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About The Henry County weekly. (McDonough, GA.) 18??-1934 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 1921)
TAXI By George Agnew Chamberlain Ocprrigliii Th* Bobks-MarrUl Oompur A RICH FIELD. SjTtopsis. Robert Hervey Ran dolph, young New York man-about town, leav.a the home of his sweet heart, Madge Van Telller, cha grined because of her refusal of his proposal of marriage. His income, SIO,OOO a year, which he must sur render if a certain Miss Imogen Pamela Thornton (whom he has seen only as a small girl ten years before) Is found. Is not considered by the girl of his heart adequate to modern needs. In a “don’t care” mood Randolph enters a taxi, un seen by the driver, and is driven to the stage door of a theater. A man he knows, Duke Beamer, In duces a girl to enter the cab. Beamer. attempting to follow, is pushed back by Randolph and the cab moves on. His new acquaint ance tells Randolph she Is a cho rus girl, and has lost her position. She is in distress, even hungry, and he takes her to his apartment. There, after lunch, a chance re mark convinces him the girl i 3 the missing Pamela Thornton. He does not tell her of her good fortune, out secures her promise to stay In the flat until the morning and leaves her. PART I — Continued. “More than that,” went on Ran dolph : “I’m not taking your Job just for tonight; I’m going toehold It. The ■only thing I want you to promise is that you’ll keep your trap closed If you see any ads in the personal col umns looking for me.” “How do I know you won’t lift the car and whoop it up fer New Haven?” Randolph fixed him in the eye. “You know I won’t, because I say It.” "Sure—that’s all right, boss,” said the driver conciliatingly. “No bones broke. Now, there’s just one thing more: have you flggered that it’s five hours to the opening of second-hand Sixth avenue or the Bowery, an’ I’d have to wear those clothes of yourn all that time?” “What’s the matter with these clothes?” asked Randolph, a little peeved. “Well, you’ve heard my offer. Take it or leave It.” “Sure I’ll take It I” said the driver promptly. “If I wasn’t a-goin’ to have took it from the first, what would I ’a’ been standin’ here talkin’ for?” Whereupon they entered to the cramped privacy of the cab and ex changed garments. Randolph was ready in ten minutes, but It took hhfl, another ten to complete the apparel ing of the puzzled chauffeur. That worthy added to his investiture In Randolph’s best evening suit a sickly grin. “Say,” he asked, “how do I look?” Mr. Randolph surveyed him. “Oh, you’ll do, all right. You look about the way I would if I’d been on a bat. Better have a few drinks, if you can find them, and the world will fall for your clothes. What time do I turn the wagon in, and what time do I go on again? Do you bunk at the garage, by any chance?” “Never you mind where I bunk,” said the ex-cabman suspiciously. “D’you think I’m goin’ to throw in a happy home for two hundred? You’re on the night shift for this week. Read the rules and regulations when you get to the garage. Say good-by to the boys for me an’ tell the manager to go to blazes.” They followed this remark out of the cab; the tough in fop’s clothing cranked the car and turned westward, as previously chronicled, while Air. Randolph, now substitute to Patrick O’Reilly as driver of the Village Cab company’s No. 1898, hurled his char iot eastward, not to meet the morning, as it had appeared to the watching Miss Thornton, but in search of the residence of the head of the legal firm charged with the duty of carrying out the instructions of the defunct Mr. Asa Thornton. Mr. Randolph, vice O’Reilly, drew up at the familiar address in Madison avenue and laid his car cheek by jowl with the curb as though anchoring it for a long stay; then he descended from the driver’s seat, entered the cab, exclaimed thanksgiving at finding a rug, wrapped himself in its warm folds, curled up on the seat and went to sleep. In the cold early morning the strong arm of the Law reached in and dragged him back from the Elysian fields where he had been wandering hand In hand with a lovely person dressed in a little velvet toque and very cheap clothes. “Here, you!” said the voice of the Law. “Don’t you know you can’t put up a hotel In this burg without a li cense? Wot the—" “Morning, Officer,” said Randolph, trying his best to be pleasant. “I’m waiting for my fare. Any regulation against that?” “Don’t pull that stuff on me,” said the Law. “This ain’t the Tenderloin.” “I know it Isn’t,” remarked Mr. Ran dolph. “But I happen to be waiting for Mr. Borden Milyuns, of Milyuns, Branch & Milyuns. Ever heard of him?” “Sure,” said the cop, impressed but still suspicious. “He lives here all right, but I ain’t seen him turning down his own cars for night-hawks lately.” “Well,” said Mr. Randolph, “I could tease you along for some time and make you look like a nut, but I won’t. The truth is, his prize bitch, Bride of Lammermoor, is pupping tonight, and I’m here to take the lady and her lit ter down to the dog-show in time to get ’em settled for the opening. Messy job, but the meter is charging for It.” “There ain’t a man living that could think up a lie like that, not sudden,” murmured the officer, and turned to resume his beat, while Mr. Randolph promptly hit the mat in the hope of catching up with Elysium. He slept; he slept too deep for dreams, and was beyond the reach of the call of any motorhom when Mr. Milyuns’ town car