The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 1935 Page: 7 of 8
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WATCH the CURVES
Copyright by Richard Hoffmann
By RICHARD HOFFMANN
WNU Service
CHAPTER I
Monday
"Listen,” his father said to Hal Ire-
land downtown—In the large office off
the bank that was all soft carpets, soft
lights, soft paneling, and enough floor-
apace rental to keep live families in
comfort for a year; “listen.’’
Tre been listening, sir,” said Hal.
^or twenty minutes."
The Old Man seemed to wait a little
for the slow draining of humor from
Hal s alert, gray eyes. Then he said in
flulet Irony:
“I dare say you’ve been told about
your charm—”
"Never by you, sir,” said Hal with a
faint bow, checked gently for fear of
starting the slow, heavy throb in bis
head again.
“I dare say you’ve been told that
when you bow that way, and let your
eyes twinkle, you're apt to get your
way. But I venture to point out what
I can’t convince myself you’ve learned
for yourself: that the business world
is not made up of pretty girls or sus-
ceptible matrons—social or theatrical;
that the business of the country, about
which you know nothing, Is carried on
by men who think more of persistence
and application than they do of capac-
ity to hold whiskey, or acquaintance
with speakeasy proprietors or handi-
caps at golf or the tit of white flan-
nels.
“The San Francisco job Is open till
the first of the month—because they
need somebody, not because I’ve asked
them to let you coast In on my name.
You've got your last penny from me—
for transportation or anything else—
till next quarter’s allowance. If you
want the job, get yourself out there.
If you don’t, don’t.’’
Hal's quick, mobile face was set, and
he met his father’s steady look with
bright, Impersonal steadiness, rather as
if he had a peevish, disappointing child
before him. Then he got up and
straightened his good shoulders with a
deep breath.
"That all?” he said.
“That’s all,” said the Old Man, brisk-
ly casual.
"Right,” said Hal, with a practiced
clipping of the word. “Well—’bye.”
He swung his back on his father and
walked over the thick carpet to the
door. In the silence, he could feel his
father expecting him to turn there for
another word—of hope, or of opening.
So he pulled the door, caught the other
knob behind him, and stepped out, leav-
ing only the soft, efficient click of the
latch for comment
Dalrymple — known downtown as
Frederick Ireland’s knife and fork—
was waiting unoptlmlstically outside,
where he couldn't be seen from the
banking floor. “Bad?’’ he asked appre-
hensively.
“Bad,” said Hal, letting his gray eyes
light again with their welcoming hu-
mor. "Rage-making. D’you know any-
thing about bromo-seltzer? Does it
really work?”
“They say so, but I’ve never need
ed—”
“And I’m never going to again—
never, never—probably. How do you
get to California on six dollars?”
“Lord, Mister Hal,” said Dalrymple,
“la six dollars all you’ve—out of the,
that cheque?”
" ’Frald so.” Hal reached Into an
Inside pocket and brought out the zig-
zag length of the railroad ticket, with
a couple of pullmun slips pinned to
the top. Dalrymple looked relieved.
“Oh, but you’ve got transportation,”
be said.
“On a train that’s now probably
simply whooshing through northern
Ohio. Here, take ’em, and If you can
get an adjustment, credit the Old Man's
account, with my compliments.”
"If 1 could—if you’ll let me—”
Hal smiled, and his eyes wrinkled In
the corners. “You’re a h—1 of a nice
guy, Dimples,” he said, ’but I’m so
mad—so mad, for the first time In my
life, that i wouldn't borrow a Confed-
erate nickel from anybody who paid
taxes In the same state with thut—
that—with my father. He told me—If
you’ll believe It, Dimples: he told me
1 knew nothing about money or life or
this country or him or myself or mod-
ern plumbing or brokers’ loans or God-
knows-wbatnot that's of the most qui-
vering importance to a young man’s
career. He even made me the simply
astounding revelation that I was an
only child. Had you heard that, Dim-
ples? He sat there and told me—but
what the h—1: you’re busy. And I’ve
got to get to the Coast Bromo-seltzer
couldn't make it any worse, could It?”
