The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-12-19

ndlluO- DeANA liz
"'E L00cn L00cn' said the Irish boys, both
together.
SCOT any grub?" asked Bobbit.-
This was pointed, if not elegant, you
see.
"Nery," said the Irish boy, with
equal emphasis.
Belong to anybody continued
Bobbit.
"Not much"
Anywhere TO put up2"
"You bet notr'
81 1--we in a hotel" said Bobbit,
with an air.
"Oh!" said the boys.
81 take in folks" continued Bobbit,
magnifcently, ''once in a while
free grettiS. I'll lodge you and
board you till mornin.' You just
hold your tongue and look spry.
Then tag after"
There was a little smell of cold
beans and hot doughnuts all about
Bobbit. The Irish boys followed
him like two little dogs, asking no
Questions. They held their heads
out and licked their lips.
Bobbit wound in and out like n
crochet-needle through loops Of
streets. The two boys "looked spry''
and Gagged after" Bobbit did not
speak. He kept his eyes on stray
policemen and his hat over his eyes.
"Its better'n the lookup" he said
once, over his shoulder. "0n fair
nights it's nobody's business. When
lit comes tc drifts and sech them
chaps with brass buttons keeps their
Ieyes peeled. Took me up once last
winter fur roostn' in q barrel. /
was a gone goose fur fifteen days.
Take it in general, Pm independent
lin my way oflife. Hold on, there.
That's the railroad. There's a ditch
the of side of you! It's skeery travel
in fur stanger. But we've got
about there"
About there" was quite out of
the loops of streets, out of the net
Ted alleys, out of the knotted lanes
that tie the great city in. The three
children had wandered off upon the
windy, oozy Charlestown flats, where
there was an ugly purple mist, and
much slush and lumber and old
boots and ash-heaps and wrecks Of
things.
There's my hotel,' said Bobbit
at last.
The Irish boys looked north, east,
south, west), looked again, and look
ed hard. They saw nothing but an
! old wall of an old burned building
that hid them little from the road
and the road from them, pile Of
bare bleached timber, and an old 10
: locomotive boiler, rusty and half buri
! ed in heap of rubbish. But the
cold beans and the doughnuts were
lin Bobbit's pockets, and faith in Bob
bit was in their hearts.
"Now," said Bobbit, with an amaz
ling chuckle for boy who was going
to give to-morrow's dinner to anoth
er boy, you walk right along as e
you was going to walk a mile, and
when you see I've doven, digeP The
next they knew after that Bobbif
had "doven" into the old engine boi-
Ter, and they after him.
"There nowp said BObbit, grand
Ily. "What do you think of this fol
a cheap hotel?"
The storm seemed all q once tc
have stopped; the great curve of the
, boiler shut it out; only dim, dull
roar, like that of machinery, or fire
or river dams, sounded about them
: Bobbit pulled up an old hOgshead
top against the open mouth of the
boiler. This made it very dark, but
, almost warm, in the hotel. The lit
tie Irish boys felt around with theiI
hands, and found that there were
dry leaves, salt hay, and pieces of 9
worn.out someting-jacket, perhaps
underneath them.
Mattress, bedclo'es, carpet, gofy.
all to order and all at once, gentle
men," said Bobbit. "Fust-class furn-
, iture in ny hotel. Hold on 4 SPELL
IT'LL 1 turn on the gas"
All in minute a wonderful thing
happened. A little pink candle blaz-
ed up and burned. It had an old
Inut-socket for a candlestlck; it stood
quite firm and shone distinctly on
the beans and doughnuts.
"Gener'ly speaking, 1 can eat in
the dark" said Bobbit; "but when il
comes to company I can't"
The fact was that Bobbit had just
six matches and this little penny
pink candle put away under corner
of his hotel "sofy," on purpose fOl
COMPANY" Nobody knows now !
wish that somebody did) how much
company" Bobbit had entertained
: in his hotel
at doesn't burn not so long as it
might" said Bobbit, with a jerk of
. the penny candle. "Better fall to
while you can see the way TO YOU
, mouth"
So they 'fe.l to- and the Irish
boys ate up the beans to begin with
but Bobbit did not say anything
about to-morrow's dinner.
SCOT any name to youP said he
as they broke the last doughnRt in
Ito three pieces, snd ate it slowly, to
! make it last as long as the candle
did.
'Not many to tell on" said the
2 larger of the little guests with his
7 mouth full. "The women as we run
, beggin' fur till she was took up fol
} drinks last summer, she called us
J Harum and Scarum, jest. I'm Har.
| um, he's Scarum.o
3 "Tv heard worse names n that
, Pm sure" said Bobbit, politely.
By and by the doughnnt was al
| gone, and the candle too, Bobbit
: blew out the last pink spark, and il
grew very dark in the hotel.
} 'Kind O. chilly tco," said the lit
J tie landlord. "Chillier n common
l The storm must have Tiz. Some
times it blows in. But faint otter
r 1 can't keep most cum'tble in my
rear SCOT O rooms. You just craw
. in fur's you can go,and stick yer fee
n into them old jacket sleeves. Therel