Evening star., 1935-03-10

such big cottonwood trees" And she sighed,
and he.
Then, briskly, MIR. McGash - Cordwood
/ do think you ought to seize your oppor-
tunities and all, and I'm hungry and what
say we slip off somewhere ashore and have
dinner?'
H'An elegant idea, Maybelle."
They inquired of taxi-driver as to really
good place to dine He looked at them sharply,
and decided on chop-suey Joint. Cordwood
handed him five dollars and, with an appear
ance of shocked awe, the taxi-driver instantly
took them to Park Avenue.
Cordwood was, as Maybelle flouncingly
was not, rather awed by the quantities Of
chromium and murals by Mexican COM
munists in the place, but the head waiter,
who had once been poor boy himself, was
so sympathetic and kind that almost without
a struggle Cordwood was able to make a
sensible and satisfying and wholesome
twenty-five dollar order, ending with straw
berries from Labrador. For any good res
taurant can have strawberries out of season,
say in January, but this establishment, the
Chameau d'Or. had devised ravishing new
feature it imported viands from places
where it was almost impossible to grow them
Southdown mutton from vacant lots in the
Bronx, salmon from the Amazon, and moose
meat from Kansas
The wine waiter handed Cordwood the vast
sacred volume.
Just a minute I'll look it over" fretted
Cordwood.
Look" he pleaded with Maybelle. II know
you never drink drop, but it's our one night
in New York -"
II have drunk half bottle of claret every
night since the day Prohibition began - and
ended Friends sent it to me from California,
in candied- fruit boxes. The fact that don't
care for gasoline and ginger ale or for your
friend, Mr.. Bat Badger, does not keep me
from following the example of most of the
saints" said Maybelle with complete calm
ness.
Cordwood was too dazed to speak. There
was something he ought to say, something
that you always said at crises when you were
travelling, but he couldn't in this dizzy
moment of revelation remember whether it
was, well. we'll. it's pretty small world
after all" or. Travel certainly does broaden
a fellow"
There's Chambertin. I've heard that's
quite nice wine," suggested Maybelle.
Since to him it tasted rather sour and
without any authority in it, Cordwood wasn't
sure whether it was really quite nice wine
or not - till he saw how much it cost.
Meantime he had been conhding to May
belle that, as child in Vermont, he had
wanted to be president and to reform politics,
and that he had thought vigorously about
being a poet. None of this was true, but after
beginning the second bottle of Chambertin,
he believed that it was, and he noted that
Maybelle listened to the pathetic tale of what
a misunderstood boy he had been, with
notably more interest in the subject than
Oley Tengbom had ever shown. My" she
said frequently and eloquently.
He was in disgrace only once - when he
said that the artichokes tasted like soidiied
whisk -brooms.
In the Royal Suite of the Dtbsonsania that
night, Cordwood reflected, "Goly, Maybelle's
the finest lady ever met So cultured and
everything. And elegant ankles But I'd never
dare even shake hands with her Colly, how
she'd bawl me out if ever dared stroke her
shoulder"
Oh, Sylvester!
The pilgrims had lived in scattered houses
in Jachabbit; they had been together for but
two days on the train. 1t was only when they
were inescapably at sea that they had
chance to examine and hate one another.
They divided swiftly and sharply into four
groups: they who were not going to let any
thing interfere with drinking and quartettes;
they who had read book but still liked
drink; they who were so determined to hogtie
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