Dalrymple looked worried, confused,
pathetic, and be murmured: “No, no,"
helplessly. So Hal patted his arm,
promised to let him know what hap-
pened, and started uptown again.
It was In the subway that he re-
membered the sign they bad laughed
at last night In the West Forties, it
was, and If he could remember from
which place they hnd been going to
which other place, he would remem-
ber the streer. “California . .. $33" was
the line he recalled, among a list of
fares to Chicago, Miami. Detroit, Pitts-
burgh, and other destinations which he
had no faintest desire to reach.
“There," Tony had said, grabbing at
him; "go out to the Coast that way,
boy. Rub elbows with the people: see
life; know your native land."
Just west of Broadway—in the For-
ties. He’d find it: by G—d. he’d find it
He wouldn’t borrow a nickel from any
one of fifty people who’d lend him
money in the next half hour if he
wenr to them. He'd hock something—
m
%
M
*Ss8>lO’
“How Far You Going?” Larsen
Asked Her.
the curly ugly silver dressing-table set
his father had given him. He’d get to
the Coast on fifty dollars and tell his
father what to do with any Insuffer-
able future fight-talks that occurred to
him.
CHAPTER II
Tuesday
Hal’s headache was gone next morn-
ing, but so—nearly—was the warming
sense of triumph In his Inspiration.
And that went entirely at nine o’clock
when he walked Into the bare, dingy,
and crowded garage office from which
decrepit carsful of share-expense trav-
elers were dispatched about the coun-
try. He hadn’t stopped to think what
the mechanics of the thing might be;
but here the possibilities of dreariness
seemed promptly Infinite. Fight July
days of four hundred miles’ driving
each, through country reputed to be
hotter thnn, outside, Forty-eighth
street already promised to be; crowd-
ed Into an unwashed derelict of a fine
car among a selection from this as-
sembly of desolate, if not actively ob-
jectionable looking people. . . . The
first sough cartoon of these vistas
nearly had him back on the street
again—to telephone Dalrymple for the
easy loan that would put him on this
afternoon’s Century.
A decent looking man In a clean
shirt looked at him across the shabby
desk firmly. The telephone rang. “Yes.
This Is l.nrsen." said the man, frown-
ing. “Call me later. I’m very busy.”
Hal upended his old suitcase against
the wall near the door and sat on It.
Larsen started pawing over the plies of
little slips before him. “Now—” he
said twice, almost looking up. but each
time thinking better of it Then sud-
denly, “Yon can’t take that dog.” Hal
looked around for the dog, then up
quickly to examine who It should be
in this place with so smartly bred a
fox-terrier.
“I’ve got to take the dog.’’ said the
girl In soft, almost-husky gravity.
“He'll sit In my lap; he'll be no trou-
ble." Pretty, quite pretty, Hal saw;
perhaps a little tough, aurely self-con-
scious—the even solemnity In her large
eyes aware that unauthorized people
were looking at her, might any minute
speak to her and have to be rebuffed.
But pretty, really quite pretty.
"How far you going r Larsen naked
her.
“Los Angeles,” said the girl steadily.
‘Oh,’’ said Larsen, as If Los Angeles
were just this side of New Rochelle.
“If you keep him in your lap, all
right’’ He turned to the man whose
crossed legs Hal could see beyond her.
“Does he bite?"
“I don’t know," said a lazy, careless
voice.
Larsen was startled. "You two’re to-
gether,” he said.
"No," said the man.
Larsen looked at her: she made a
slight negative motion with her head
and dropped her eyes to the dog. Lar-
sen fumbled through the slips of paper,
stopping to frown at one. “You’re go-
ing to L. A.,’’ he said to the girl. “Yes."
she said, barely looking up to him for
an Instant. “And so are you,” Larsen
said to the mnn. “Yes, but I’m not with
her.” “Then who Is?" said Larsen. Hal
let half a smile come through his mood-
iness as he shook his head. And Lar-
sen was saved from further astonish-
ment by his telephone. Into which he
said again he was very busy, loading
three seven-passenger curs for Chi and
the West.
