8
THE OREGON STATESMAN. SALEM. OREGON.
SUNDAY MORNING. OCTOBER 21. 1920
0. HENRY and AL. JENNINGS
(Continual from last week)
tiararTal.-;. With 'thic fervor nt i Wst in Bill Porter. II was klnu
luro worshippers, llal.llr anil I ;uf that exclusive rlub.
at knowledge J Hill Porter. lh: It was a Similar, three weeks
villus, after I had been transferred t!
l' usually U.e l&tneP whiW others i'...'... , M. . : Postoffiee. that I wan invited;
J1 .1MI1J : III IIJi:..
IHnner l Smnt
Announces CtMik.
talked, that one fell a warm surse
!:mse of Spasm.
ril.lTFl TW'KXTY-TIUIKK of pleasure ' whenever he showed
ia disposit.on for confidence, tsil-i . .
A desk and a chair inside the! y and I sw-rved about, eager fori ''T Jrd. to nti lhe "A?ry d
ff IUf:f Wri7tt.?rU,Si I i'ort "rSV'on a" hl1. .tool nEr Prim at this time a eultnred
I IIP llt? Ol lilt? V . .x, Jjcl, r,nt ft rat 11 llv il rcu.' f-tllll I Frenchman, a tanker frrmi Wu.-
urieans. Through his sister.
Porter's stories, bearing the New
Orleans address, were sent to the
j 'Slither over, t'olonel." Porler'
j whispered to me. "Ikey will show I
you the way." )
An odder initiation ceremony i
never! was held.
( Carnot would ftet red. chamn, . -What np?
.his teeth together and nulla In; "Tliey've Rot I'.iz Jo tied
. ,.,.... : nw fna'r- aly for th- wh.- Iharrow
Imisa dodxv frc.ni ln-hln.l the, "Don't rpeak of It. I don't he i.n'i iti -
wi.u yon io menu. mi h. jiis pnr
sr IIh snt out a shoer. 1
duked.
anj
doth ti.il
grouped around that store aud n j llis pocket a rn Qf brown papers
tlwse wards lrom SO to 200 pd-j He had written in a. big. gener
tients racked with all manner of ! on.- ha.id and there was scarcely
disease. The quiet oi the night
disturbed with the groans of bro
ken men. the coughs of th wast
ed, the frightened gasp of the
dying. The night nurse paddling
from ward to ward and every
onre in a while returning to the
drug store with th? crude infor
mationanother "con" has
croaked. Then, down the corri
dors the rat Us" of the wheelbar
row and the negro life-termer
bumping the "stiff" into the dead
house. A desk and a chair set
tled in the raw heart of chill de
pression !
There at that desk, night after
night, eat Bill Porter. And in the
grisly atmosphere of prison
death and prison brutality "here
bubbled up the mellow smile of
his Renin the smile born of
heartache. of shame, of humilia-
t ion the smile that has sent Us
, ripple of faith and understanding
tor the hearts of men and women
everywhere
When It first caught Billy
Raidler and me, we cried out
right. I think it was the proud
er-t moment in O. Henry's life.
He had come into the prison post
offic on a Friday afternoon.: It
was just about a fortnight after
I had offered to read him my
memoirs. .
a ucraien or an erasure on a sin-;
gle sheet.
From the moment that Porter's
rieh. low, hesitant " voice began
there was breathless suspense un
til suddenly Billy Raidler gulped
and Porter looked up as one
aroused from a dream. Raidler
grinned and jabbed his maimed
hand into his eye.
'Damn you. Porter, 1 never
did it in my life before. By God.
1 didn't Know what a tear looked
like.'4 .( ;
It was funny thing to see
iwo train robbers blubbering
over the simple story.
Perhaps the convict Is over
sentimental, but the queer twist
in Porter's story just seemed to
sneak into the heart with a kind
of overflowing warmth.
C'H.IITKU TWKNTV-l'OlK I
Years later I nprfnie.: r.iv ntrn
story1 from editor to editor. Never 1
did I feel the angry spasm of dis-
Oonvicts Acclaim
Porter a tieniu.
Bill Porter Slakes
Two Convicts Veep.
r
. "Colonel, would "you mind
granting me an! audience." he said
in the banteriig formality of his
way. "I'd appreciate the opinion
of a fellow struggler. I have a
little scrap here. I'd like to read
it to you and Billy."
