The Dolores star., 1924-07-25
He Chose
to Drink a
Cup of Tea
q, MORRIS SCHULTZ
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- 1sa. M.Grrn NsMapaper lhiohl

a 4
L club. Il was sure the income
tax would be reduced before the euu
of the financial year. and l lose
Name the forfeltr
Briggs smiled sarcssticaliy Seems
TO me, Sotherby. you'd better go iit'ie
slower on that betting propensity oi
YOURS in future. You can either pay
me the FIVE thousand Or ne
paused and looked about him at the
eynectant circle. "Or sit down In the
middle OF Fifth avenue at three O'CLOCK
In the afternoon and drink cup oi
tea"
III drink the tea" said SotherDy'
You're crazy" answered Briggs.
"on Friday afternoon at three
o'clock. Have your witnesses
Anybody who has not seen ruin
avenue at three O'Clock In the after
noon can form little idea OF the mag
nitude Of Sotherby's undertaking. Four
lines Of motorcars, crawling at snail
pace. omnibuses, ta1is and other We
hicles; In the center towers OF direc'
tIop at intervals, policemen holding
I'D their hands and blowing whistles
to stop the traffic east and west or
north and south to permit swarms OF
pedestrians to pass. Order out of con
fusion, multitudes of human beings
a veritable hive.
Into this confusion. at half-past Two
on Friday afternoon, burly Irishman
stalks, followed by gang OF Italian
laborers with shovels and picka1es and
ropes. A letter to the police officer on
duty at the intersection of Thirty-hfth
street, a hurried consultation, Walk
to the street telephone box.
At the city hall phone girls run
ming her switch to the empty office OF
incumbrances-the head was away
that day. The girl got cool thou
sand for her services, the clerk In the
office fifteen hundred-he valued his
Job, but was quite willing to start for
Hawaii on the night train with fifteen
hundred, to learn to grow pineapples.
An answer to the sergeant who had
reinforced the patrolman at the tele-
phone box. call to headquarters. A
brief consultation. Then
Whistles are blown. Patrolmen sta
ton themselves at the four corners Of
Thirty-fourth and Thirtyslxth. Ours
Ing taxi drivers and protesting chauf-
feurs are shunted around four streets.
A block of Fifth avenue grows bare
as the pedestrians scurry out OF the
way.
Ropes are strung across Fifth ave-
nue. at Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth.
The intervening space Is empty. A
gang Of laborers strings itself out In
single file in the middle Of the road.
Picka1es descend into the asphalt. The
burly Irishman shouts violent com
mands.
"Fer the love of Mike what they
dolng7 Building new subway hereT'
Nav, taking up the drain pipes"
you're dippy. They're laying a
new transmarine cable!"
Spectators press against the ropes.
A squad Of police comes up at the
double. They form a thin line about
the e1cavators.
The work proceeds. The asphalt
flies up in greasy chunks. From the
windows of the club Briggs and his
friends watch in growing amazement
They cannot believe their eyes:
'If Sotherby worked that trick It.,
going to cost him fifteen or twent!
thousand In damages alone. not t.
speak Of few years to cool his heel
in the pen."
bah, 1t isn't Sotherby. They're re
pairing an underground wire"
The work proceeds. 1t Is thre'
o'clock. The burly Irishman stride
from curb to curb. He measures tn
distance. He draws yard-measur
the distance. He takes a soap-bo
and sits down on 1t in the middle O
the street and In the middle Of tn
gang. From a pocket Of his capaciou
overcoat he draws a vacuum bottl,
From another pocket he takes a Gu
Of graniteware. He fills the cup fror
the thermos bottle. 1t contains te,
He rises to his feet, bows to the clu
window, and drinks.
by God, it's Sotherby!"
Sotherby, having finished his tes
dips under the ropes and disappear.
Once out of sight he takes a taxi t
the pier.
An excellent time for that long
| projected trim IN Janan ond tho phiI