am not entitled,
perhaps, to such familiarity, but the solemn title of "chief clerk" is
far too stiff and formal for that soul of good-heartedness striving in
vain to hide behind a bluff exterior--"Eddie," I say, blew a last cloud
of smoke from his lungs to the ceiling, tossed aside the butt of his
cigarette, and motioned to me to take the chair beside his desk.

"It's all off!" said a voice within me. For the expression on "Eddie's"
face was that of a man with an unpleasant duty to perform, and his
opening words were in exactly that tone of voice in which a man begins,
"I am sorry, but--" Had I not often used it myself?

"The Captain," is how he really did begin, "called me up from Colon
last night, and--"

"Here's where I get my case nol prossed," I found myself whispering. In
all probability that sealed document I had sent in the day before
announced me as a physical wreck.

"--and told me," continued "Eddie" in his sad, regretful tone, "to tell
you we will take you on the force as a first-class policeman. It
happens, however, that the department of Civil Administration is about
to begin a census of the Zone, and they are looking for any men that
can speak Spanish. If we take you on, therefore, the Captain would
assign you to the census department until that work is done--it will
probably take something over a month--and then you would be returned to
regular police duty. The Chief says he'd rather have you learn the
Isthmus on census than on police pay.

"Or," went on "Eddie," just as I was about to break in with, "All
right, that suits me,"--"or, if you prefer, the census department will
enroll you as a regular enumerator and we'll take you on the force as
soon as that job is over. The--er--pay," added "Eddie," reaching for a
cigarette but changing his mind, "of enumerators will be five dollars a
day, and--er--five a day beats eighty a month by more than a nose."

We descended a story and I was soon in conference with a slender,
sharp-faced young man of mobile features and penetrating eyes behind
which a smile seemed always to be lurking. On the Canal Zone, as in
British colonies, one is frequently struck by the youthfulness of men
in positions of importance.

"I'll probably assign you to Empire district," the slender young man
was saying, "there's everything up there and almost any language will
sure be some help to us. This time we are taking a thorough, complete
census of all the Zone clear back to the Zo