It was "The Christmas Chap
arrall." he read to us
ly and I could understand the
feelings of the cowpuncher who
had lost out in the wooing of
the girl. We could feel bis hot
Jealousy toward the peeler who
won the bride. We knew that
he would keep his promise we
knew he would return to kil bis
rival.
And when he comes back on
Christmas eve, dressed as a Santa
Claus, armed to bring tragedy to
the happy ranch house, we could
sympathize with his' mood. He
overhears the wife say a word in
his defense he hears her praise
the early kindness of his life. He
walks up to her There's a
! C hristmas Dresent in the next
Porler met me at the door of
editor. ithe construction office and with
When "The Christmas Chapar- j elaborate burlesque paid tribute
lal" was sfent out. Billy and I j to ni' accomplishments. "Here is
could hardly wait for the weeks a financier worthy to sit with the
to go by. We were sure it would 1 elect-i Tbe colonel kills with a
be accepted at once. At least jdeft equanimity equalled only by
$75 was the price we thought it!the 'isse of Louisa in seasoning
ought to bring. It came back. the gravy."
Louisa was the nickname given
to the French gentleman sent to
i the Ohio penitentiary on a charge
i -ht Am An t 11m -na 1 n nniH
appointment that seized me when i a.tll-. ., , . '
pn,.i, -Jt 4..j :sartn, mannered like a prince
. a fhjef ,ler)t in COnstruc.
tion office and the man respon
sible for the magic . kitchenette
concealed behind the walls of the
office.
Louisa was official chef of thej
"Recluse Club." He turned out i
mince pies and roast beef that
would have made the eyes of
Dives bulge with envy. He meas
ured to the grain all his ingredi
ents and he followed minutely the
instructions in a big rook book.
If the prison; had suddenly been
changed into paradise it would
have seemed no more miraculous
than the scene in this improvised
banquet room. A fairy table, dec
orated with ild flowers and set
for six. was simply laden with all
manner of delicacies olives, rad
ishes, sugar, cream, white bread,
lettuce, tomatoes.
I knew thjat he, too, was filled i
with a bitter regret. He had
counted on the money. He want
ed to send a little present to his
daughter. Margaret. Now she
would have to wait. It cut him
to the tjuick, this failure of his.
as a father.
But he said very little when
Billy handed him the package.
We were so incensed against the
publishers we wanted him to
Both Bil-'lacklist them in the future.
uoionei, me aay may come
when I can decline publication
at present I don't seem to have
the deciding voice."
And he went back to his desk
and wrote and wrote. He went
back to the melancholy prison
hospital, to the night patrol
through the cell ranges, gather
ing his material, transmuting the
gloom through the O. Henry al
chemy into the sunny gold of his
stories. Many of these he read
to us in the stolen happiness of
Sunday afternoons at the "Re
cluse Club."
door, a great dish
ylMint his waUt.
inner is wrvwl. enilemeii.
Ma!.' jurselves at home."
It was l!il!r Porter's turn to
wait on table. Hill i;i all li,
buoyant antiiint lrin.tit on th
roat leet that 'gala Suiul.n. i
if 1 to give him a r. hiinsical
satisfaction to wait on Kaillr
and me.
"Colonel. 1 feel more at home
holding iht tray for you than I
would have felt holding the hors
es that day." he whispered In my
ear. .
Louisa, the chef, carved. Ill
. M loci Km t 1 t 11 A
menu. It was the first good!1'"1 ban,-r-mal
I had had since I was i Once in a
r, f f I m-mwtt . . ..
the Indian bodj Uy. wn
i Continued nt wfc j
' -11-11. WO"
'om- r,v-r and M-e
I w-nt ia with him. Hi
was lying in tn. hit t i tit-
t.i4-th r. a handk rrhief tver h!s
. 4 ..
"lk. th imrtljr whifj-r-d 1
He lk out hi p'nknife and
Urick-d th Indian on the foot.
Tb-
ionn-, I don't kn w wh,v
mi are ntnioiting your fa-- and
a-aperlng about o." the old man
tnriK-d on me.
