I, THE KING ]
By WAYLAND WELLS WILLIAMS.
(Copyright, 1124.)
(Continurd from Kwterdajr.)
“And you think you'd make a bet
ter one than I.—Well, possibly you
would. But the decision about that
rests with the natives, and if they’d
thought you’d make a better one
they’d have asked you.”
"Huh, they’d have asked me,
p'raps, if I’d gone out for it.”
"Do you mean to imply that I went
out for it? Tou're talking nonsense."
Masson closed his mouth and
turned away. “What do I get out of
this?”
It was not an easy question to an
swer, especially as he so plainly de
served nothing. “Well, Masson,
you've a right to ask that, but it's
hard to say. It’s hard to say what
I'm getting out of it, beyond what
1 had before. About all a man needs,
or can use, in this place is a house
and food. Oh, and women.”
Masson gave one of his rare ugly
smiles. “More’n you need, heh?”
“Oh,” said Kit easily, though he
felt his cheeks grow hot, “I don’t
pretend to be better than you in that
respect. Of course, if we stay here
any length of time, I’ll . . . there’ll
be women."
Masson with a ludicrously satirical
inflection uttered the single word
“Queens."
“Yes, queens, to be sure. Well,
now about you. How would you like
to be commander-ln-chlef of the
army? I’d thought of organizing a
squad or two of young fellows. Might
be useful against the Tenguians. You
could teach ’em to drill, and all that. ”
“Xaw," said Masson promptly. “Too
much like work.”
“Oh. I shall probably do it myself,
in any case. Well, can you think
of anything?”
Masson stared at the floor for a
moment. "About these guns the nig
gers talked about. You ain't got any
notion, have you? . . .”
“Why, yes, they’re in that place
behind here. That cellar door effect.”
“Ain't there no way we could get
at ’em?”
"Certainly. The file in the dory.”
"Huh? What’s that?” Masson for
tiie first time was moved. “Where
is it?”
“Oh. I’ve taken it out. I did that
the first day. That's the chief rea;
son they made me king, I dare say.”
"Well, ain’t you going to trot it
out?” Masson’s tone was shrill and
aggrieved.
"Of course not. Let loose a bunch
of armed savages? Not much.”
r
New York
••Day by Day—
S - ■ ——w
By o. o. McIntyre
New York, Nov. 5.—There Is a row
of second-hand clothing shops near
Pennsylvania station as brisk with
noise of trade as the Constantinople
bazars. This is the theater of the
yokel yanker" those odd salesmen
who lure you Into the master sales
men.
The "yokel yanker" is ragged and
unkempt. His face is blurry from
booze. He spots his prospective pa
non amoung the passing pedestrians
and then tries to wheedle him into
this shop. If a sale is made he gets
three per cent of the total.
Sometimes they will follow for a
block, cajoling and haranguing. The
shops are open until long after mid
night. Grotesque dummies with clothes
1 tanging loosely on them are out
front. Inside is a dim light for the
wares cannot stand exposure.
The "yankers" have a speech all
their own. They begin "Niftlc clothes,
gentlemen." And rud their hands
as one might do over some beauti
ful work of art. "We can make you
a sporty gentlemen the ladies will (
like. Cheap, very, very, cheap," they
purr.
They have their code. One will
never try to win a prospect away <
from another unless at failure he is
given a wave of the hand w'hlch
signifies: "You try him” Nearly all
the trade of these shops comes from
the “yokel yankers." Without them
the stores could not survive.
Once inside, very few get away ,
without buying something or other.
It may not be a snit of cloths, hut if
not, it will be a pair of socks, shoes
or suspenders. Second-hand men are
superstitious about not making sales.
If the customer dosen’t buy he is
lible to be insulted.
Trade amoung these shops is not
confined altogether to those of lean
purse. Many Broadway actors patron
ize them and take their purchases to :
a famous tailor who makes them over '
into the reigning style of the day.
