The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-09-05
He Meant Well, But Pulled the Wrong
Strap

Strap.
The man was aImond-eyed, his cot
ton tunic was of spotless white and
his long pigtail was carefully coiled up
under his wide straw hat as he got in
to an Eighth avenue horse car at Four
teenih street, New York, and sat down
in the further corner with big basket
of clean clothes between his feet.
Then. Us he thought of how much iear-
er the profits on that particular .'wash"
would bring him to the time when he
could 20 back to China and buy a pal
ace on the banks of the Yang-tse-
Kiang, his yellow face was wreathcd
with placid smiles.
At Twenty-third street lady en-.
tered the car whose handsome costume
and more than handsome face ct once
attracted the attention of her fellow
passengers. Especially did the guar
dian of the clothes basket gaze at her
with undisguised admiration, and he
kept on gazing until, at Forty-second
street, she half rose from her seat and
tried to catch the eye of the conductor.
But the conductor was calculating how
many fares he could manage to avoid
registering that afternoon, and was,
therefore, more than usually blind to
all around him. But her admirer in
the further end was equal to the occa-
sion. Springing to his feet, he seized
the strap which communicated with the
clock-like fare register above his head.
ME stopla car fol you, ladecr' cried
he, and straightway he began to pull
the strap so fast that it sent the regis
tering hand around the face of the dial
at the rate of ten revolutions minute
Before the conductor could catch his
breath and look into the Car seventeen
extra fares had been registered. The
driver made no sign of slowing up. so
the laundryman pat on more steam and
pulled the strap as If he were ringing a
fire bell. while he smiled and waved his
hand encouragingly at the lady, who
stared at him for u moment and then
sinking back into her seat burst into
laughter.
The conductor also stared at him,
but only for one brief instant. Then,
rs he saw the hand in the register 60
ing around the dial as if Corlss en-
ginc was running it. he gave an mar
ticulate howl ard dashed into the Car.
..Ye son of rat-atein' hathen." he
yelled, as he grasped the Chinaman by
the back hair, "rll tache We to ring up
twinty fares that I'll hev ter pay
for out of me own pocket!'
A confused combination of white
tunic, pigtail, wicker basket and con-
ductOr swept toward the back platform
like small cyclone. Then the China
man found himself sitting on dust
heap in the street with the basket jam
med down over his head, the clean
clothes strewn around him on the dirty
cobblestones and the conductor dane
ing war dance on the rear platform
as he shook his fist ut him over the back
rail.
Tho crowd which gathered around
the fallen one extricated his head from
the basket, but he sat on the dust heap,
gazcd at the wreck around him and
wept.
Clean clio no glood-allc same. bad
rs betlo washeer' he said, rs he franti-
cally tore his pigtail and refused to be
comforted. just then the lady who
had hastened 10 get out of the car came
back to him, and after helping him to
gather up his soiled and rumpled linen
into the broken basket, put two-dol-
lar bill and card into his hand.
IF you will come to that address to-
morrow will give you all my laundry
rs long as am in tho CITY," she said.
and left him with au angelic smile.
The card bore the name of y leading
lady at q theater not far from Union
Square. Y. Herald.