Soldiers -- Fiction; War stories; World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
“Why, the Eiffel tower was the first piece of complete girder
construction ever built.... That's the first thing a feller who's wide
awake ought to see.”
“Tell me the Opery's the grandest thing to look at,” said the man next
it.
“If there's wine an' women there, me for it.”
“An' don't forget the song.”
“But that isn't interesting like the Eiffel tower is,” persisted
Walters.
“Say, Walters, I hope you haven't been waiting for me,” stammered
Andrews.
“No, I've been waiting in line to see the guy about courses.... I want
to start this thing right.”
“I guess I'll see them tomorrow,” said Andrews.
“Say have you done anything about a room, Andy? Let's you and me be
bunkies.”
“All right.... But maybe you won't want to room where I do, Walters.”
“Where's that? In the Latin Quarter?... You bet. I want to see some
French life while I am about it.”
“Well, it's too late to get a room to-day.”
“I'm going to the 'Y' tonight anyway.”
“I'll get a fellow I know to put me up.... Then tomorrow, we'll see.
Well, so long,” said Andrews, moving away.
“Wait. I'm coming with you.... We'll walk around town together.”
“All right,” said Andrews.
The rabbit was rather formless, very fluffy and had a glance of madness
in its pink eye with a black center. It hopped like a sparrow along the
pavement, emitting a rubber tube from its back, which went up to a bulb
in a man's hand which the man pressed to make the rabbit hop. Yet the
rabbit had an air of organic completeness. Andrews laughed inordinately
when he first saw it. The vendor, who had a basket full of other such
rabbits on his arm, saw Andrews laughing and drew timidly near to the
table; he had a pink face with little, sensitive lips rather like a real
rabbit's, and large frightened eyes of a wan brown.
“Do you make them yourself?” asked Andrews, smiling.
The man dropped his rabbit on the table with a negligent air.
“Oh, oui, Monsieur, d'apres la nature.”
He made the rabbit turn a somersault by suddenly pressing the bulb hard.
Andrews laughed and the rabbit man laughed.
“Think of a big strong man making his living that way,” said Walters,
disgusted.
“I do it all... de matiere premiere au profit de l'accapareur,” said the
rabbit man.
“Hello, Andy... late as hell.... I'm sorry,” said Henslowe, dropping down
into a chair beside them. Andrews introduced Walters, the rabbit man
took off his hat, bowed to the company and went off, making the rabbit
hop before him along the edge of the curbstone.
“What's happened to Heineman?”
“Here he comes now,” said Henslowe.
An open cab had driven up to the curb in front of the cafe. In it sat
Heineman with a broad grin on his face and beside him a woman in a
salmon-colored dress, ermine furs and an emerald-green hat. The cab
drove off and Heineman, still grinning, walked up to the table.
“Where's the lion cub?” asked Henslowe.
“They say it's got pneumonia.”
“Mr. Heineman. Mr. Walters.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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