"W-il. i. ,ki. your honor. I
don't want to get drowned."
i lit n ,n voujo rv-rin an o-r in- Kn-- iiw mu. in- mn
again. CariK.i prot-fmr t!ia any. la itched to hi nek. It made me
man who woild kahite him a an ik with r-iulslon. 1 w-nt over
--convict would lx shot on the j to Porter.
rpot. No man fir. ad-d th- j . iC Jcm. rted.
thought of that tigma more than "Tell the rroaker "
Porter. W'e had many talk abant , j v .
it. lie hid hi fH.s under a t r, J ,di,n',n n '
" uusru. toiu mm. i ii y u
like to bury u all alive. Damn
e Jd Read the ClanificJ Adj.
WE FARNUII
"IF I WERE KLGn
SlartH Tues. at The Or
while tue
await trial ; cracked
: Porter was usually so reticent. I room for you." he says and leaves
j -,. -. 1 the house without firing the shot
that was to have -ended the bus-
band's life.
Well, the story is told as only
O. Henry can rough in the pic
ture. Billy and I could see our
selves in the cowpuncher's place
We could feel ourselves respond
to that stray beam of kindness in
the eirl's thoughtless Draise. We
could leel it and it brought the
tears to our calloused old cheeks.
Povter sat there silent, pleased.
his eyes aglow with happy satis
faction. He rolled up the manu
script and climbed down from
the stool. ,
"Gentlemen, many thanks.
never expected to win tears from
experts of your profession," he
said at last. And then we all
fell into a speculation as to what
the story should bring and where
we ought to send it. .We felt
an intense interest in its fate
"The Long Riders" and its many
buckets of blood were forgotten
in the wisardy ot "The Christmas
f for miM
REDD LO O XywfJL i
STREN GTH aw r&Fs
ENDURANCEn,
I EACH CCNUlNC NlJXATCD IRON
TABLET IS STAMPED AS ABOVE
EACH GENUINE NUXATED IRON i
TABLET IS STAMPED AS ABOVE
thrown into jail to
three years before.
We had a tomato soup that was
the pi Id? of Louisa's heart. He
boasted of the pinch of soda add
ed to keep the milk from curd
ling. And there were corn and
green peas- and roast potatoes, a
mince pie and a cold bread pud
ding made with raisins.
I've given that recipe of Loui
sa's to every woman I ever met.
Not one of them could turn out
the delicacy as the chef of the
Recluse club did it.
Porter Preat
Kulnt of flub.
Porter Made Head
Of KxrluHite Club.
Porter was a bohemian in heart,
in soul, in temperament. Not the
poser he had neither sympathy
nor kinship with the tempera
mental quacks of the artistic
world but a born original. He
loved freedom and unconvention
al sociability. In this buoyant at-,
mosphere he could . warm up,
whisper out his drolleries, forget.
Kven in the prison the whimsical
vagabond In him asserted itself.
He founded the -Recluse club."
Six convicts three of them bank
robbers, one a forger and two
train robbers, made up its mem
bership.' We met on 9unday In
the construction office. And never
a club in the highest strata of so
ciety had graver, brighter, hap
pier discussion never-. -an epi
cure's retreat served a more de
licious menu than our Sunday repasts.
The embezzlers
Hanker Situ at
Convict's Banquet.
In an armchair sat the little,
rotund banker from New Orleans
the one who had accosted me
the day I transferred myself to the
cell in bankers' row. He was such
a sputtery, rasp-voiced, punctili
ous trifle. Porter could not abide
hfm. ! Bi)ly Raider was also sitting
in comfortable grandeur. These
two were exempt from labor
Billy because he could not walk
alone; Carnot because he was old
and fussy as a fat. spoiled baby.
Ikey slippered from wall to
wall,: bis ear tuned for the sound
of the guard's approach. The club
and its opulent layout was dis
tinctly against prison rules. At a
moment's signal, gas stove and its
range could be hidden out of
sight. Louisa was an architect
and draughtsman.
A false wall bad been built and
the; kitchenette with full equip
ment was hidden like a long tele
phone booth behind it. It was
stocked with silverware, napkins,
flavoring extracts, flour and every
necessity, enough in fact, for a
. , . I small hotel. All had been stolen
had been men I , i . .
of great wealth. They were edu-or argaineu trom tne neau cierks
cated and polished. It was a fit- ln other shops and from the chieT
ting environment to bring out the I cook in the kitchen.
