Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1925-04-03
!. n Duran and
The Spuds
BY E. P. WARE



4 aio Irish only by adoption, played
AZ Important part In the life Of Jim
duran II he bad salted it-but he
didn't, 50 why speculate.
Jim Duran was born in Arizona.
where be learned from the ant, the rat
tlesnaEe and the brOncho buster, until
his years were twenty, then he went
away TO college. He took a course in
Europe, notably in the ArgOnne There
after we find him in New York city,
and il Is IN that period Of bis career
that we must consider the spud
He had been hungry for a long
while, but since noon the day before
he had been hungrier than ever Hav-
Ing passed up supper, breakfast and
dinner in order TO conserve the spud.
he was now bent upon its destruction
He diced the spud neatly and placed It
in the skillet Jim sat down to eat II
and. with his mind on chow and moth
ing but chow, he did something he
should not have done: he sugsred It
he got nd Of the portion he had
taken into his mouth. in disgust and
hollow CONSERVATION, ard sat down on
the edge Of his bed. staring, panic
stricken and hunger-ridden, at the
ruins Of the feast As his weight bore
down on the bed something hard bore
upwards along his spine He thrust
a hand beneath the covers Of the bed
and withdrew a regulation army auto
matte
Two minutes later Jim was In the
street and moving aloAg through the
shadows- He might have been going
TO Uncle Lewis" at the corner, to Dor
row few dimes on the holstered col
lateral now resting snugly inside the
waistbsnd Of his trousers-but he
wasn't.
"I'n never hang you on no string In
no hook shop, old pal. We had to fight
to live over there" he went on, ruml-
natively. "and it begins to look as
though We are going to have to do the
same over here"
Put 'em upT
There was no mlstaking the nature
Of that command, nor the threat in II
But in the split second that ensuet
before jim Duran went into action be
experienced another sensation. Hot
rage made his blood leap-rage over
the enormity Of the thing this precious
pair were attempting.
And to think that he, Jim Duran
had come out for the self-same pur-
pose! To prey upon his more fortu-
nate fellows
Did good men die over yonder In
order to make this little old U. S. A.
a safe place for such parasites as
these to live and ply their trader Was
II not for an entirely different thing,
having to do with honor, and safety In
the pursuit Of q livelihood, that rivers
Of good, red blood had been shed7
Those thoughts flashed through
Jlm's mind while he acted. With
pantherlsh agility he leaped into the
darkness Of the alley. swapping his gun
out OF Its holster and firing as he did
so. In the fash of yellow light that
accompanies the roar of heavy arm
he saw the foremost bandit go down
In a crumpled heap.
The second thug acted With prompt
ness and Jlm's speed in crouching
down the instant he fired probably
saved his life. AS II was, a sharp pain
over his left temple told him that
bullet had reached him. Resisting, des-
perately, the impulse to relax his grip
on consciousness, he lifted himself
upon an elbow and raked the darkness
before him with a storm Of lead.
A choking, agonized scream, fol-
lowed Immediately by the sound Of a
heavy body crashing to the earth
and Jim. with sigh. slipped into the
darkness that meant relief from pain,
and forgetfulness OF all thlngs-includ-
ing hunger.
Jim Duran drifted back to conscious
ness again, two hours later, in the
emergency ward attached to a nearby
police station. A surgeon standing at
the foot OF his bed was speaking
Scalp wound; nothing serious" he
was telling the police sergeant who In
gered near. Probably wouldn't have
feaZed him II he hadn't been half
starved. He has missed out on a good
many mess calls In the past two weeks,
or | miss my reckoning"
Guess he won't have to worry none
over where the next meal is coming
from now--not for long time to
come, at any rate"
Barney Felson and Kid Bracket,
both deader than ever hoped to see
'em-and five hundred smackers on the
scalp OF each Of em!' The sergeant
spoke enthusiastically, albeit a bit en-
yiously Nope, reckon this lead
singer here won't have to bother none
about the eats. :"
A hand reached out and plucked him
by a sleeve.
81 say. sarge, do you mean get all
that jackT" Jim asked weakly.
Hello. there! You back AGAIN."
exclaimed the officer. cycling him crit.
cally. Look pretty 1T. too, at that"
he added. by way Of comment "As to
the money, sure you get II less a small
per cent that goes into the relief fund.
What are you going to do with 1t when
you get III Spend It to see a balloon
ascensiOnT"
Jim. entirely conscious now, turned
upon his back and gazed up at the cell
Ing. A look Of rapture transformed
his honely. freckled face. and he
licked out his tongue in pleasant an