St Ignatius College - Ignatian Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

Page 17 text:

l 10 -lx 1K 111l 111-. N1 ' ht in ll . tal my. it Qin hit tht .llgl ml' lvti 'Plll etll mil 11195 hr- WHS itll' 'sed 011 ti- SOLVED BY RADIO 13 gation has never arrived at perfeet eertainty. Perhaps ltluelid herself didn 't really know, and if she didn 't, how ean we '? But what everybody did know was that she used, to the best. advantage, the attentions showered on her by Luxor. as she allowed her eyes guilelessly to wander from faee to faee to eateh here and there gleams of jealousy where Stllllklllllllff more positive and lasting eould not be eoneealed. Strangely enough, Epsom, who ought to be most eoneerned, who was indeed known to be n1ost eoneerned, seemed to see nothing. and grinned in childish pleasure. His audienee seeretly sympathized with his simplieity, and, as a sort of compensa- tion. applauded louder. The radio was a hit hoarse. to say the least, but so were the voices of those who hummed an aeeompaniment to the popular airs. NYhen it stopped and sputtered in the middle of a pieee, it interfered rather rudely with the rhythm of their C-lapping or the pulsing of their feet. But when it started again they good-naturedly fell in and kept time with the measure. Living like sardines they en- joyed themselves like sardines, and, having paid nothing for their pleasure. the end of the entertainment alone eould in- duce them to depart. They had beeome, however. a little listless during a classical rendition in whieh the wireless had seemed to sense its inappropriateness to the oeeasion. and had frequently broken down in eonsequeneeg but now it seemed to pull itself together as it sang out sonorously t'The Life of a Bad Manf' Had all the eompany been in a eirele with hands joined, and had a. strong eleetrie eurrent darted tln'ou,qh the eir- euit, the effeet eould not have been more startling. For a moment the windows and the door let. in a breath of fresh air as troubled eonseienees sought the background, and those who were inside. and who, on aeeount of the jam. eould not even move, after a brief gasp, gazed in anguish from the in- strument to Luxor and from Luxor to the instrument. XVas he speaking, or was it the radio, or he speaking through the radio? The voiee was his. Yet no one was n1ore surprised

Page 16 text:

12 THE IGNATIAN Jess you and me alone? cooed the deceitful Euclid. Not on your bottom dollar, almost yelled the excited Epsom. Euclid gasped, her eyes were moons, her color as close to ashes as a sinking heart could lower it. Luxor struck his knee and writhcd in joy and almost choked, a guffaw more hearty than the others caught in his windpipe. Euclid seized the opportunity benign nature unexpectedly had fur- nished. A ' N ot-me-an-y-you-' ' 'tNo,,' said Epsom, and his face was a sunburst. 'fNot me an you, but Luxor hyar an all yo frcns, an ebrybody to do yo honor. Yo's jess a queen. Euclid, an doan' fergit it. Yo'll come, ob course. Luxor? Luxor would. Flattered as she had never been before, with gleaming eyes and glow- ing cheeks, striving to be impartial in her favors, yet serving only to fan the flames of jealousy more fiercely in the bosoms of her suitors, time sped fast for Euclid: and when that night her eyelids dropped softly into slumber, her last thought was of Hdat radium talker. II. It was a colorful company that gathered three evenings later in Euclidls sitting-room. The rainbow would have palcd with envy. Invitations had been lavish, acceptances more lavish still, the neighborhood had considered the event an invitation. Teeth gleamed from the open windows, teeth occupied the doorways, teeth shone b1'ightly in the genial moonlight. The three intervening days had been busy ones for Epsom. Consultation. practice, tinkering, practice, tinker- ing, consultation. persuasion, a few last touches, and all was ready. The room was packed, save that in the center, sur- rounded by a very meagre open space, sat Euclid immersed in bliss with Luxor on her left. XVhether she really cared for him or not, is a point on which local historians are still divided, and careful investi-

Page 18 text:

14 THE IGNATIAN than Luxor himselfg no one knew less what he was g0i11g to say, or who the bad man was whose deeds he had singled out for the edification of his hearers. His eyes Walldefed in helpless dismay over the fear depicted in many a coun- tenance, and, perhaps he noted that more than one hand began to slide shoeward. But, lest by some mischance the voice should fail of recognition, the candid radio took upon itself thc dispelling of all doubt, for the words came clearly: HaW! Haw ! Haw! Der ye know who Ah am? Luxor, Luxor, Late ob Alabamf' The author now was beyond dispute. Who-if The radio supplied the answer. A sigh of relief circled the throng. Ah'm gwine ter make a clean breast ob ma life, it shrilled. t'Ah'm der bad man, Luxor Dawes, an Ah 'm proud ob it. Husbands could again look into their wives' eyes confid- inglyg lovers into their sweetheartsl They hastened to do so. Then all eyes were centered on Luxor as a focus. Ears were tingling for 'fthe clean breast. Not so, Luxor. The bad man on the radio and the bad man in reality were anything but sympathetic. Stop dat machine, he yelled to Epsom. '4Stop dat machine or Aih'll cut yo gizzud out. Reproachful glances met him on all sides. Euclid tried to quiet him. He rudely repulsed her. The story of the bad boy leading up to the bad man had already begun. The audience was irritated at the inter- ruption. t'Ef Mistah Dawesf' said a white-headed auditor rising, will jess close dat mouf of his'n, we kin heah him bettar. NVhatever we may think of the consistency of the expression, the meaning was plain to the audience: A wire- less Luxor was not to be interrupted by a Luxor in the flesh. Mistah Dawes hisself pussonallyf' said another politely ris- ing, ttMistah Dawes hisself pussonally insisted on ma pres- ence heah dis ebening. Ah hopes Mistah Dawes will recon- sider his conduckf'