PARROT
& CO. "W
CHAPTER I.
East la Eaat.
It began somewhere In the middle
of the world, at a forlorn landing on
the west bank of the muddy, turbu
lent Irrawaddy, remembered by man
only ao often as It was necessary for
the flotilla boat to call for paddy, a
visiting commissioner anxious to get
away, or a family homeward bound.
On the east side of the river, over
there, was a semblance of civilization
That is to say, men wore white linen,
avoided murder, and frequently paid
their gambling debts. Hut on this
west side stood wilderness, not the
kind one reads about as being eventu
ally conquered by white men; no, the
real, grim desolation, where the ax
cuts but leaves no blaze, where the
pioneer disappears and few or none
follow. It was not the wilderness of
the desert, of the jungle; rather the
tragic, hopeless statu of a settlement
that neither progressed, retarded nor
stood still.
v-""Hetween the landing and the settle
ment itself there stretched a winding
road, arid and treeless, perhaps two
miles In length. It announced defi
nitely that Its end was futility. The
dust hung like a fog above it, not only
for this day, but for all days between
the big rains When the gods, or the
elements, or Providence, arranged the
world as a fit habitation for man, In
dia and Ilurma were made the dust
bins. And as water finds Its levels,
so will dust, earthly and human, the
quick and the dead.
Along the road walked two men,
phantomlike. One saw their heads
dimly and still more dimly their bodies
to the knees; of legs there was noth
ing visible. Occasionally they stepped
aside to permit some bullock cart to
pass. One of them swore, not with
any evidence of temper, not viciously,
but in a kind of mechanical protest,
which, from long usage, had become a
habit. He directed these epitheta
never at anything he could by mental
or physical contest overcome. He
awore at the dust, at the heat, at the
wind, at the BUD.
The other wayfarer, with the Inher
ent patience of his blood, said nothing
and waited, setting down the heavy
kit bag and the canvas valise (his
own). When the way was free again
he would sling the kit bag and the
valise over his shoulder and step back
into the road. His turban, once white,
was brown with dust and sweat. Hla
khaki uniform was rent and the rag
ged canvas Bhoes spurted little spirals
of dußt as he walked. James Hooghly
was Eurasian; half European, half In
dian, having his place twlxt heaven
and hell, which Is to say, nowhere. He
was faithful, willing and strong; and
as a carrier of burdens took unmur
murlngly his place beside the tireless
bullock and the elephant. He waa a
Methodist; why, no one could find lu
cid answer, tly dint of inquiry his
master had learned that James looked
upon his baptism and conversion In
Methodism as a corporal would have
looked upon the acquisition of a V. C.
Twice, during fever and plague, he
had saved his master's life. With the
gullelessiiess of the Oriental he con
sidered himself responsible for his
master In all future times. Instead of
paying off a debt he had acquired one.
Treated as he was, ktmlLt but always
firmly, he would have surrendered his
life cheerfully at the beck of the white
man.
Warrington was an American. He
was also one of those men who never |
held misfortune in contempt, whose 1
outlook wherever it roamed was tol-1
erant, He had patience for the weak, |
resolution for the strong and a fear-1
less amiability toward all. He was j
like the St Uernard dog, very diffi
cult to arouse. It is rather the way j
with all men who are strong mentally !
and physically. He was tall and broad j
and deep. Under the battered pith j
helmet his face WHB, gs dark aa the
Eurasian's, but the eyes were blue,
bright and small pupiled, as they are
with men wh.~ live out of doors, who
are compelled of necessity to note'
things moving at distances. The nose !
was large and well defined. All j
framed in a tangle of blond beard and
mustache which. If anything, added
to the general manliness of his ap
pearance. He, too, wore khaki, but
with the addition of tan riding leg
gings, which bad seen anything but
rocklnghorse serylca. The man was
yellow from, the top of his helmet to
the soles of his ahoes—outside. For
the rest, he was a- mystery, to James,
to all who thought they knew him, and
noat of all to himself. A pariah, an
oytcaat, a fugitive from the bloodless
band of the law; a gentleman born,
once upon a time a clubman, college
bred; a contradiction, a puzzle for
which there was not any solution, not
even In the hidden corners of the
nuui'a heart. Hla name wasn't War
rington; and he had rubbed elbows
with the dregs of humanity, and atlll
looked you straight In the eye becauae
he bad come through Inferno without
bringing any of the defiling pitch. *
From time to timriie paused to re-
Ngfct bi* crumbling cheroot. Tbo to-
Copnichl br tb« Bobb*-M«rrlU C—mtm
the tang of the smoke on his tongue
was not to be denied.
