Condy was inarticulate with the joy of what he called their
"discovery." He got up and sat down. He went out into the other
room and came back again. He dragged up a couple of the marble-
seated stools to the table. He took off his hat, lighted a
cigarette, let it go out, lighted it again, and burned his
fingers. He opened and closed the folding-doors, pushed the table
into a better light, and finally brought Travis out upon the
balcony to show her the "points of historical interest" in and
around the Plaza.
"There's the Stevenson memorial ship in the centre, see; and right
there, where the flagstaff is, General Baker made the funeral
oration over the body of Terry. Broderick killed him in a duel--
or was it Terry killed Broderick? I forget which. Anyhow, right
opposite, where that pawnshop is, is where the Overland stages
used to start in '49. And every other building that fronts on the
Plaza, even this one we're in now, used to be a gambling-house in
bonanza times; and, see, over yonder is the Morgue and the City
Prison."
They turned back into the room, and a great, fat Chinaman brought
them tea on Condy's order. But besides tea, he brought dried
almonds, pickled watermelon rinds, candied quince, and "China
nuts."
Travis cut the cheese into cubes with Condy's penknife, and
arranged the cubes in geometric figures upon the crackers.
"But, Condy," she complained, "why in the world did you get so
many crackers? There's hundreds of them here--enough to feed a
regiment.
Pages:
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57