The Coolidge examiner., 1931-09-11

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lar group had arrived in Usage
only the day before, accompanied
by bevy of six young ladies.
Usage, since that first mad day
of its beginning, had had its quota
| of shady ladies, but these had been
raddled creatures, driftwoOd from
this or that deserted mining camp
or abandoned town site, middle
| aged, unsavory, and doubtless
slightly subnormal meQtally.
These were different The leader,
a handsome black-haired woman Of
not more than twenty-five or three,
had taken for herself and her com
paniOns such rooms as they could
get in the town Within an hour il
was known that the woman claimed
the name of Dixie Lee. That she
was a descendant of deCayed south
ern aristOcracy. That her bloom
ing companions bOasted such fancy
nomenclature as Cherry de st. Maui
rice, Carmen Brown, Belle ManserO,
and the like. That the woman.
shrewd as a man and sharp as
knife, had driven a bargain where
by she was to come into posses
sion, at stiff price, of the build
ing known as the Elite ROOming
House and Cafe. situated at the
far end of Pawhuska avenue, near
the gambling tent: and that she
contemplated building house of
her own, planned for her own pc
culiar needs, if business warranted.
Thus harlotry, heretofore sOrdid
enough in a wrapper and curling
pins, came to Usage in silks and
plumes. with brain behind it and
a promise Of prosperity in its gaudy
train.
Dixie Lee, shrewd saleswoman,
had been quick to learn Of Sundays
meeting, and quicker still to see
the advantage of this opportunity
for a public advertisement of her
business. SO now, at Osage'S first
church meeting, in marched the six,
with Dixie Lee at their head max
ing a seventh. They rustled in
silks. The air of the close-packed
tent became suffocating with scent
as a Persian garden at sunset. The
Woodworking worthy wives of
Usage, in their cheviOts and their
faded bonnets and cotton gloves,
suddenly seemed sallOw, scrawny,
and almost spectacularly unallur-
ing.
All this Sabra beheld in a single
glance, as did the entire congrega-
ton. Yancey, having lifted Gin
into the chair next his mother,
splendid procession.
God Almighty" he said. His
| tone was as irreverent as the words
were sacred. A dull flush suffused
his face, q thing so rare in him {; s
to startle Sabra more than the
words he had uttered or the tone
in which he had said them.
What is it? Yancey! What's
wrOng?"
That's the girl"
"What girl?"
THAT one-Dixie Lee-she's the
girl in the black tights and the
skull-cap in the Run on
the thoroughbred :" he was
whispering.
"Oh, o." cried Sabra, aloud. 1t
was wrung from her. Those near
by stared.
So this was the church meeting
toward which she had looked with
such hope, such happy assurance.
Harlots, Indians, heat. glare. her
house probably blazing at this mo-
ment, Isaiah weltering in his own
gore, Lon YOuntis' sinister face
sneering in the tent entrance. And
now this woman, inscriptions, evil,
who had stolen Yancey's quarter
section from him by trick.
Yancey made his way through
the clOse-packed crowd, leaped to
the top of the roulette table which
was to be his platform and, lifting
the great lolling head, swept the
eXpectant congregation with his
mysterious, his magnetic eyes.
Probably never in the history of
the Christian religion had the Word
of God been preached by so roman
tic and dashing a figure. His long
black locks curled on his shOul-
ders; the fine eyes glOwed; the
Prince Albert swayed with his
graceful movements; his six-shoOt-
ers, one on each side, bulged re-
assuringly in their holsters.
His thrilling voice sounded
through the tent, stilling its buzz
and movement.
Friends and fellow citizens,
have been called on to conduct this
opening meeting of the Usage First
Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran,
Presbyterian, Congregational, Bap-
tist, Catholic, Unitarian church. In
the course of my career as a law
yer and an editor | have been re.
quired to speak on varied occasions
and on many subjects. l have
spoken in defense of my country
and in criticism of it; / have been
called on to defend and to convict
horse thieves, harlots, murderers.
samples of which professions could
doubtless be found in any large
gathering in the Indian territory
today. l name no names. l point
no finger. Whether for good or for
evil, the fact remains that any man
or woman, for whatever purpose,
found in this great Oklahoma coun-
try today is here because in his or