Porter had drafted the rules of
the club. A copy lay at each
place with the little funny car-,
toons be made of us. Funny lit
tle verses were scrawled under
the figures. Every Sunday we
had different place cards.
Porter's raillery was boundless.
Raidler and' I were the only ones
who acknowledged ourselves
guilty. Louisa. Porter. Ikey and
old Carnot were all victims of
circumstances. They were touchy
about their, pasts. And so the
cartoonist drew them as cherubs,
friars, lilies without stain and
the dewdrops glistening on their
white sheafs.
Not one of those men. and
they were Porter s equal at least I
in social position, dared to take i
liberties with him. I think they;
held him in a sort of awe. His
dignity was invulnerable. Old j
Carnot would have liked the samel
respect. He never got It. Billy i
Raidler never tired of puncturing
his self-esteem. But Hilly would '.
have died rather than wound Bill
Porter. '.
Old Carnot did -not want any
one even to mention the fact that
he was in the penitentiary. He
would bluster and sputter when
any one spoke of him as an ex
convict. Every Sunday there
was an argument about it. Raid
ler. Just for the Impish love of!
i teasing the old man. would open ;
!.'
i ;
I Porter MoM DreaiN j
1 Thought of Stigma.
! !
! "Now. Mr. Carnot." h would
say. "my esteemed , friend. Bill j
; Porter, and I propose o found a ;
i union of ex-convicts as soon as;
j we are discharged. We wish you I
to Join." '
The day I told
him abont Big Jo-, a Cr-ek f
Indian of the "Buck C.ang"V(
I thought he was going to
faint. His face was usually
quiet and enigmatic in its expres
sion. This day it got j ashen and .
ligld. He said nothing for a mo-1
ment. Then with a flash he ',
turned the subject. Old Carnot'
would not have It. There was al- '
most an en "breach between j
them.
Big Joe had been sick at the ;
hospital for months. One night i
the word went round that be had '
croaked. A burglar friend of '
mine, on patrol duty at the hos-'
pital. rame over to the postof-
fire.
"Jennings, come over to the!
ward with me. I want to show.'
you something." he said, mysterl-j
ously. 1
veneer i tl.-m. I'll Ret thni yel.
He turned his back and ruh-J
o
No More Puncture
s
NO ALU, NO BLOWOUTS
After yon have learnM to uie cor
I'nivervai Tire Killer on ronr ear.
in jilaer of tubr, rile t xt'm
Vrt.
More Mileage For Leu
Money
See ug aliout it.novr.
UNIVERSAL TIRE FILLER SERVICE STATION
.420Sonth Commercial Street .
. . .
On November 2nd you wul be retjuireJ to vote on the stv
called Oleomargarine bilL TTie instigators of this vicious measure
would have you believe that its purpose is to regulate and Iicerue.
THE REAL PURPOSE IS TO KILL A GREAT OREGON H1DUSTRY
It is directed agamst the manufacture and sale of 0!omarah-K,
Nut-margarine and all the many Lmd of spread turd for bread by dau
ads of people in our suic rho carumc afford to pay ti pcne J buVut.
Facts to Remsmber'! ;
1 Tk OLEOMARGARINE BILL wi3
no ia aay ry benefit tb Dairy iadmtry
of Oregon by tb implied Mreagtbcaiac of
th market or incriag tiy cotNapdiw
of dairy prod seta.
2 Tba local batter bxlaatry ia entirely
retulated by aarionaj demand a ad lite
manufacture and aal of Oleoeaarg ahae
ltd Netaaargariitee can never, ia ike lea at.
affect tfce dairy iadeetry ia the atate.
3 Fanner etate lrgtatatioo in !. forrt
I the to-called Oieeenart'rtAe BJ a atat
aeceaaary because tke Gevcraraent already
Kaa79pa(eaof regulatory and Itce
law governing te operauoa cf liua leg,
iaaate tadaetry. Deception and f aad are
ipoeb!. y
4 TVe Oleomargarine D3 U aa acrorpt
to dictate to you Lt you aLail or aKail
not parcKaae ia ta way of a apread U
yoa ktead.
ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES OF OREGON, 702 Oregon BUg. Portland, Oregoo
VOTE 3 OS .KWO
P.-l Mi.
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