"
"The names seem to go in pairs," said Cleary.
"Well, you see, they always have a fight about something in these
military societies, and then they split, and the party that splits away
always takes the same name and puts 'Genuine' in front of it. That's
the way it is."
"I suppose these societies do a lot of good, don't they?" asked Cleary.
"These splits and quarrels remind me of the army. They must spread the
military spirit among the people."
"Yes, they do," said the young man. "It's what they call _esprit de
corps_. If fighting is military, they fight and no mistake, and the
women fight more than the men. I don't know how many lawsuits they've
had. Half of them won't speak to the other half. But they're all united
on one thing, I can tell you, and that is in wanting to put down the
Cubapinos."
"That they are," cried Reddy. "That's why they call 'em 'Patriotic
Societies.' It was our ancestors as fought for freedom that they made
the societies for. Our ancestors were patriotic and fought for freedom
oncet, and now we're going to be patriotic and stick by the government
just like they did."
"Yes, they fought for freedom, that's true. And what are the Cubapinos
fighting for?" asked the young man.
"Oh, shucks!" cried Reddy. "I ain't a-going to argher with you. What
were we talking about? Oh, yes. We were saying that them societies
fight together.
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