White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1926-06-04

WE were picturesque group l sup
w pose, loafing on Alb Linder's
porch, waiting for the stage to come
in from Chuckawalla. We were fal
removed from all womankind; ant
when men lack the appraising eye OF
the opposite sex they become lax in
their habits, careless alike of moral
and sartorial pulchritude. But we
men of Stovelid did not realize this
We were accustomed to ourselves as
we were.
"Wonder what's keepin' Poker
Terribone?" said Uncle Tommy
Saddler. He squinted under bushy
old eyebrows toward the lower end
of the street where the Chuckawalla
stage road made narrow break in
the low brush II hope he amt got
careless and lost the mail bag"
Il hope he amt lost the new man
ager of the hotel" said Daddy Burris
IF we don't get good manager, We'll
maybe have to sleep out in the
bresh!"
Pachecho Dan was of the same
mind. I'm curious to see what the
new manager will be like" he said
81 amt sayin' I'm glad Uncle Jimmy
Barto got sick and had to quit;
merely advances the hope that the
new one will leave us lose our bag.
gard look"
"And Sam Duck amt any better!'
complained Uncle Tommy Saddler,
peevishly IF we pick on him a
while longer, l got bunch that
Chink's goin' to poison us ALI"
"Ain't it the TRUTH" walled Alb
Under. Sam Ducks a good cook
but it takes regular man with whis-
kers to manage hotel in this town.
Besides, Sam Duck don't understand
herman jests. He amt got no sense
of humor. Why, when l tied the end
of his queue to fatiron yesterday
he grabbed his cleaver and chased me
clean out of town, chatterin' like a
monkey! And the worst of it was
that l couldn't tell whether he was
cussin' me or recitin' the Chinese
multiplication tablet"
Here comes Poker Terribone,
said Uncle Tommy Saddler. "But
what's the matter with him? Usually
he comes into two a-crackin' his whiI
and yellin' like a Piute with the
stomach ache. Look attim-drivin
slow and cautious, like he was afraid
of wakin' the baby"
Indeed, it was a subdued old
Poker Terribone that drove the stage
up to the Stovelid Hotel across the
street. Stiffly he clambered down on
the opposite side of the vehicle and
helped girl to the ground.
A girl! Stovelid's bachelor world
fell to pieces in a moment, and We
|
the dweller in more civilized lands
this may seem absurd; but any mar
who has spent some years in /;
womanless wilderness will under
stand the effect that the coming oil
this first girl had upon the commu
nifty of Stovelid.
Poker Terribone scrambled hur
riedly back into his seat and drove on
Across the street the girl turned
for a look about her before entering
the hotel. AS her glance rested for
moment upon the group standing
on Alb Linder's porch, everybody shiv
cred, for there was quality in her
regard that dared all the world. 1t
was an indefinable look. You see II
In the eyes of famous generals; the
arrogance of conscious mental and
moral superiority. Some have called
1t force Of character. Whatever its
name, this girl had it. We who
watched from across the street
shuffled uneasily
After that brief glance, the girl
picked UP her bag and marched UP
to the hotel porch. But when she
came opposite old Shad Popley, who
was taking an alcoholic siesta on the
front steps, she stopped and regarded
the slumbering wretch with profound
establishment well, for the love of
Mike!" she said. Then, unceremoni.
ously, she nudged Shad in the ribs
with an ungentle toe. "Hey, you
fuzzy old lizzard!" she said Whad.
dye think this is-a Pullman carp"
Old Shad's congested eyes opened
and he stared up, unbelieving at first
then Mortified. He got uncertainty to
his feet and stood gaping at the girl
not yet rid of the impression that she
was hallucination.
Didn't you hear me?" she said
when lady tells you to beat it
you beat it,"