"" Under his arm he carried a small
iron cage, patterned something like
a rat.trap. It contained a Kajputana
parrakeet, not much larger than a
robin, but possessor of a soul as fierce
as that of Palladln, minus, however,
the smoothing Influence of chivalry.
He had been born under the eaves of
tlfe scarlet palace In Jaipur (so his
history ran); but the proximity of In
dian princes had left him untouched;
he had neither chivalry, politeness,
nor diplomacy. He was, In fact, thor
oughly and consistently bad. Round
and round he went, over and over,
top side, down side, restlessly. For
at this moment he was hearing those
familiar evening sounds which po hu
man ear can discern —the mutterlngs
of the day birds about to seek cover
for the night. In the field at the rlfht
of the road stood a lonely tree. It
was covered with brilliant scarlet
leaves and blossoms, and justly the
natives call It the Flame of the
Jungle. A flock of small birds were
gyrating above it.
"Jah, Jahl Jah—Jah —Jaa-a-h!"
cried the parrot, Imitating the Bur
mese bell gong that calls to prayer.
liiHtantly ho followed the call with a
slirlek ao piercing as to sting the ear
of the man who was carrying him.
"You little son of a gun!" he
laughed; "where do you pack away aU
that noise?"
There was a strange bond between
the big yellow man and thin little
green bird. The bird did not suspect
It, but the man knew. The pluck, the
pugnacity and the Individuality of the
feathered comrade had been an object
lesson to the man, nt a time when he
had been on the point of throwing up
the light.
"Jah. Jah, Jah! Jah —Jah —Ja-a-a-h!"
The bird began its Interminable som
ersaults, pausing only to reach for the
tantalizing finger of the man, who
laughed again as ho withdrew the
digit In time.
For six years he had carried the
bird with him, through India and Bur
ma and Malacca, and not yet had he
won a sign of surrender. There were
many scars on hla forefingers. It was
amazing. With one pressure of his
hand he could have crushed out the
life of the bird, but over Its brave, un
conquerable spirit he had no power.
And that Is why he loved it.
Far away In the past they had met.
He remembered the day distinctly
and bitterly. He had been on the
brink of self-destruction. Fever and
poverty and terrible loneliness had
battered and beaten him fiat into the
dust, from which this time he had no
wish to riso. He had walked out to
the railway station at Jaipur to wit
ness the arrival of the tourist train
from Ahmadabad. The natives surged
about the train, with brassware, an
tique articles of warfare, tiger hunt
ing knives (accompanied by perennial
fairy tales), skins and silks. There
were beggarai holy men, guldea and
faklrß.
Squatted In the dust before the door
of a flrst-olaßs carriage was a solemn,
brown man, In turban arid clout, exhib
iting performing parrots. It was Ra
jah's turn. He fired a cannon, turned
somersaults thtough a little steel
hoop, opened) a tiny chest, took out a
four-anna piece, carried it to his mas
ter, and in exchange received some
Reed. Thereupon he waddled resent
fully back to the Iron cage, opened
the door, closed It behind him, and
began to mutter belligerently. War
rington haggled for two straight hours.
When ho returned to his sordid, evil
smelling lodgings that night he pos
sessed the parrot and four rupees, and
sat up the greater part of the night
trying to make the bird perform his
tricks. The idea of suicide no longer
bothered him; trifling though it was,
he had found an interest in life. And
on the "morrow came the Eurasian,
who trustfully loaned Warrington ev
ery coin that he could scrape together.