He has made a fortune recasting old
clothes for stage folk.
It has always seemed to me the
most solemn of all trades Is that of
a grave digger. The other day I
talked to one. His father before him
was a grave digger and yet he ap
peared untouched by his lugubrious
task. Ills talk was flavored with
humor. He had a loud infectious
laugh.
Another profession that rather
stirs up curiously Is that of an eye
brow plucker in a beauty parlor.
tVhat fling of destlng hurls a person
into this occupational niche? There
are several little beauty shops In
town specializing In this sop to van
ity The pluckers are usually lieauti
ful young girls. They are paid from
150 lo $80 a week and their tips are
almost half-of that.
There are signs that the nM horse
drawn barouche or victoria, of 60
years ago, Is facing a revival of popu
larity. More than 60 spic and span
new onea now patrol the avenue.
Young couples and old loll back and
,1og dreamily to the beauties of Cen
tral park. The fare Is about half the
pric e of a taxi over the same route.
There are at least a lialfdoxen
old homes—brown stone fronts
that are caught in the cluster of sky
sc rapera in midtown. They are aus
tore and freighted with the Icy aloof
ness of New York’s aristocracy. One
sees white capped elderly ladles at the
curtained windows peeping out now
and then at the mad Jungle. The
homes are as forbidding as prisons
and the only show of life Is when
faithful family servltora atep out at
night for a stroll and pipe smoke.
These sre families who refuse to give
awsy to rising real estate values. They
hold on knowing that each day will
more than likely make their properly
inore valuable. Thare la one on Madl
son avenue near Forty-third street.
Another on Fifth avenue below For
U«th. ... . *****
ilwyrtibt 1»24. k
"Well, see here. This is a hell of
a thing. You mean you've hidden
It?"
"Yes, just that."
The sailor relapsed into silence,
chewing his nails. He was stupid,
thought Kit. Never to have thought
of the cellar door, or the tile, till
he was told, and wanting to open
the Pandora's box for the sheer love
of trouble. And if he had done his
duty as a seaman, and locked the tool
box before leaving the dory, he might
be king of the island at this moment.
Masson opened his mouth. "I want
that file."
"Do you?” said Kit, smiling.
Masson swung round quickly. “You
asked me what I wanted, didn't you?
Well, I want that.”
"You can’t have it."
Masson hesitated a moment and
then began to use a loud and blus
tering tone. “Look a-here now, New
ell. Y'ou handed me a lot o’ bull the
other day about us bein’ free and
equal and all that. Well, I got a
right to know where that file is. I
got as much right ns you to it, see?
And by God . . ."
"Yes,” said Kit. "by God?”
"I’m gnln’ to, by God. Y’es, and I
will, too.”
There was a short, dry pause, "Mas
son," said Kit, "you haven’t got
much brains. Don’t you see that if
we opened that place it would do us
harm and not good? It would simply
arm the natives against us, put ’em
nut of our control. As long as we’ve
got the threat of opening it, we’ve
got them where we want them. Hut
once it was opened, and the least lit
tie thing happened, what show' would
"It wouldn't be we two," snorted
Masson. 1
Kit got up and swung himself
across the room. "Masson, you're the
kind thnt likes trouble. You'll get it,
good and plenty, if you keep on like
this. You fool! Don’t you know it
would be the easiest thing in the
world for rrte to open that place some
night, take out a gun and shoot you?
Or I could get a native to do it. No
one would ever know, in any case.
By God, I'll do it. too, if you go on
trying to make trouble here. I'm not
going to let you stand in the way of
peace on this island. You may as
well get this straight, Masson: I in
tend to be king over you as well as
the rest of the island. I’ve got a
hard job as it is, and I'm damned if
I let you make it any harder.”
He was talking hard, and from the
heart. Masson sat staring at the
loor, impressed in spite of himself.
Kit swung round on him again.