tried to shoo him along at eight thirty of a bright morning. Once more was Mr. Randolph dragged by main force to wakefulness. “Good-morning, Thomas,” he re marked. “Is the old man up?” “Hully gee! Mr. Randolph! What ’ave you been up to now?” “None of yours, Thomas,” said Rob ert Hervey, in a kindly but firm voice. “Get me a bit of paper and a pencil.” The chauffeur discovered the re quired articles in Mr. Milyuns’ car, handed them over, and curiously watched Mr. Randolph write his note to the effect that Miss Imogene Pa mela Thornton would receive her legal representative at Mr. Randolph’s rooms in Fifty-ninth street between nine and ten. It was added that the said rooms, upon which rent had been paid to the end of the quarter, and all they contained, including the man, Tomlinson, were at the perpetual dis position of the said Miss T. “Now, Thomas,” said Mr. Randolph, “you take this in to the old man him self and tell him a chauffeur with an empty cab brought it. If you say an other word I’ll have you up at the union for losing me my job, and I’ll lick the stuffings out of you besides. Get me?” “Sure thing, Mr. Randolph!” said Thomas. “Leave it to me to help you make trouble whenever you feel like it. It’s a slow world except for the likes of you.” As soon as the man had entered the house, Mr. Randolph started his cab and made for a point of vantage in the park, from which, in due course, he beheld the arrival of the lawyer at Fifty-ninth street. He waited long enough to make sure that the legal gentleman had penetrated to Miss Thornton; then he threw up his flag and made for the garage. He sought out the manager. “Say,” he plunged, “Pat O’Reilly lost his job to me last night shooting craps. My clock read twenty-eight dollars this morning; here’s my slip.” The manager glanced at the slip, and took a long look at Mr. Randolph. “You’re on, kid,” he decided. “Take nny shift you like. What’s your name?” “Slim Hervey,” said Mr. Randolph promptly. “One of them earned names,” com mented the manager. “All right Go to it.” PART 11. Flesh, Spirit and the Veiled God. Mr. Randolph spent the day getting acquainted and proved himself a good mixer. By telling a few stories that had not yet sifted down from Club land and by standing a few drinks he soon found himself made free of all the technical Information he needed and some more that was so ultra-tech nical that it could beat the brains that invented the delicate mechanism of the taximeter. He also established part ownership in a comfortable room in a house very much on the wrong or west side of Broadway, in fact within smelling anf almost spitting distance of the North river. While he was still In funds be bought himself a woolen khaki over coat with one of those enormous col- HENRY COUNTY WEEKLY, McDONOUGH, GEORGIA. An Adventure Romance lars which look like an inverted bucket when they are up and surpass in efficiency the traditional black mask so beloved by Illustrators of the week ly press. He also had a speaking slot cut in the glass of the cab window just behind his best ear and subse quently removed and lost the slide that had been fitted over it with con siderable skill and trouble. During the naxt few nights he pro ceeded to have the time of his life; so much so that he was constantly over whelmed with wonder nt his stupidity in not having become a taxi-driver years before! It should be remem bered that Mr. Randolph was of New York Yorky; he knew everybody cas ually, from Mr. Milyuns and his daughter, Eileen, down to the latest addition to the pitiful ranks of the midinette. More than that, so broad was his acquaintanceship that as a sporting gent he had once or twice been tipped off ns to the where and when of a proposed gun-play. In nddition to being by right of birth an integral part of all the social strata of Manhattan, he knew the surface of the island and of the adjacent com moner soli of the mainland consid erably better than he knew the palm of his own hand. In fact, he could PH “Don't Pull That Stuff on Me," Said the Law. scarcely ever have been conscious that he had a palm, even as a map of per sonal fortune; for he who is complete ly satisfied with the present never worries about the future and Mr. Ran dolph had been born content. With such an equipment, is it to be wondered at that he found the taxi field rich with unexpected and sur prising blooms? Fair flowers, he had known heretofore to nod only over tea tables and solid silver appeared sud denly transplanted to his cab and ready to nod on a stalwart shoulder. Strong male tiger-lilies of the money market, grafted to the cushions of a taxi, became complacent pillars upon which some clinging ivy twined. In six nights he learned the sound that a banker makes when slender fingers tickle him under the chin; the gasp of a girl, first-kissed; the cry of a young man upon discovering the ab sence of grandfather’s gold watch, hig since graduation day; the cluck of a top-hat fairly sat upon in the excite ment of a moment that else would have been tragic, the exasperating tap, tap, tap, of a hen-pecking tongue that explained and condoned a murder mys tery in the next morning’s papers, and the sob of a ruined youngster who had played with borrowed money. All these incidents took place with people whom Mr. Randolph knew or knew of and just to show what an ex tremely honest young man he was, let It be said that it did not once occur to him that he need never be poor while humanity, supposedly In good stand