Often, in the dreary heart-achy days
that followed, when weeks passed ere
he saw the face of a white man, when
he had to combat opium and bhang
and laziness in the natives under "him,
the bird and his funny trickft had
saved him from whisky, or worse. In
camp he gave Rajah much freedom,
its wings being clipped; and nothing
pleased the little so much as
to claw his way up to his master's
shoulder, sit there and watch the
progress of the rasor, with Intermit
tent "Jawing" at his own reflection in
the cracked hand mirror.
Up and down the Irrawaddy, at the
resthouses, on the boats, to those of
a jocular turn of mind the three were
known as "Parrot & Co." Warring
ton's amiability often misled the vari
ous scoundrels with whom he was at
times forced to associate. A man
who smiled most of the time and
talked Hindustani to a parrot was not
to be accorded much courtesy; until
one Jay Warrington had settled all
, distinctions, finally and pflmordlally,
with the square of his fists. After
that he want on hla way unmolested,
having soundly trounced on* of the
biggest bullies li the tank Umber
THE ENTERPRISE, WILLIAMSTON, WORTH CAROLDIA.
BY
HAROLD MACGRATH
AUTHOR OF
"THE CARPET FROM
BAGDAD," "THE PLACE OF
/ HONEYNtpONS," ETC.
* •
fldences to exchange; nor did be offer
to become the repository of otber
men's pasts. But he would share his
bread and bis rupees, when be bad
them, with any who asked Man?
tried to dig Into bis past, but he was
as unresponsive as granite. It takes
a woman to And out what a man Is
and has been, and Warrington went
about women In a wide circle. In a
way he was the most baffling kind
of a mystery to those who knew blm;
he frequented the haunts of men, took
a friendly drink, played sards for
■mall sums, laughed and Jested like
any otber anchorless man. In the
East men are given curious names.
They become known by phrases, such
as, The Man Who Talks, Mr. Once
Upon a Time, The One-Rupee Man.
and the like. As Warrington never
received any mall, as he never entered
a hotel, nor spoke of the past, he be
came The Man Who Never Talked of
Home.
"I say, James, old sport, no more
going up and down this bally old river.
We'll go on to Rangoon tonight, If
we can And a berth."
."Yes, sahib; this business very
piffle," replied the Eurasian without
turning his head. Two things be
dearly loved to acquire—a bit of
American slang and a bit of English
sliver. He was Invariably changing
rupees Into shillings, and Warrington
could not convince him that hn was
always losing in the transaction.
They tramped on through the dust.
The suu dropped. A sudden chill be
gun to penetrate the haze. The white
man puffed his cheroot, its wrapper
dangling; the servant hummed an
Urdu lullaby; the parrot coinplulned
unceasingly.
Warrington laughed and shook the
dust from his beard. "It's a great
world, James, a great, wonderful
world. I've just two rupees myself. In
other words we are busted."
""Two rupees!" James paused and
turned. "Why, sahib, you have three
hundred thousand rupees In your
pocket."
"Hut not worth an anna until I get
to Rangoon. Didn't those dtffsrs give
you anything for handling tbelr lug
gage the other day?'
"Not a pice, sahib."
"Rotters! It takes an Englishman
to turn a small trick like that Well,
well; there were extenuating circum
stances. They had sore heads. No
man likes to pay three hundred thou
sand for something he could have
bought for ten thousand. And I made
them come to me. James, to me. I
made them come to this god-forsaken
hole, just because it pleased my fancy.
I believe I'm heaven boru, after all.
The Lord hates a quitter, and so do
I. I nearly Quit myself, once; eh.
Rajah, old top? Hut I made them
come to me. That's the In the
cocoanut, the curry on the rice. They
almost had me. Two rupees! It
truly Is a great world."
"Jah, Jah, Jah! Jah— Jah—Jab—
Ja-aa-h!" screamed the parrot "Cba
loo!"
"Go on! That's the ticket. If I
were a praying man this would be the
time for It Three hundred thousand
rupees!" The man looked at the far
horizon, as if he would force his gaze
beyond, Into the delectable laud, the
Eden out of which he had been driven.
"James, I owe you three hundred ru
pees, and 1 am going to add seven
hundred more. We've been fighting
this old top for six years together, and
you've been a good servant and a good
friend; and I'll take you with me as
far as this fortune will go, If you say
the word."
