Milford chronicle., 1925-02-27

in the worlds wiles. told remarkable
stories Of these car conductors who, &C
cording to Eddie, were piratical by in
stinct and wealthy to a man. Eddie
himself had witnessed their evil deeds
one day when he hid in q sycamore
grove at the lonely end Of the line;
there he had seen a buccaneer in blue
denim take down the glass money box
and shake handful of nickels into his
brown straw hat.
Inhamed with these tales, Admah
peddled his first basket of candy around
the car barn; he was acting on the in
stinct which brings flower-girls to the
casino at Monte CarlO-where money
flows like water there is always a dole
for the parasite. He found several Of
the reputed pirates singing popular
songs and skylarking like young men
everywhere. Quite obviously they had
not shaken the mOney-box that day, for
nickels were scarce. One of them-a
tall one with pimple on the bridge Of
his Roman nose-bOught a bag of
peppermints, nibbled and exclaimed.
att"
Ma makes 'em, replied Admah.
You don't sayI'
ION a gravestone, Admah's pride
forced him to explain.
"On a gravestone." The conductors
goggling eyes were quite solemn as hs
tucked a handful Of candy into hi.
large, elastic mouth. ION a grave
stone. They sho don't taste like it,"
The others Of the band seemed in
clined to mock, but when the boy was
shuffling away the tall conductor
stopped him with kind advice.
Look yuh, son. Don't y'all make
doughnuts up 70 way? We boys got a |
powful taste fer doughnuts."
Admah took the idea for what it was |
worth back to Ma Holtz who grumbled !
and acted on it. Under revised pro-
gram ia sold doughnuts and small |
apple pies in the car-barn zone while |
Admah, wandering further afield, rode |
in the bob-tailed car every morning as
far as the school district downtown.
Mas pepE Eermints gained quick popu-
larity at the High School But business
was always best at Miss Martincastle's
School for Young Ladies. At that
great brick barrack, devoted to i'm
proving the daughters of the privileged
class, there was more small change in
than at the humber seats Of
learning. Miss Martfncastle, it is true, |,
set up barriers between the salesman h
and the customer. Her tall iron fence Il
was like row Of javelins, forbidding
Intrusion.
But Admah, strategical by nature,
found way around the wall of spears.
He soon tired Of slipping candy through !
The bars and being scolded by a watch
'u spinster. So he took to the back
llley and made the acquaintance Of
Solomon, cross-eyed heir of David,
Miss Martincastle's colored janitor.
5olomon's daily commission was small;
me slightly damaged bag of candy
would do the work. And for this he
would dart into the alley with hand
ul Of nickels and dimes, load himself
With half the Holtz supply and dart
pack to carry on a brisk smuggling trade
With Miss Martincastle's pupils.
There was something Gipsy about
wanderings in those days.
lie went forth in the morning with a
ull basket and returned at night with 4
n empty one. From border farm
Vhere he had lived wild as a faun, or
Ike some long-eared little fllr-bearing
reature of the hedges, he had been
brown into a civilization which was,
o him, Overpoweringly metropolitan.
ioshi There were nearly a hundredt
housand people in that Cityl Most
f them wore shoes every day. Some
the ladies' dresses looked s if they'd
Ost most twenty dollarsi Maybe
lore. These persons were Ladies and
Gentlemen, born to rule The others
ere there to serve-if not that, to die
r move away.
In the high gray houses along Princes
venue or Innis Street or on Helicon
ark the Quality lived, coming and
ping as pleased their highnesses.
Iany of these houses had fences like
Iiss Martincastle's, only they were
gher and sharper. There were
nooth lawns inside with urn shaped
untains and iron statues Of deer and
1gs. Over the doors and windows
ere clusters Of flowers, carved in stone;
lere were remarkable balconies, too,
ade of iron so cleverly twisted that it
olxed like stiff, black lace.
To BE CONTINUED