Waal reckoned it'd liven you up
hearln the crockery goin'."
"Liven me up! Makes me believe
YOU have been getting at the rum, to
hear YOU talk. Where's the sense In
all your doings-ship stinking Of
drink and all the crockery broke. and
what's the use?'
"I'll show you after dark. I tell
YOU 1 want to get away from those
thugs, and if I hadn't headed them
off pretendln to be drunk they'd have
gone through me-"
(ro BE CONTINUED)