ing, continued to lay itself open to blackmail at the rate of a case a night. At the same time, he was not stupid and occasionally tapi>ed out a missive loaded with dynamite on the garage typewriter when no one was around. Here is a sample. “Mr. Poindexter MacGuler, Sir: As I was driving you and Miss B. B. larst night who was foster-mothered by an aunt of a trend of a frend of mine, I lieerd you talkin to her and all I got to say is if I see *wu out with her again short of the bands of 1 matrimony I'll get another frend of mine to get Mr. Robert Ilerv Ran dolph to tt-ii what he knows about you cheaten at cards ot, Dec. 23 last.” Nights that gave birth In the morn ing to such Illlterary tit-bits could scarcely be called dull, but It was not long before Mr. Randolph found him self threatened by an unexpected mo notonous employment. Unfortunately for his entertainment, his reputation as the one par excellence -St. Bernard lifesaver to the inebriate elite spread rapidly throughout the Force so that the telephone was constantly burdened during the wee hours with the follow ing: “Say, is Slim Hervey on the Job? Well, when fie comes in tell ’lra I got another tailor-model drunk here what has lost his home address from his mind.” With suspicious suddenness Mr. Randolph proceeded to forget half his school and clubmates nnd cold-blooded ly leave them to their fate and a night out. not without coming to grief on at least one occasion, however. “What are you cornin’ over me?” de manded the irate captain of the Nth precinct. “You ain’t forgot that you was vallv to It. H. Randolph for seven years, have yn? Has all his frens gone on the wagon?” It looked like a loop-hole. “Sure,” said Slim Hervey promptly. “His club’s near busted what with water drinkers and softs.” “Slim Hervey,” the good angel. (.TO HE CONTINUED.) DOG HATERS “CALLED DOWN” Writer in New York Newspaper Says Some Harsh Things About Ene mies of the Canine Race. A story calculated to make dog haters grit their teeth finds its way into priut, remarks the New York Tribune. An Eust side collie awak ened his master, told him things were not as they should be, and then se cured a prompt turning in of a tire alarm, which saved many lives. At rare intervals a case of rabies develops. With this as a basis the dog haters have secured a code whose severity is such that once in a while it naturally breaks down some dog’s nervous system. Leashed and wear ing a mask or jaw straps, man’s best friend is denied a normal life. If, his patience exhausted and his temper frayed, he bites anything, no matter whether by accident or with ample justification, he is thrown into jail without trial. Not satisfied with this, there is n constant outcry for a practical extermination of the spe cies, with only enough left to pro vide raw material for vlvlsectionlsts. Yet if a score were kept showing in one column the number of human lives man’s devoted servitor has saved and in another the number in any wise lost through him, the dispropor tion in favor of the dog would be great. A dogless civilization would be one wherein life insurance rotes would be raised. The psychology of the dog hater has never been satisfactorily explained. He exists —that is all we know about him. He can scarcely be said to take pleasure in his malignancy, for he is gloomy and somber, yet he stub bornly clings to his frenzy, putting in time inventing calumnies which one look Into a dog’s honest and loyal eyes sufficiently refute. DIFFICULT TO HANDLE FORKS When Ffirst Introduced, Dinero Could See Little of Benefit in the Innovation. It Is hard to believe the sensation produced when forks first came Into use. It was in 1574, nt a dinner given by Henry 111 of France. Here Is an account by a royal lady guest. “The guests never touched the meat with their fingers, but with forks, which they carried to their mouths, bending their necks and bodies over their plates. “There were several salads. These they ate with forks, for It is not con sidered proper to touch the food with the fingers. However difficult it may be to manage it, It Is thought better to put the little forked instrument In the mouth than the fingers. “The artichokes, asparagus, peas and beans were brought. It was a pleasure to watch them try to eat these with their forks, for some, who were less adroit than the others, dropped as many on their plates and on the way to the mouth as they were able to get to their mouths. "Afterward a great silver basin and a pitcher of water were brought and the guests washed their hands, though it seems as If there would not be much scent of meat and grease on them, for they had touched their food only with those forked instruments.”—Ladles’ Home Journal. Even when a fellow tells a girl be would die for her be balks at having her fix the date. HOW WOMEN OF MIDDLE AGE May Escape the Dreaded Suf ferings of that Period by Taking Mrs. Block’s Advice Hopkins, Minn. “ During Change of Life I had hot flashes and suffered for luigigMgiiMiMß'MM two years. I saw Lydia E. Binkham s Vege table Com ' pound advertised in the paper and got •JP'.M. good results from taking it I recom « jgt mend your medicine ■ i to my friends and i! you may Publish i djSilthis fact as a testi flfflmonial.”—Mrs.Roß- } ert Block, Box 642, It has been said that not one woman in a thousand passes this perfectly nathral change without experiencing a train of very annoying ana sometimes painful symptoms. 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