The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-01-31

blue eyes, whose TlnIp:dness hr Stecinl
seemed to affect, with tie Original
quaint contemplatiye gaze, and replied
with deliberate coherency. And, strang-
er still, no sooner had we parted than
he had visibly lapsed again into hic-
coughs, incoherency, and other ugly
testimonials to insobriety. One after
noon, while both the gentlemen were
liquoring up as usual, the moist-eyed
man complained vehemently to the as
sistant purser of the heat of his berth,
which it seemed was adjacent to the
engines. He explained in proof of this
complaint that he always kept bottle
of grOg on tap in his state-room for his
friends, who, when they came down to
partake of convivial glass with HIM,
growled because the liquor he gave
them was lukewarm. ''Why don't you
come aft my way?" cried ''Fi, a." with
hiccough, and on this genial hint,
which probably had been drawn from
Fiji" by the mention of the moist
eyed gentfeman's facilities for refresh
ment, the latter effected transfer of
residence. l am bound to say that this
added propinquity did not seem to in
spire in the room-mates any practical
admiration for 'total abstinence. One
night ''Fiji'' evacuated the smoking
room more than commonly disguised.
Next morning | heard him Illuminating
at his steward for not having Sc
cured his baggage by lashing it. The
trunks, he said, had gone adrift dur
ing the night because of the roll of the
ship; which struck me as strange, for
she had not been rolling more than her
somewhat emphatic wont. He grum-
bled consumedly that the wax on the
seal of special little trunk had got
smashed in the fall. 81 sleep like a
dead whale" he grunted across to the
moist-eyed gentleman who had begun
to sputter and yawn in his bunk over
the way; '.but darn it, | wonder the
muss among the baggage didn't rouse
you up!'
BOSS" replied the moist-eyed one,
genially, 81 guess l sleep like a dead
whale as has been resurrected, got tired
O. the bother of keepin' alive, and gone
dead again for good.'
he scrambled for his raiment, 'seems
to me that defunct insec' has been gaily
friskin' around my pants. They're
right out from under the pillow where
slowed 'em last night, an dog-goned
eff my keys amt loose in the spitboxr'
"Blow you pants, retorted the moist
eyed gen tleman,' don't you feel like
washin' down them ere cinders as is
stickin' in your ventilator?" and with
that he passed over the grog-bottle.
The pair continued inebriate, and at
length their names were given 10 the
bartender, measure which stopped
the supplies. 1 heard the moist-eyed
gentleman one evening complaining
touchingly of thirst to little Ahheri-
can Jew-with- -dash-of- the Cockney,
who was one of the passen-
gers, and who was travelling
up from Australia professedly in the
buggy interest. The jew volunteered
to procure drink if the moist-eyed man
was ready with the compensation. The
latter. noticed, got strangely soon af-
fected. supposed that the old debauch
was not vet quite dead in him. 1t was
then that the little Jew, taking him
aside, impaired to him secret, which
overheard. The Hebraic worthy had
two trunks stuffed with ''dutiable
goods" on which he was most anxious
to make no contribution to the Federal
revenues. Far gone as he was, the
moist-eyed man was promptly equal to
the occasion. ASK for Colonel ODris-
col on the jetty, an square HIM. l know
he can be got at. Besht thing, before
you come ashore of youself, send on to
the wharf a little note addressed to the
Colonel, with twenty-five dollars an
your card inclosed; and then strike
him as soon as you land. You'll find
him hunky, you bet. That'n pass you
along as easy s slipping off a log.
Only, never give soul hintI put you
up to thisr' ''All right, pardner, " was
the philosophic comment of the astute
Hebrew, guess the lot on YOU ROSTERS
understand each other, kinder-eh?"
The moist-eyed man winked and hic-
coughed, and Mr. Moses retired to rest
in the pleasing consciousness of not hay
ing wholly wasted his friendly offices in
circnmventing the bartender.
At Honolulu the "Tasmanian" en-
barked a large draft of passengers for
San Francisco-rather mixed lot. A
large number of these had to take their
meals in the empty second saloon, the
table seats in the chief saloon being all
previously occupied. Two nights after
leaving Honolulu, while dinner was be-
ing served in the latter apartment, the
gentleman with the moist eye cOmpro-
missed himself bya miscellaneous resort
to strong expressions uttered by nc
means soto UOce, and was summary
elected bv the chief steward. who char
acterized him in allegOrical language
as having been ''as full of drink as the
Baltic Sea- At the subsequent court
martial in the Captains cabin he re-
ceived the mild sentence of modified
Ostracism to the second saloon, where
there were neither ladies nor bishop
and whose denizens were not nasty par
ticular over little mild cursing, sc
long as the gentleman displaying this
weakness was not backward in desiring
to ascertain practically the form Of
poison held in high esteem by his con-
Uires If he committed himself beyond
bearing in this society, however, added
the Captain, with sternness that struck
me rs being a little forced, he was to
be relocated to the outer darkness Of
the steerage. There was much good
fellowship in the second saloon, where
the moist-eyed man speedily found
marked favor; and sooner or later, as
1 noted during occasional visits to that
bower of iollity, most of the
Honolulu folks had whispered
condolences of an apparently satisfac-
tory nature with him, in regard to the
idiosvncrasy of the customs inquisitOrs
Il. I-.a..n.-r,r, rIhncn