Hal’s eyes kept coming back to the
girl. She seemed not to hear what was
going on in the room—stayed quietly,
solemnly sure that some one would
speak to her. Periodically that annoyed
Ilal and he looked away. Then he
would find himself looking at her again,
seeing how the smooth, slight dip of
her cheeks under high cheek-bones
seemed to be pursing her lips a little,
adding solemnity to her wide, possessed
mouth.
’Hello, hello," said Larsen Impa-
tiently into the telephone: ‘I’m very
busy. I’m loading seven three-passenger
cars for Chi and the West.” Larsen
was sweutiug. He called suddenly
over his shoulder, us If taking a des-
perate remedy, "pe Soto!” A small,
cheerful, soft-eyed man, without a hat
and looking as If he had Just crawled
from under a car, came In expectantly.
“Take her bags,” said Larsen, pointing
his pencil at a woman, “and take her
to Dallas.” The lady's shocked disap-
proval of little De Soto lost some of Its
Imperiousness when he grinned at her
eagerly and said: “Like a fast ride,
lady?” She glared down, her pince-nez
quivering. “Hope y’do, ’cause anybody
rides with me gets a fast one.”
“Now,” said Larsen more happily, as
If their disappearance made It a fam-
ily party again. But the telephone rang,
and Larsen began his weary piece
about Chi and the West almost before
he had lifted the receiver. "Now, that
dog—” be started again, and Hal saw
a sort of quick pride take the girl’s
face as she raised her head. “No, that’s
right,” Larsen added. “We settled that
We settled about the dog. Now Los
Angeles—everybody going to Los An-
geles goes with Jake Miller. Miller!"
he shouted at the garage door.
"Where’s Miller?”
After an hour Hal went across the
baking street for a glass of ginger ale.
When he came back the slight, tidy
man smoking beside the doorway gave
him a lazy smile and In a voice that
was oddly unsure of pitch said, “Ooln’
to L. A.?”
“Guess so,” said Hal, trying to be
neither discourteous nor encouraging.
The trip was going to be bad enough
without entering Into relations with
anybody.
“So’m I,” said the man. "My name’s
Crack—Mart’n Crack.” His eyes
seemed dreamily looking for the effect
of this on Hal
Hal leaned against the wall, facing
the street, and lighted a cigarette. I’m
d—d if I’ll offer him my name, Hal Bald
to himself; if he’s Interested, he heard
It In there.
“You any relation to Frederick Ire-
land—the big shot downtown?”
Hal looked at him with cool amuse-
ment In his gray eyes. “Sure,” he said.
"Couldn’t be closer." Crack gave a
slight, polite laugh. From his side
pocket he drew a bright, new golf ball,
dropped It to the pavement where It
clicked smartly and leaped up to Ills
waiting hand again.
“ ’Sfunny,” he said, “how that Lar-
sen thought I was with the chippy,
wasn’t it?”
"How do you know she’s a chippy?”
said Hal In spontaneous Irritation.
“She looks It. doesn’t she?" said
Crack, his lazy nmlublllty undismayed.
“No," said Hal, promptly hoping to
confirm that she didn’t.
There was another pause—apparent-
ly serene for Crack but oddly Irksome
for Hal. A truck passing In the street
shot out a violent backfire opposite
them; Hal started all through his body,
and glanced at the man .again. Crack
was In complete. Indolent repose still,
his quiet look barely stirred by a hint
of sly mischief—as if he had caused
that sudden explosion to confirm some
lazy guess about Hal.
He stepped confidentially to Hal’s
side of the door and said In • low
tone: "See that big bird standln’ at
the back there? He's a dick. A detec-
tive.”
Hal raised his eyebrows perfunctor-
ily before he said, “How d'you know
that?”
“I thought he was,” Crack said, “and
then I saw his badge.”
"H’m,” said Hal.
Crack smiled and, except for a vague,
drowsy speculation In his eyes, his
smile was youthful, halfway candid,
not unengaglng. “He’s not looking for
you. Is he?" be said, cocking hla head
a very little.