"Ah, sahib, I am much sorry. But
Delhi calls, and I go. A thousand ru-
make much business for me
lu the Chandney Chowk."
Presently they became purple shades
in a brown world.
CHAPTER It.
—A Man With a Pact
The oriental night air waa stlrless
It was without refreshment; It became
a labor and Rot an exhilaration to
breathe It A pall of suffocating dust
rolled above and about the Irrawaddy
flotilla boat which, buffeted by the
strong, irregular current, strained at
its cables, now at the bow, now at the
stern, not dissimilar to the last rock
ing of a deserted swing. This sensa
tion was quite perceptible to the girl
who leaned over the bow rail, her
handkerchief pressed to her nose, and
gazed interestedly at the sleep bank,
up and down which the sweating coo
lies swarmed like Gargantuan rats. A
dozen torches were stuck Into the
ground above the crumbling ledge;
she saw the flames as one sees a
burning match cupped in a smoker's
hands, shedding light upon nothing
save that which stands Immediately
behind It.
She choked a little. Her eyes smart
ed. Her lips were slightly cracked,
and cold-cream seemed only to provide
a surer resting place for the impalpa
ble duat It bad penetrated through
wool and Until and silk, intimately, un
til three baths a day had a
welcome routine, providing tt wag pos
sible to obtain water. Water. Her
drink from the o!6 cold pure spring at
home! Tea. coffee, and bottled soda;
nothing that ever touched the thirsty
spots In he* throat.
Bhe looked up at the stare and they
looked down upon her, but what she
asked they could not, would not an
swer. Night after night sbe had
asked, and nlgbt after night they bad
only twinkled as of old. She bad trav
eled now for four months, and still the
doubt beset >-br. It was to be a leap
In the dark, with no one to tell her
what wai on the other side. But why
tbis Insistent doubt? Why could she
not .ake the leap gladly, ha a woman
should who hsd given the affirmative
to a man? With him she was certain
that #be loved blm, away from blm ebe
did hot know wbdt sentiment really
abided In her heart. She was wise
enough to realize that something was
wrong; snd there were but three
months between her and the inevitable
dedslon. Never before bad sbe known
otber than momentary Indecision; and
it Irked her to find that her clarity of
vision was fallible and human like the
rest of her. The truth wss. she dldnt
know ber mind. She shrugged, and
the movement stirred the dust that
had gathered apon hei shoulders
"A rare old lot of dust; eh. Miss
Chetwood? I wish we could travel by
night but you cant trust this bloom
ing old Irrawaddy after sundown.
Charts are so much waste-paper."
"I never cease wondering bow ihoee
poor cool lea can carry tbosl heavy
rice bags." she replied to the purser.
"Oh. they are used to it." carelessly.
The great gray stack of paddy-bags
seemed. In the eyes of the girl, fairly
to melt away
"By Jove!" exclaimed the ( purser.
"There's Parrot & Co !" He laughed
and pointed toward one of the torches
"Parrot fc Co.? 1 do not
stand "
"That big blond chap behind the
fourth torch Yes, tlver®. —-Sometime
I'll tell you about film. Picturesque
duffer."
She could have shrieked aloud, but
all she did was to draw In her breath
with a gasp that went so deep It gave
"Two Rupees!" JsmsfrvyPaussd and
Turned.
•
her heart a twinge. Her fingers tlghv
ened upon the teak rail. Suddenly sli*
know, and was ashamed of her weak
ness. It was simply a remarkable
likeness, nothing more than that; It
could not possibly be anything mora
Still, a ghost could not have stsrtlod
her ss this living msn had done
"Who is he?"
"A chap named Warrington. Rut
over here that signifies nothing;
might just as well be Jones or Smltb
or Brown. We call him Parrot & Co.
He's always carrying that Rajputana
parrot. You've seen the kind around
the palaces and fdrts; saber-like
wings, long tail-feathers, green and
blue and scarlet, and the ugliest little
rascals going This o'ne Is trained to
do tricks."
"But the man!" impatiently.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
FOUR PERIODS OF TRANSITION
George's tooks. From the Introduction
to Adored Ons to the End of
the Honeymohn.