"And don’t you think you can make
It any better for yourself by killing
me, either. You can, of course, any '
time. You could do It now, with your
Dare hands, I don’t doubt. But you'd I
jet found out. You’re too much of
i fool to do It safely. There'd be a
;ourt-martial the minute you got
back. . . . And it wouldn't get you
he file either, would it? And just
how well do you think you'd get on
Hone with the natives? They're a
pretty straight bunch, and they
haven't got much use for a man
whose whole idea Is drink, women
ind trouble. You'd go a little too
far some night, and it would be all
jp with you, I can tell you, unles*
[ was here."
That was about all he had to say.
He took a turn around the room,
rllowed a longer pause and came to a
atop directly in front of Masson. He
tried to make his tone friendly but
not too ingratiating. "Now then,
that's that. But you mustn't think
I'm against you. as long as you be
have yourself. After all, we've been
through something together. . . . i
want to see you contented here, of
course. I won’t stand any nonsense.
DUt I'll do anything I can for you.
(Vnything that's not calculated to
make trouble. If anything occurs
:o you, speak up. I'll try and think,
:oo.—Will you shake hands?"
Masson stood up and leered witii
tome approach to dignity. "I’ll shake *
lands with you when you come
icross. I ain't goln’ to shake hands
with no guy that says one thing and
ioes another.” He went out. hitching
ds trousers.
IX.
The man was ugly, ill tempered and
rouble-loving, but he was also exces
lively stupid and lazy. Deft alone
le would probably have sulked, and
:ontented himself with strong drink
ind women until a ship came or until
he natives, irritated beyond endur
mce, quietly put him out of the way.
t was the Tengulans who worked his
uln. Either the Tengulans or Mas
ion alone Kit could have dealt with;
>ut the two together were too much
or him. They gave him an exceed
ngly uncomfortable fortnight.
The Tengulans began it. A few
lays after the coronation council they
nade one of their senseless nocturnal
■aids on Naituvl. The casualties were
light, as they were in all these en
counters: a nninlaba burnt and two
drgins abducted into captivity. Hut
it made the Naltuvlans and even the
Nairavang very angry, and Kit unite
enough ao to satisfy both.
He was hasty, perhaps; he decided
without even holding a council. Mas
son and all the other dangers that
lurked at home were forgotten. He
had promised, and he would fulfill. He
lug up his file, scraped and swore his
way through one of the Jron hasps
and one of the padlock bars and en
tered the arsenal. It was as he had
expected: an eight-by-eight cellar
piled with old Mauser rifles, pistols
and copious ammunition. The for
mer were in a woeful condition of
rust, but there were also cleaning
materials. After a few hours' work
he had enough serviceable arms to
equip a punitive expedition. The nr
serial door Ire safeguarded as well as
he could by piling against it corn!
blocks too iurge for one man to lift
alone.
Eighteen of them sailed in a large
outrigger canoe for Tenguiu. Six of
the natives carried rifles and the two
white men Lugers. Landing on Ten
gulu was a somewhat difficult matter.
There was* no harbor, and one hud
to plunge through the surf on the
lee side of the Island, whichever that
was. and walk to one's destination.
If the wind changed while one was
there, one had either to wait for it
to change again or transport the
canoe overland to where the surf was
negotiable.
landing on the western shore they
hud n walk of half a mile to the
main village. Kit enjoyed the walk:
the richness and variety of the vege
tation was astonishing after the
Hoarseness of Nairava, where only the
cocoa palm and the pandanus arid
some useless shrubs grew easily. On
Tenguiu numberless trees and plants
grew in the greatest profusion; there
were springs and brooks of fresh
water and a general atmosphere of
tropic luxuriance. To make up for
that, the air of the jungle hummed
with flies and mosquitoes. ^
(To He Conttwaed Tomorrow.)
THE NEBBS how’d you like to be the iceman?
Directed for The Omaha Bee by Sol Hess
(Copyright 1924)
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