The coloured steward on one of the army transports plying between San Francisco and Manila is noted from coast to coast for his immaculate cleanliness, his particular ship being known as the cleanest on the Pacific. Owing to the scarcity of bath rooms on beard compared with the number of army officers and their wives that are cav-ried, there is a set schedule for bathing. Each person, on being assigned a stateroom, is given a specified hour when' he may have the use of a bath.
On one of the recent voyages from Manila the bath schedule, as it is known among the passengers, extended until late in the afternoon. It was the duty of our coloured steward, whom we will call Sam because it is not his name, to notify each person as the time arrived for his or her bath.
A very heated bridge game was in progress between four of the officers' wives. The stakes were high and there was a considerable gathering of interested spectators about the table.
Sam approached the gathering with dignity. Politely elbowing his way through the crowd he spoke to one of the ladies.
"Mis' Smith it's fo'-fifteen, which is de time fo' your bath," he announced.
Mrs. Smith turned around slowly. "Really, Sam, I can't leave the game just now.' She smiled patronizingly at him. "Suppose we Pass it up to-day?"
"But Mis' Smith," Sam objected, frowning, dis am de seventh day what you'll done paseed it up."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.