The Project Gutenberg EBook of Smoke Bellew, by Jack London

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Title: Smoke Bellew

Author: Jack London

Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5737]
Posting Date: June 4, 2009

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SMOKE BELLEW ***

Produced by Les Bowler and Paul J. Hollander

SMOKE BELLEW

by Jack London

CONTENTS

The Taste of the Meat
The Meat
The Stampede to Squaw Creek
Shorty Dreams
The Man on the Other Bank
The Race for Number Three*
The Little Man
The Hanging of Cultus George
The Mistake of Creation
A Flutter in Eggs
The Town-Site of Tra-Lee
Wonder of Woman

* Alternate title--The Race for Number One

I. THE TASTE OF THE MEAT

In the beginning he was Christopher Bellew. By the time he was at
college he had become Chris Bellew. Later, in the Bohemian crowd of San
Francisco, he was called Kit Bellew. And in the end he was known by no
other name than Smoke Bellew. And this history of the evolution of his
name is the history of his evolution. Nor would it have happened had
he not had a fond mother and an iron uncle, and had he not received a
letter from Gillet Bellamy.

"I have just seen a copy of The Billow," Gillet wrote from Paris. "Of
course O'Hara will succeed with it. But he's missing some tricks." Here
followed details in the improvement of the budding society weekly. "Go
down and see him. Let him think they're your own suggestions. Don't let
him know they're from me. If you do, he'll make me Paris correspondent,
which I can't afford, because I'm getting real money for my stuff from
the big magazines. Above all, don't forget to make him fire that dub
who's doing the musical and art criticism. Another thing. San Francisco
has always had a literature of her own. But she hasn't any now. Tell him
to kick around and get some gink to turn out a live serial, and to put
into it the real romance and glamour and colour of San Francisco."

And down to the office of The Billow went Kit Bellew faithfully to
instruct. O'Hara listened. O'Hara debated. O'Hara agreed. O'Hara fired
the dub who wrote criticisms.