Evening Star Newspaper, December 9, 1936, Page 30

P ". McQuaid, the demon writer!” DAILY SHORT STOR BOOMERANG By M. A. Tapp. Tfl first time that Batt Mc- Quaid saw Thomas Perkins he paid scant attention to him, even while the § jandlady was in- troducing the di- mininutive Perkins to the rest of the boarders who were eclustered about the dinner table. Batt's matural arrogance and conceit had Just received a tre- mendous boost. Batt had bummed his way about the world and in some fashion known enly to Batt he had eontrived to write @ blow-by-blow de- scription of his ad- wventures in .r!ohr; lands. mbook was full of erors in syntax and the spelling was execrable. But lack and complaisance of an editor who sensed the value of fresh material to a jaded market had put his book over with a bang. Perkins heard plenty about Batt and his best seller in the first week he was at Mrs. Clancy's establishment. The ebullient hero of the hour, tem- | porarily in possession of more actual money than he had ever had pre-| viously, found a largess in the form of | parties and celebrations to the willing | sycophants who repaid him liberally in praise and adulation. It was the Breath of life to Batt, the masterful. It was the author who first made a move to establish himself with the timid Perkins. The fact that the quiet | tittle fellow evinced no signs of hero worship piqued the eager curiosity of the burly blustering adventurer. It was something foreign to his experi- ence since he had returned home from his trip. . xx % din- | Batt repeated himself Perkins seemed HE CORNERED/Retkins afisr | just as interested, hung as closely onto ner one evening as the smaller man was going upstairs to his room. *you're Perkins, ain't you?" he opened. *How come you ain't down here in the evenings? You're missing some- thing, brother, stuffed up in that room of yours.” Perkins smiled. “I'm sorry, Mr. McQuaid” he ex- plained, “I'm working evenings.” +'Working?” Batt scoffed. “Only suckers work all the time. What is your racket anyway?” Perkins medi- tated before replying. “Welt, in the daytime I'm fortunate to hold & small position on & news- paper. Sort of a critic. But in the evenings I'm attempting to get the groundwork laid for & novel I intend o write.” Batt shook Perkins's back teeth with the hearty slap that accompanied his amused guffaw. “That’s rich!” he chortled. “Two authors in the same diggings. Let me tell you, fellow, if you run into any trouble with your book, Just ask me. You read my book, ain't O you? You gotta live to have stuff to put into a book!” “I'm sorry, T haven’t had the pleas- | wure yet, Mr. McQuaid,” Perkins apol- ogized. “I hope to be able to read it soon.” “Batt to you, brother,” Batt ordered magnanimously. “I'll see that you get | & copy of my book . . . and don't forget, #f you ned any help; just call on Batt, “I'll remember, Batt,” Perkins prom- fsed slyly. “And thank you for the offer. As you say, I lack material. Well, good-night!” From the upstairs landing Perkins could hear Batt still | ehuckling. { .k x x ODDLY enough, the nearly silent Perkins took Batt up on his boast- | ful offer. It was to every one's sur- | | his fantastic tales. the company of the hulking, loud- 'voiced globe-trotter for a few hours’ chat. Tt must be admitted that the conversation was practically one- sided, with Batt < on the delivering end. Long after . : the other boarders J—> had tired of the bragging tales in which Batt was the invariable hero, lit- tle Perkins listened in rapt attention, aside from a few leading questions. And Batt loved it. || At last he had found & perfect audience! ButPer- work. Until late at night his type- writer could be heard behind his closed door, ticking away. It wasn't long before the two be- came almost inseparable companions in the hours that they were both free. If the onlooker would have described the pair as David and Goliath he would have been guilty of a faulty ob- servation. The combination was like Damon and Pythias! * ok ok % ON SATURDAYS, when Perkins had & half-holiday, and on Sundays they strolled in the park or took long bus rides. Sometimes in the -evening they visited one or the other of those establishments where potables could be | purchased, and over their beer Batt | regaled Perkins at great length with Little by little Perkins managed to | draw him out about his hopes and as- | pirations, his ambitions in life. The | petty soul of the massive egoist gradu- | ally disclosed itself until there was | nothing left to be revealed. But when his every word. “Say, Perk” Batt said one day, “ain’t it about time you're needing some help with that book you're do- ing?” Perkins grinned shyly. “I've been blundering along after a | fashion, Batt,” he said. “It's pretty nearly finished now, and perhaps when I get it all completed you might look it over. I'd be happy if you would. Even now, from the things you've been telling me, I've noticed an improve- | ment in my work.” | “I guess you would get an idea of | the right way to do it after I told you how T wrote mine. But I still say, Perk, you've gotta live like & man if you wanta have stuff to write about.” He beamed expansively. “You can see I didn't pick my stuff up outa the air, you bet!” Perkins smiled thinly and | resumed listening without further comment. x % X x - NE evening a month later Batt found a small package and a let- ter at his place at the table. “Mr. Perkins left that for you.” Mrs. Clancy elucidated. Batt read the letter. Per- kins had been obliged to go to an- other city on a job. ‘He opened the package. It was & book, and on the bright | jacket were the brave words: “Board- |ing House, A Realistic Novel, by | ‘Thomas Perkins.” Two hours later, up in his room, Batt threw the book in the waste basket and swore luridly. ‘The little guy had written a sordid tale, the principal character a bluster- | ing, vain, worthless character which even Batt could not mistake for other | than himself! | . Writtqn on the final page Perkins had scribbled, “Thanks for the help, Batt. One does need to live to get material. But you see, there are| prise but Batt'’s that more and| tmore often the little man sought out Overheard BY W. CURTIS NICHOLSON. Overheard—Have you got any? Corrected—Have you any? Criticism—Possession is expressed By “-~ve,” not by “have got.” € heard—Helen and myself know the .y Corrected—Helen and I know the nay. Criticism—Do not use “myself” as . Bhe subject of & verb. It may be used for emphasis, as, I myself will help you. Or it may be used to refer to a subject, as, I saw myself in the glass. Overheard—The man was hung at dawn, Corrected—The man was hanged at | @awn. Criticism—Use “hanged” in speak- ng of an execution. br?verhurd—'rhm'l only four of us Corrected—There are only four of us left. Criticism—Be careful when you use ; “there's” 1If the following subject fs in the plural number, the right ex- pression is “there are.” Overheard—She stepped in the boat. bofto"m—su stepped into the Criticlsm—Motion from without te Within is expressed by “into.” Overheard—Not one of them was @ble to find their way. Corrected—Not one of them @ble to find his way. > Criticism—Use a pronoun in the singular number to refer to a singu- lar subject. (Copyright, 1936,) Argentina has found a poison which Wil kill locusts. LLLITLLLLLL LT L LA IZI L1111 LTI II I 1177 AL AL I LS I 1777777770007 7 2, Underwood & Uhsderwood 1230 Connecticut Avenue various ways of living.” (Copyright, 1948,) —in the ona"elcsance o the CRYSTAL ROOM Filitra Toods Bancheon and Dinner Reoat o ADVERTIS| If Constipated Take This Tip Here's one of the friendliest tips one can give another—how to really relieve Constipation. 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