Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-01-06
THE IDAHO BACHELOR AT DINNER.

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came to the Comstock the other day.
Having recently sold his claim he
had plenty of money and went in for
style-plug hat and a blue silk
handkerchief with one corner stick
ing out of the pocket of his new dag
onal coat. He walked into the Inter
national, and when the gong rung
for dinner he sauntered into the din
ing-room with the rest Of the fashion
atle throng. Everybody looked at
him, but he didn't mind it, and went
on eating the branded peaches while
waiting for his soup. When that
came he bent so far over his plate to
suck it in with the sound like the
girgle of bath-tub exhaust t-pipe that
his plug hat fell off his head and
rolled across the table against the
plate of an Eastern lady tourist
With grin of apology he half rose
reached over and recovered it and
placed it on the well oiled and recent
ly barbered mead. He attacked the
trout with his fingers, and despised
the use of any other napkin than his
mouth. Pending the arrival Of the
beef, the gentleman from Haley
placed both elbows on the table and
surveyed the company with great af-
liability and self-possession as he con-
verted his fork into tooth pick.
Then he lifted his plug hat an inch
or two from his head and scratched
the same gently with his four-pronged
tooth-pick When engaged on the
beef the hat fell off again. and
rolled across to the Eastern lady,
who had grown pale. Presently the
gentleman from Idaho had need of
handkerchief, and made use of the
only one which nature, and probably
Haley, provides. The plug hat fell
on the floor this time and when he
had recovered and replaced it he sat
alone at the table. He looked with
surprise at the guests jost]ing one an
other to get ont of the door,
"Fire?' he asked OF transfxed
waiter.
"No," gfsped the man
"Now What's the row thenw
Had enough, / suppose" replied
the waiter with withering look.
Mighty small eater, pears to me,
and cussed queer manners about git
ten outen a room. Give us another
chunk O beef -pooty fur from the
horns, if yer kim"
Presently Landlord Hanak ap-
peared with a colorless face and
bullying eyes. He walked rapidly up
and touched the arrival from HALEY
on the shoulder.
You seem to be having pretty
good time," said the landlord, re-
Training from gnashing his teeth.
We'll, that's so, boss You sit
down here and whack up a bottle o
wine at my expense. Oh, I've got a
pocketful of rocks, an don't you for
get it. Say, do you happen to know
any likely gals that's on the marrys
I'm in here on that lay" and he
grinned and once more lifted his hat
a little and again scratched his head
with his fork
The landlord groaned and sat down
with a thud Then he gazed de-
terminedly at the Wood River fash
ionable, and said with set teeth:
"Do you know, my friend, what it
costs to stop at this houseT
"No, an 1 don't keer. I've got
the tin. But what's yer figure, jist
fur luck?'
"One hundred dollars --a-day."
The jaw of the gentleman from
Idaho dropped, and he fell back in
his chair and gazed in fear and won
der at the landlord, who fixed him
with his steady eye. Then huskily,
as he struggled to an upright posi-
ton on his char, he asked:
"How much mealg This is my
fust?"
Nothing for little lunch like
this" answered Hanak.
With long sigh of returning life
the flush marrying man from HALEY
got his feet and made unsteadily for
the door. He sat the remainder of
the day in the waiting room Of the
depot with his hand behind him a.
if on a pistol and fed on the evening
train