"If he were, he shouldn’t have much
trouble finding me; and I’d be an ass
to tell you anyway, wouldn’t I?’*
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Growing a Seawall
These Ads . . .
What Do They Lead To?
LOS ANGELES* OR
FRISCO—A I.MOST
new cars leaving
dally. Share exp.
Good drivers,
comfortable.
Kefs.
exchanged. Cheap,
CALI.
AT OUR OFFICE
fihare-Expense
MAn 7-0436.
Travel,
5
5
o
X
g
S
# Utter strangers thrown together in the
most intimate company, trusting lives and
property to a driver they have never met.
Where does it lead ?
ADVENTURE? ROMANCE? INTRIGUE?
Read
Watch the Curves
By RICHARD HOFFMANN
A laugh a line—a thrill a mile! This is the first in*
stallment. Follow it every week in this newspaper
The cultivation of rice grasa on
the low-lying landa of Besex and
other similar mud flats In England
may result In turning thousands of
acres of waste land Into profit-
able pasture. Spnrtlna grass became
known In Great Britain about 100
years ago through a few seeds drop-
ping accidentally from some cargo
ships at Southampton docks. They
took root and formed a hybrid with
British grass which attracted the at-
tention of agricultural scientists who
suw the possibility of "growing"
their sea wall instead of spending
thousands of pounds on sea defense
to prevent the land being flooded.
Experiments have proved that such
a wall Is not worn away by the tide.
OVER 300 AWARD*
• . «m by Mr*.
M. E. Rynersoe
for h « r baking.
She now ai«t
CLABBER GIRL
lirUiivrly
Clabber girl
D A K, I N 'C* U O W D T Pk .
Not Cnu*o for Conceit
Money should not swell one’s
head, but can one be blamed If pos-
session of enough gives one a deep
quiet sense of repose? As Ingo
said, 'Tut money In thy purse;" and
begin thinking about It not later
than the age of twenty-five.
Many a Friend Recommends
BLACK-DRAUQHT
People who have taken Black-
Draught naturally are enthusiastic
about it because of the refreshing
relief it has brought them. No won-
der they urge others to try itl . . .
Mrs. Joe G. Roberts, of Portersville,
Ala., writes: “A friend recommended
Black-Draught to me a long time
ago, and it ha* proved it* worth to me.
Black-Draught i* good lor constipation.
I find that taking Black-Draught prevent*
the bilious headache* which I used to
have." ... A purely vegetable medicine
for relief of
CONSTIPATION, BILIOUSNESS
i B o 1L ease*
throbbing pain; allays Inflam-
mation; reduces swelling; lessens
tension; quickly heals. Relieve these
painful, unsightly conditions with pow-
erfully medicated CARBOIt. Results
guaranteed. At year druggist, er write
Spurlsch-Nsal C#.. Nosh*
brill*. Tean.
KILL ALL FLIES
HffiBsF.fi I
convenient — Cannot erplll— f
Will not anil or Injure anything.
Lasts all saasplL 30e at all
DAISY FLY KILLER
CHILDREN
Like Milnesia Wafers
MILNESIA
ifc ,„*/ WAFERS
OH MILK Of MAGNESIA WAEFRS
PIMPLY SKIN
from clogged, irritated pores,
can be relieved, improved,
and healing aided with
Resinok
WNU—L
23—35
Rid Yourself of
Kidney Poisons
r\0 you suffer burning, scanty or
L/ too frequent urination; backache,
headache, dizziness, swollen feet end
ankles? Are you tired, nervous—feel
«ll unstrung and don't know whet is
wrong?
Then give some thought to your
kidneys. Be sure they function proper-
ly, for functional kidney disorder per-
mits excess waste to stay in the blood,
end to poison end upset the whole
system.
Use Doan’s Pill*. Doan’s are for the
kidneys only. They ere recommended
the world over. You can get the gen-
uine, time-tested Doan’s at any drug
•tore.
Doans Pills
V
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Stone, Harry N. The Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 14, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 1935, newspaper, June 6, 1935; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth518891/m1/7/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.