The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-03-02
Trtss and the Pocket-Book.

Il
The boys ali called him Triss, and that's
the long end short of 1t.
And goodness knows Triss knew what
the short Of it-or of everything, In fact
was. He was short of clothes, food,
covering, a good home, friends. Dear
me, [ don't know of solitary thing that
this poor Triss had in abundance, unless
it was an appetite-if that may be men
toned here.
o the appetite, the longing for good
things to eat, that Triss had! 1t may
have been owing to the fact that he never
had enough to eat, and SO the longing
was constant.
Triss knew the worth of money in
deed he did. He hadn't been kicked
from one street to another, from one
house to another, for the sake of being
kicked. o no.
He was sharp shrewd, and had an eye
to business. When he could get any
thing to do, and held five cents in his little
brown fist-well, there was no limit to
his importance. The mayor was rather
an insignificant mortal, in the sight OF
Triss, at such time and that reminds
me that Triss was going to be mayor
some day. He had never wondered how
il would all come about, but it was to
be mayor or tin peddler. Either was a
position Yriss envied.
Now, as this is true story, may as
well tell you at once that Triss, like most
vagrants-I ask his pardon for calling
him that to-day was no cookbook boy.
o no. He had never prayed, LEAD us
not into temptation" Why, he had
Of 41,a7
You might as well have asked him to
repeat the Ten Commandments. And
never having heard them, who could ex-
pect him to do otherwise than to begin
at the very top and break them clean
through, as far as he could
Waiting for my story? Here it IS.
Triss was out on business. Some one
might want him to run errands. It was
a cold morning, very cold, and his feet,
without shoes, were red and swollen,
and the hat ne wore was very extraor-
binary one,
I think il was the hat that first attract
ed the attention of a young lady passing
along rapidly and then it may have
been the poor red little feet, or sooner,
the sweet brown eyes that watched her.
The lady halted, and Triss looked
scared to death, and tried to think if he
had ever stolen anything from her, and
then as quickly decided he had never
seen her face before.
''Are you cold, dear child?"
"Ono, said Triss.
"But Your feet look frozen"
Triss kept saying to himself, "Dear
child" He said it quite loud SO the
lady heard it. She smiled, noting the
pleased look on his face.
"Don'tb'long to anybody" said Triss,
st last.
"Don't you, dearg"
"There," said Triss +; "there it is
again"
"There is what?"
That DEAR" and Triss' face shone
With an odd light.
Did no one ever call you that?'
&c LaudY, not Iain't got anybody"
What are you doing outsuch morn
ing as this?''
&c Bissens; miss"
so business! What can you do?"
go moss anythin',''
"Can you clean sidewalks 2"
"Jolly, can't 7, thought"
Come around to -, and 7 will
y
"Pay, miss?"
"Pay! Certainly"
"Mebby in cold wittels, unused Triss,
with sigh.
The girl heard both.
Will you Gomez"
L guess-yes.
The lady passed on.
Triss had a way of talking very loud
when he talked to himself, and when she
turned Triss muttered, Coin to the
poss office, seeing her letters and pack
ages.
"Hallo /" Triss sprang ahead and
picked something from the ground.
s' Laudy pocket-book. Amt it swell
l1n? Russy leather. o laudy two,
'three-whew, bills !"
Triss clapped the pocket-bo shut,
put it In his pocket, and stood still,
looking after the lady. He knew to
whom it belonged, for ne saw it in her
muff
81 WISH" said Triss, mournfully,
6 that it wasn't her'n, cause I'd like
some oysters and slammin' hunk of
that gingercake in Stork's winder. I'll
go and hunt up her house"
In the meantime the young lady
reached the postOfice. Laying down her
parcels, she discovered for the first time
that she was minus purse.
The sympathetic clerk was all sympa-
thy, and stamped the letters and papers
on trust; but that didn't mend matters
at all.
Where was the purse?
Eight dollars" she said, in answer
to the clerks question of the amount it
contained, and her face said as plainly
as words might, " 0 dear, can't afford
to lose it. F"
''That funny boy with the queer hat, :"
she thought to herself, passing from the
Office. -sfCould he have it, / had it
then"