" 'He Is a remarkably plain young
man,' she wrote in her diary tbe first
day she met him. He has rather an in
teresting face,' she Bald to her mamma
a month later as she decked her apri
cot-colordd tea gown with the William-
Allen-Rlcbardsons that he had Juat
sent her.
"When she wrote to her best friend
to give the news of ber engagement
she expressed herself thus: 'He baa
not the regular featured dollish good
looks I have always hated In men. He
has'a strong, characterful face and
magnificent eyee.'
'"You loveliest one!' she sighed, as
she poured out his tea at the third
breakfast of the honeymooa. *1 could
sit and look at you forever.'
"Six montha later, she observed ta
ber husband: 'I don't know whether
you're aware of It George, but your
hair's getting most frightfully thin oa
the top, and you're just about the last
man In the universe that can afford to
go bald.' « •
"A man's looks must not be Judged
by appearances."—From "Stories
Without Tears." by Barry Pain.
Knew His Business.
"George," sbe asked, as they round
ed tbe bend, "Is yonr watch, correct?"
"Yes," replied George, with a merry
laugh. "It la keeping better time
slate 1 put your picture Inside thf
case." "Oh. yon flatteror! How oonU
that bar "Well, you see. wkea I
placed |W picture inalde the ease 1
IBM CALOMEL HIKES YOU SICK!
CLEM LIVER MID BOWELS ■ WAY
-v.
Just Once! Try "Orison's Uver Tone" When Bilious, Consti
pated, Headachy—Don't Lose a Day's Work
Liven op your ilaotih liver! Fas!
fine and cheerful; make your work ft
pleasure; be vigorous and full of am
bition. Bat take no nasty, danger*
ous calomel, because It makes you
sick and you may lose a day's work.
Calomel Is mercury or quicksilver,
which causes necrosis of the bones.
Calomel crashes Into sour bile like
dynamite, breaking It up. That's
when you feel that awful nausea and
cramping.
Listen to me! If you want to enjoy
the nicest, gentlest liver and bowel
cleansing you ever experienced Just
take a spoonful of harmless Dodson's
Liver Tone. Tour druggist or desler
sells you a 50 cent bottle of Dodson'aj
Liver Tone under my personal money-1
Incidental Advertising.
"I suppose you think that if you
abandon your old party you will
deal it the finishing blow?"
"Not necessarily," answered Sena
tor Sorghum. "My leaving It may help
it a little by calling attention to the
fact that It still exists." .
DON'T MIND PIMPLES
Cutlcura Soap and Ointment Will Baiw
ish Them. Trial Free.
These fragrant supercreamy emol
lients do so much to cleanse, purify
and beautify the skin, scalp, hair and
nands that you cannot afford to be
without them. Besides they meet
every want In toilet preparations and
are most economical.
Sample each free by mall with Book.
Address postcard, Cutlcura, Dept. XT,
Boston. Sold everywhe/e. —Adv.
Fsmous Feats of Archery.
In the days when the buffalo was
found In vast herds on the western
plains there were Indians who, while
riding at a gallop, could send an ar
row through a Buffalo's body. Re
markable as this archery was, it did
not equal reached by the archers
of ancient times. It is of record that
the Macßeas of Oalrlock, Scotland,
were such skilled archers that they
could hit a man at the distance of
500 yards. In 1-794 the Turkish am
bassador at London shot an arrow In
a field near that capita/ 415 yards
against the wind. The secretary of
the ambassador on hearing the ex
pressions of surprise from the Eng
lish gentlemen present, said the Sul
tan had shot 500 yards. This was the
greatest performance of modern days,
but a pillar standing on a plain near
Constantinople recorded shots rang
ing up to 800 yards. Sir Robert Alns
lie, British ambassador to the Sub
lime Porte, recorded that In 1798 he
was present when the sultan shot an
arrow 972 yards.—Washington Star.
High-Browed Help.
"I see where there is a plan on foot
to make every servant girl an 'edu
cated household scientist'"
"Do you think that Is practicable?"
"It's hard to say. My experience
and observation is that a 'scientist' In
the kitchen means a dyspeptic in the
dining room." ,
Before starting on the right track,
be sure you are headed the right way.
