Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-08-13
Exchanging Busters.

I hurridly called for my linen dust.
er lever since my uncle in California
left me $500, 900, I always wear q
linen duster when I travel; I feel az
though I could afford it and society
rather demands it of me) and climbed
into the train and waited for it to
start. BY and by reached into the
capacious pockets of that duster,
and in AZ idle, vagrant kind OF q
moment, draw forth Police Gazette,
radient with the usual astonishing
display of all kinds of stockings, in
all manner of attitudes, save proper
ones, with female figures attached to
them. Now never buy and never
read that journal, and 1 was amazed
to find it in my pocket. Invent down
again and brought up couple of
beer tickets. Then I raked down
again and found piece of billiard
chalk, several grains of coffee and a
bit of lemon peel. 1t seemed to me
that my ordinary well-behaved and
exemplary duster had evidently been
out with the boys last night, instead
OF reposing in the quiet Of my coat
room. Curious to know just how
far this iniquity went, reached into
another pocket and found a cork
screw, three dice, reveling in the
luxurious affluence Of three aces
apiece and poker dock, containing
four kings Of spades. I was ashamed
of that duster. Not only had it been
out with the boys, but it had fallen
among thieves, and was itself the
meanest thief of tho lot, and un-
worthy to be called one Of the boys.
I was almost afraid to examine the
last pocket, but I finally sent down
the grapple and up it cane with a
whisky flask, very empty but very
odorous.
/ began to wish the train would
start so that I might watch my op-
portupity and throw that duster,
with all its manifold iniquities on its
wicked head, into the river. I
stealthily felt under the bottle and
found pair of brass knucks. That
settled it. My duster was irrevok-
ably bad. would wear it as far as
the first river or the first tunnel, and
I would never wear it farther.
Would the train never start?
Just then q gentle hand touched
my shoulder. started guilty and
looked up to see policeman. If I
had been arrested on any charge,
theft, burglary, murder, sheep steal
ing, treason, anything, I should have
given right in and gone along. I
hadn't enough confidence in myself
to deny anything. But when I
looked up and saw kind, tender
face, and I heard the tender voice OF
Methodist clergyman.
ct beg your pardon" he said,
"but I fear you and I have exchanged
busters. I only noticed the change
this moment, when / found some
letters and lecture tickets bearing
your name in the pockets. The mis-
take was my own, I have no doubt.
I am SO very careless, and our dus-
ters are 80 nearly alike"
I was so shocked that I didn't
know what to soy nor where to look /,
but just had enough sense to say
yes, that it was my duster he held in
his hands. That I couldn't find my
own in the coat room and took the
only ono that was left. And then I
gave the good, innocent man the
villainous old sin-dyed Philistins
that had been corrupting my morals
all morning.
And then, to sit there and never
look around, but just listen to that
mans acclamations of amazelnent
aud horror. First he found the
billiard chalk. He didn't know what
that was, so he only said "H'mr'
When he found the coffee grains
but he didn't exactly understand
them. and he just said " Hal" Then
he fshed out the corkscrew and he
seemed to understand that in q gen.
eral way, for he said" "What" in q
staccato of astonishment that ELECTED
an encore from the entire audience.
The poor mans " Msrciful heavensw
that greeted the appearance of the
whisky flask was drowned in a per-
feet torrent OF applause and wild
cries of "Go on, GO on!" and "More." !"
And then when ne pulled ont the
Police Gazette and the brass knucks.
he fell back into his seat with an
audible gasp of horror, and the
whole. chr full of people just rose as
one man and yelled and howled. and
trampled on their hats and wanted
to get out and tear the bottom out
of the car and throw it into the Sha-
mango river to express their feelings.
never saw so great enthusiasm over
such a thing. And the fainting
clergyman came to me, holding the
disrepu,able, character-dastroying
old gallows bird of duster in his
trembling hands.
Sir" he said, with patient re-
huLa oud nitiful anpaa1 min nplinp in