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Show The Turn of $ The Tide Wc wero foregathered In the twl-) twl-) gV t. Anders, the boror and I. Yliiro was no light because the 3.18 had hecn shut off and our lamp wn iilllcfis, also the hod was wlti-oirt wlti-oirt coal and we were chilly. Nono of U3 wob less than two -thousand miles from home, and the liaron counted It, loughly, seven thousand thou-sand miles to his mother's house In J'rtissla. It was winter. Wo were hun-gr, hun-gr, not cry warmly clad, and with-out with-out work or money, but we were poling. Olnf Andcis was the leading spirit. He was a pocket edition of a Norse berserker, ery small of body, but with a largo round head covered with short, crisp, bright yellow curls. His Jaw and chin wero massive, his nose was long and thin, and his ejes, cold blue, were sometimes Irresistibly merry, and .again they fairly Hashed with light. He was a strenuous youth, so full of Norwegian blood and energy that one expected to seo the safety nlve blow off at any time. .Ho was u clll engineer engi-neer by education, and possessed a -wonderful aptitude for mathematics, i Ho hailed fiom somewhere along the -V .Massachusetts coast. As for mjself, I was a poor wretch of a newspaper reporter with nothing to report Ono evening the baron was at the tabic, playing dreamily on the ztther; for, no matter what might bo the depths of our poverty, he always could produco most plaintive and dainty music. Anders stood at the window looking out upon the rain, which had been falling relentlessly for days. Somehow the expression of Jiis back Imparted tho Impression that he was Impatient to spring at some-'thtng some-'thtng and tear it apart; to do something, some-thing, anything except stay In the .room and starve. "Seo here, you fellows," ho said, 'turning suddenly from the miserablo wetness without, "how much have wo got?" I walked to tho mantel and turned the contents of an old tobacco box Into my palm. I was not long In counting It "Seventeen cents," I said, "Including the Canadian penny." "Well, take the pitcher and hustle out," ordered Anders, masterfully. "Get ten cents' worth of chowder, five of crackers, and see If you can't get two cents' worth of coffee." "I'll go if tho baron will lend me his shoes," I replied. The baron, without taking his eyes .from the celling or his fingers from the strings, nodded his assent t "Hurry, then, for wo'ro going to g have a fellow In to dine with us." " I took tho water pitcher and plopped through tho mud to a Ash market on tho corner, where there was hot clam chowder on sale day and night. I persuaded per-suaded Tony, tho Italian chowder man, to put an extra dlpporful Into the pitcher, and visibly helped myself to -an especially large additional handful of crackers for the baron's sake. In I tho little shop next door, kept by a stout old Gorman, I asked for a good measure of coffeo for tho Canadian penny, explaining that the baron was going to entertain a guest. At the mention of tho baron's name, the old dealer bowed and beamed, and I chuckled chuck-led at his extravagance. He gave mo a cheap cigar for "der horr baron" with I his felicitations and humblo service. Tho cigar we afterwardB broke ifp and put In the Jar to eke out the tobacco. I was complimented by Anders on my extraordinary ability as a commissary. "Now, fellows," he added, "I am going go-ing down stairs to ask Feathors up to board with us. Tho Gorgon told mo this morning that she wob going to turn him out, to night, hecaiibo ho owes her a month's rent. Feathers would Juno a flno tlmo out in this night's Tain. Ono of you light tho lamp nnd get tho dishes out. Vou'll havo to share your bod with him, Dickens." 'Ho called mo Dickons because, ho said, my writings wero "so different." Presently ho returned with Fenth-, Fenth-, r ers. J, "Follows," he said, "this Is Mr. er. I don't know your name, old .chap, but wo always call you 'Feath-era.' 'Feath-era.' Fach of us has a namo that our mothers wouldn't recognise. You B won't mind, will you?" B Feathers smiled good humorcdly, jBJ iand shook his head In negation. "Wo want you to eat with us, If you jB 'will," continued Anders. "It Isn't m much, but It Alls. Now, seo here!" he IS exclaimed, as if a thought bad come V -suddenly to htm, "why not come up M and roost with us? Our motto is, ijBf share and sharo alike. It cuts down .oxpenscs. Sometimes wo gluttonlze, '9 sometimes wo don't. What each man W earns goes into tho common purse. B Come, say you will." 9 I fancied I saw tears in the eyes of 9 -Andors' guest. "I am afraid I have B not much to contribute," he said, hes- H Itatlngly. "That makes no difference," Anders exclaimed, heartily. "Then, it's settled. B Might as woll movo right up. Here, I'll help you." B Feathers smiled. "That is not nee- B essary," ho snfil. "I'll bo back In a S minute." fl After wo had consumed the last drop B i -of chowder, Anders arose. "I'm going jfljL rv -out to forag'o in tho enemy's country," BP p lie said; "vvo'ygot to havo a fire and BF -some oil. I'm going to seo tho Gor- "T gon " - Ej Wo shuddoied at his probublo recop- R tlon. lilt) Gorgon was our landlady H and her glanco was truly petrifying. IB Hut Anders could manage her In snnio wonderful way of his own