"I know what Father likes best" V
EVEN ths children know that wn men, women and children In I
Arbuckles' Coffee gets the big- th * «tate. And tha demand is con. j
pit welcome at tha breakfast table. stantly increasing.
It is tha popular favorite every- Have /oa tried it lately? Han
where. Mora of it is used than any you serve another 1 mat feel, go to
other packaged coffee. Think what your grocer's and get a package of Y|.
this means. Arbucklee' Coffee. Taste its rich, |
la we drink mora coflse
than doea any other nation. Last BO '' , .****" than any other
year 900,000,000 lba. of coffee were package coffee.
, brought hare. Think of all the dtf- M . L . n _
ferent kinds of coffee-the different "**• , y °T. C ®S* *"**
varieties of flavor this ispussnts. lovsly pos
For (hair favorite coffee, the peo- Save the slaaetare on na# Artiaith
pie of thfc country have chosen Ar- wrjseer. Oet Seeattel,ossfol (Mte-.pi.
bucklee*. Por nearly flftyyeats they ; \V
have shown their prsfereorefor this batHw'Ctess. Ja»as>asaei«naea» t ml
coffee. In one eats last year four *H \
times as many pounds of Arbucklee par meet pepalarprwnhiiwa Writitodn
were uesd during the year-a there m,N.Y
back guarantee that each spoanM
will clean your sluggish liver bettsr
than a does of nasty calomel and that
it won't make you sick.
Dodson's Liver Tone Is real liver
medicine. You'll know It next morn*
lng, because yon will wake up feel
ing fine, your liver will be working;
your headache and dixxiness gone,
your stomach will be sweet and your
bowels regular.
Dodson's Liver Tone Is entirely
vegetable, therefore harmless and
cannot salivate. Olve it to your chil
dren. Millions of people are using
Dodson's Liver Tone Instead of dan
gerous calomel now. Tour druggist
will tell you that the sale of calomal
is almost stopped entirely here.
' His Guess.
Flatbush —Did you ever hear a
young owl cry at night? Tv
Hensorihurst— Ob, yes.
"What do you suppose makes it cry
so long?"
"Perhaps his father Is walking the
floor with It."
vova OWN DBI'OOIST WILL TELL TOO
" Everybody Satisfied.
"I see where another baaeball player
has been fined for havldg a row with
an umpire."
"Do you sympathize with him?"
"Not at all. My observation is that
the average player who Is fined for
assaulting an umpire feels that h«
got his money's worth."
Chocolate Boldlers.
The soldier's weakness for sweet
meats, to which Mr. Bernard Shaw
called attention when he wrote "The
Chocolate Soldier," has been abund
antly confirmed during the present
war. The quantity of sweets con
sumed by our army In Prance has .
been prodigious, while from Cairo
comes the news that the Australian*
have absolutely eaten the place out
of chocolate. On the troopships
which brought them, too, It was the
same. Thus Captain Bean, the official
correspondent with the force, writes:
"Our canteen had five times the ds
mand for sweets and soft drink* that,
was expected and one-fifth the demand
for beer." —Westminster Oasette.
N - -
Tetterlne Cures Itohlng Piles Quickly.
"On* application of Tetterlne cured M
of a cas« 6f Itchlns Piles I had tor five
years."
Bayard Benton. Walterboro. 8. C.
Tetterlne cures Ecaema. Tetter, around
Itch. Ring Worm, Infants' Sore Head,
Pimples, Itchlns Piles. Rough Scaly
Patches on the Face. Old Itching Bores,
Dandruff. Cankered Scalp, Corns, Chil
blains and every form of Scalp and Skin
Disease. Tetterlne 50c. Tetterlne Soap
I9c. At druggists, or by mall direct from
The Shuptrlne Co.. Savannah, Qa.
With every mall order for Tetterlne ws
five a box of Shuptrlne'a 10c Liver Pills
free. Adv.
A Warning.
Doctor —You've had a terrible shock
Patient—lt's up to you to se« that
I don't have another when I get yotu
bill.
The Bxceptlon.
"Two is company," quoted the Saga
"Unless they happen to be husband
and wife," corrected the Pool.