Evening star., 1926-04-18

Gay, tlI an OWIleE NtIlJcl W StiA a. ASN
humans he would bring them to the
hotel and engage slave pens along
with his own room and then have his
property chained safely and taken TO
the auction block near the hotel-----
This recital naturally called for
bulging eyes and tense little gasps or
horror with one exception. You may
have noticed how faithfully an excep-
ton keeps track on the rule:
A very old man, so old that his back
called for q cane to help out. qua
vered out an interruption to the
Young gentleman whose story had so
dlamaticall! interested his crowd:
II see that YOU have been reading
the papers. sir. I don't mean to con
tradict either you or the press, and.
Of course, it is possible that what
you've been telling IS true, but II
seems to me that l would be likely to
know something about 1t, seeing was
born right around the corner and USED
to be in and out of the hotel every
day from the time l was out of dresses
until the beginning Of the war-the
most disastrous conflict, sir, this coun'
try ever had.
THE hotel clerk and his wife had
no children, and Mr.. Sam, especially.
took SO to me that I used to play all
over the place. upstairs and down.
But never did hear of slaves being
penned up In the place. Many a time
the cook has let me go down III the
cellar, and follow him to some of these
arched recesseS to take down a coun-
try-cured ham from the walls, or ladle
I'D fish from q brine-tilled barrel. And
l have seen other recesses stocked
with cord wood and barrels of whale
oil and firkins of butter. and the like.
"Of course, there may have been
times that things happened that
didn't see, but, as q slave block was
as common those days as any other
lawful business, I can't see why
wouldn't have known something about
slave pens, If the hotel had carried
them. Seems as If l would remember
a slave pen If there had been one. /
was familiar with the looks of many
big statesmen who used to live at the
Metropolitan Hotel, that used to be
known as Browns in my fathers day
as they passed our hotel on the way
to the Capitol-and ! recall some odd
characters Of the time; such chaps
as, say, Beau Hickman, who used to
drop in and tell yarns to whoever
might be In the lobby, and get money
for it. and a queer old fellow who
dressed like Ben Franklin and sold
almanacs around the streets. Yes,
sir, and once in a while l would steal
a broom from home and sweep cross
ings on a rainy day and got a right
smart little heap of coppers and fps.
If you couldn't afford a hack in those
days you had to wade in mud. =
&But this slave pen business is a
new one on me. I'm not saying It
isn't true, mind you, because l was
only small fellow-but, then again,
I recall big things, like trotting down
to the Long bridge, to see ambulances
coming in--and the poor soldiers
tramping back, tired and mad and
dripping blood-from that first battle
of Bull Run. My father was with
them; come out of the fight without
a scratch-but was killed in the next
attack when the Union defeated the
Rebs. But l don't recollect anything
about slave pens: not that it mightn't
be, Of course. but / can't make myself
believe it."
AS he finished he was looking down
at the arched recesseS and shaking
his head, as If they were old friends.
saddened by time. And the little crowd
must have been impressed. for the
young man remarked, with sym
pathetic reluctance:
I'm deuced sorry to have to stick
to my statement, but, you see, / can't
help knowing everything"
The old man accepted defeat with
cheerful philosophy, and smiled all
around:
"of course, you know everything,
So did /, when / was your age"
And at that point an outsider, who
had been listening in, passed on
which naturally ends the yarn.
X y y +
A NEIGHBORHOOD movie had put
on an cid war film and flock
of children was acting it i'm an alley
next day. 1t Is a wide alley, with a
gutter down the middle, and after a
night Of rain had washed the cobbles
and filled the cutters with fresh
water, 1t seemed an extra nice alley
to a woman. who was making a
short cut through it to a store where
they sell ginger snaps and honey the
yellow Of gold-but people do make
such ridiculous mistakes. For it
wasn't an alley, at all. Three boys,
who We're floating chips down the
gutter, explained:
This is the Atlantic Ocean, and
this is the American Navy. My de-
stroyer is going to send that sub to
the bottom, and Billy's shin ever
there will come alongside to rescue
the crew. You see that woman
standing before that stone wall, with
her arms tied, and a hand'chief over
her eyes? Well, she's a spy. If you
wait a minute till the firing squad
comes up. you can see her shot, If
you want to-"
The woman spy, who must have
been every day of years old, and
who masked her iniquitics in q pink
tN1cy yI,nv ell a,,Cc, Ill 4
smilingly against back gate with
one eye peeking over the bandage-
but, alack for human jealousy An
other lady of the same dangerous
age besieged the womans attention:
please hep tn Sav-ation Army"
--whereupon the spy piped out:
Don't you mine her. lady-look at
me get kilt"
The shortcut. woman, tri1e
dazed. but entirely interested, was
deciding between the two ladies
when dub. dub, dub, dub
Up marched the squad, led by a
drum major, knee high to that grass
hopper that lends itself so accommo.
datingly for occasions like this.
Each soldier wore an Indian suit
or a sailor costume, with one tiny
snip tricked out as gay as an Easter
egg, with some mammals Chinese
scarf wound around his neck and
waist, and prancing gallantly en- a
broom handle-with the straw end
dragging after. And all were armed
with sticks that were as good as
guns any day in the year.
They lined up, took aim. and the
victim, terrorized by the grim make
believe of childhood, which is one Of
the most real things in this world.
yelled out, as the officer lifted a
handkerchief. and the squad shouted
Bang"
But she played the game like a
sport and fell according to schedule
In recognition of 50 thrilling a per-
formance the short-catter treated
the dead spy to ginger snap out of