that I never could understand. Presently wo heard him coming, singing, up the stnlrs; he brought a cau of kcroscno oil and a basketful of coal and wood. "Feathers, jou light tho fire," ho said. Anders alwnjs rrailo oeijouc do hit share of the work, while his own ( ontt tbiitlon was money and bialns. He was a pica' follow for rchenies. Ho alwajB hau one decent suit of clothes, and a clean shirt In which, oine n week, he Invaded the nnsterlotiB precincts of society. There wcie onl two unpawnable things In the place, Anders' best suit and the baton's zither. We had toffee and crackers for breakfast. Soon thereafter, we started out In the rain to look for work. At night wo Btraggled back, wet nnd chilled, hungry and moucjlcss. It was heart-racking work, sometimes, but Anders laughed It to scorn and nlwajs managed to bring In something, while tho baron played a merry little love ditty on his zither. One owning, Fcatlicis left us at flo o'clock and had not returned by bedtime. bed-time. But, when 1 awoke in the morning, morn-ing, ho was beside me under the rug, and on tho tabic was money. A silver dollar nnd a twcnty-Ovoccnt coin held down a piece of paper on which Feathers Feath-ers had scribbled Instructions not to wake him. I aroused Anders and the baron, and showed them tho money. In whispers wo discussed the marvel of It. How had Feathers obtained It? Had ho earned It? The Grasshoppers wero lrreocably opposed to all money that was uegged, borrowed, or stolen, in order to pass current, It muBt be hon-eUly hon-eUly earned. Wo knew nothing of Feathers! Could It be? "We'll tako tho chance," Anders decided. de-cided. "A man is Innocent until ho is proved guilty. In the meantime the Grasshoppers will cat." Ho went forth to market, and, well, we breakfasted that morning! Ah! think of it! Soft, fresh white bread, and butter, real coffee, and two smoked herrings to ghe It a taste! Anders had become a thrifty housekeeper and other days were to come. We left tho coffee pot on the Btovo for Feathers, and went forth upon the usual profitless profit-less quest for work. When wo returned re-turned at night, Feathers was gone; but, when I awoke tho next morning, ho was by my side again, and there on the table was tho magic money. We breakfasted again, and on that day we lunched also, while tho old tobacco box on tho mantel began to assume the airs of tho big stone national bank down town that we only knew from tho outside. The samo thing happened every day until Sunday, but on that day we wore all at homo when Feathers awoke. "Hello, Feathers," said Anders, "you're a nice, sociable chap. How do you suppose we'ro going to keep your acquaintance, if we never see you except ex-cept when you're asleep? Answer me that!" Feathers lay back under the rug, only smiling for reply. "What wo want to know," continued Anders, "is whero you came by all this wealth." Feathers continued to smile, but he shook his head and replied: "That is my seciet." Anders did not prcBs him, but seemed lost in thought for a long while, and I thought there was distrust In his cold blue ojes. FeatherB kept to his bed. He was pale and weak, and looked utterly pathetic. I took his dinner to him. It was tho best wo had had for many a Sunday. It consisted con-sisted of roast beef, potatoes, bread and plo from the restaurant around the corner, and some Imitation coffee mado by Andors. At five o'clock, Feathers , dressed himself and put on his long, stringy overcoat. He shuddered as he looked out upon the overlastlng rain. "Well, good night, boys!" ho said. "You'll see mo again In the morning." We henrd him tramp slowly dowu tho stairs and slam tho front door. Then Anders sprang to his feet. "I'm going to follow him," ho said, with a snap of his Jaws. "I want to Beo where ho gets his money. Perhaps ho works, but things look llsliy, and I'm not satisfied." sat-isfied." "I'll go with you," I voluntccied. "So will I," said the baron. We were out of tho house In time to seo Feathers cross tho patch of light shed by tho street lamp on tho corner; then wo took his trail. Ho led us through dark and dismal streets in which ono's life, and ccttalnly ono's money, wero not safe after dark. "Now where do jou supposo that chap Is going?" mutteied Anders. "This looks bad, but I'll follow him to the end." We passed through the worst slum In tho town, whero often It was dim-cult dim-cult to keep Feathers In view through tho murk, half fog, half rain, of that badMy lighted quarter. At length he turned toward tho rlvor front. "By Jove!" exclaimed Anders. "Do you supposo he has turned river pirate or wharf rat?" Suddenly Featheis dropped out o sight. Ho seemed to have been swallowed swal-lowed up by tho earth. Now forward, then back wo wont, but could not Btilko his trail. Across tho street was tho blank wall of u big brick freight house. He surely could not have paused through that. Well, ho was gone, uody, reputation, everything; ho was no longer a grasshopper. Tnero was a bad taste In our mouths when wo thought 'of tho breakfasts and din-, ners we had eaten, bought with his money. Anders giltted his teeth. "I haven't been so tooled In a mau In long time," ho said. We continued on up tho dismal street, mud underfoot, breathing rmX fog, nnd beaten by tho rnlu, uutll wu came to an opening in the wall. It was the entrance to a dock, wher a big black Pacific mall steamship was loading, nnd the stevedores were hurrying hur-rying nlong under the flaring lights, driven by tho coarso shoutB of the foreman. It was an animated scene, and we watched It Interestedly for some minutes Anders grasped my arm. "Look there!" he excitedly whlsporcd. I looked to whero ho pointed, and saw Feathers, stripped to his undershirt, trundling a big truck before him. It was loaded with cases of canned salmon, sal-mon, and our friend fnlrly staggered along under Its weight. Hcaens, how thin and drawn ho looked In tho damp, raw night, under tho white glare of the sputtering are lights! I turned to Anders. Ills cjes wero swimming, and on his faco was a look of abject shamo and apology. From behind be-hind a mountain of cased salmon, we watched Feathers hurry back and foith with his burdens, but nono of us had olco for speech. Feathors had passed us with a load, when suddenly he dropped tho handles of his truck, swnyed a moment, nnd went smashing to tho floor. Anders sprnng to him, nnd tho men crowded about Andors was down on his knees with Feathers' head In his arms. "Dear old Feathers," I heard him say, "jou are the bravest and best of us nil." Tho foremnn of the stevedores pushed his way in nnd looked nt tho prostrate and white faced Feathers. "That man," he said, roughly but kindly, "Isn't fit to work. Ho Is more than half staived. Look at his ribs! They stick out like tho hoops on a barrel. He ought to bo in a hospital, right now. Aro jou a friend of his?" "Yes," replied Anders, "I am a friend of his!" The fight wan coming Into his ces. "Hero, Dickens, you nnd the baron get Fenthers homo and put him In my bed. Warm him and soup htm and take good care of him, or I'll bieak every bono in your bodies." Tho foreman sent us home on a truck, for we hud not the money to hire a cab. The last we saw of Anders An-ders he wns wheeling a pile of salmon, higher than his head, across the pier on the truck that had been abandoned by Featheis. Anders had mado an ariangcment with the foreman, who was a good-natured good-natured fellow, to allow ub to work on alternate nights on the wharf, Anders, the bnron, nnd I. It was tearing tear-ing work. Tho baron vowed ho would die of It. His pretty pink palms were so blistered and soro that ho had to glvo up tho zither, but ho did not complain. When we wero not trucking, wo took aio of Feathers, nnd surely no other man eer hnd such rough but well-meant care. There was a chicken for him ecry day out of our Income of one dollar and twenty-five cents, this meant Boup. And all the while we weic thinking hard about him. One day Anders, tho baron, and I, met on the pier, and, as we looked Into one another's eyes, wo discovered that we were all thinking of tho same thing. "I tell you what It Is," said Anders, nt length, "Feathers is a better roan than any of the rest. While wo were looking for work Feathers made it. And thoro ho was working himself to death to support a lot of soft-headed, soft handed loafers. Oh, I know 1 was as bad of tho rest of you! It did uo't occur to me that there could be uny work for me except suivejing or llgur-tng llgur-tng or drawing. But now I am going to work. Do jou know what the tiou-ble tiou-ble was with ub? Wo wero alwaju looking for something ensy, some thing In our particular Hue, and to our liking. Wo would hae been starving jet if it hud not beeii for Feathers. He wasn't going about In otlice buildings, looking for u berth ns second mate or purser on an ocean 'stcamthlp, becuiibo lie knew they do not keep such positions posi-tions at disposal there. Ho couldn't get what ho liked, so ho took what he (ould git. Fiatheis has put life and backbone Into me. I'm going to work, If I havo to go Into u ditch foi It, but I'm going to work." "Amen!' bnld 1. "Now," said Anders, "that man Feathers, by his pluck, first in taking such hard work, and then In sticking to It, hns set ua nn example that will not be easy to follow; and, whllo I thank him for It, I am not going to bo beaten. What do you think? The foreman has promised me u Job driving a dray." Tho baron moaned. "What can i do?" ho asked, "1 am so soft, I do not know how to work, Tho foremnn told mo to get out, sajlng that I was In the way." "Go and see tho German consul. Get Into communication with jour familj'. Von havo a place to (111 at home and a title to maintain, ns well as a mother to roaku glad that you aro her son," answered Anders. I was working at the dock, tho following fol-lowing daj', whou tho "Empress of Japan" cumo In. I talked with the captain, nnd he gnvo me n piece of exclusUe Hawallan'newB, of which ho did not realise tho importance. I rushed off to tho o(!Ue of the morntng "Oregonlan," wrote tho Btorj', and handed It to the city editor. It made a hit, nnd I Joined tho staff then and there. Andeis 1b building a lullroad in South America, having lotiBtiuttcd one of the llnc't sea wnlls and haibois on the Pacific Const,, Tho baron went home and ottered the Prussian army, Ho Is now a colonel col-onel of cuirassiers. Feathers Ih now; tho assistant gn-eral gn-eral manager of ono of tho groat transpacific trans-pacific bteamshtp Hues. ouccess. |
