Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-02-06
THE BITTER T
Mon Who Engage in Ways That arc DARK
Sometimes Get the Worst of 1t.

Mon Who Engage in Ways That arc DARK
Sometimes Get the Worst of 1t.
A short man with a round face the
color of a campaign-badge, and a 5
which glistened and shone as if it had
been vanished, staggered into a Broad
way bar-room, one day last week, and
slouched over to the lunch-counter,
where the we%ll-dressed customers
readily made all the space for him that
he desired. After satisfying an appe-
title that was comprehensive enough to
cover an entire fashionable boarding
house, he sauntered over to the bar.
Gimme q little brandy (hic) and a
touch Of ginger-ale," he remarked to
the bar-keeper. IL.
"Forty cents, please,'' responded
that individual. ...
Forty cents~" replied the visitor:
"is lhic) q sum. of money. Iasked for
a drink. If l [hic) called for money,
l would (hic) go to a bank"
"9ou had better go to a bank, them
for your drink" responded the bar
keeper CURLY, as he turned to wait on
another customer.
NASSh "SAoAhS S4CW lAll1UOCS III OlllIStf
silence, the short man again renewed
his request.
81 tell YOU" replied the drink-mixer,
annoyed at his persistence: s'you can't
have a drink here unless you pay for it
in advance" t
"Oh, that's it (hic), is ftp You
won't trust me for a drink. Well, will
you take (hic) t.,is for collateral?" and
he laid an old-1ashioned watch on the
counter whose solor was the shsae Of
old brass.
"No, sir, I won't take that. This
amt no junk-shop, and if you don't
get out of here you won't want a drink
for the next six months!"
"Hold on" replied the short man,
'don't (hic) get excited. That watch
is a family lhic) keepsake. 1t was
given to my (hic) grandfather by the
Emperor Napoleon. It's pure silver"
"Pure brass, you mean. Come, get
out!'
"Let go my coat (hic). I'll leave it
to any gentleman (hic) present if it
amt silver"
"What's the matter?" interrupted a
quiet man who had been q silent OBJ
cCIfSL VI VIC OuUlOVcISN.
why, this bum," responded the
b~ar-keeper, Essays this brass turnip is
silver, and wants me to stand him a
drink on it,"
sLet me look at it,"
The watch was handed over and the
quiet man, after a brief inspection, re-
turned it with a smile of contempt.
"I'll tell you (hic) what I'll do" in
terposed the tramp: .'I'll bet you a
hundred dollars it's silver" NJ
Take your bet. Put up your
money!" returned the quiet man.
quickly.
THE bar-keepcr by this time had let
go his hold on the short mans sleeve,
and the rest of the customers had
gathered closely around the pair. The
tramp dove into his ragged pocket and
pulled out two tifty-dollar notes,
the bar-k4eper's hands. The silent
mar also laid a hundred-dollar bill
.on the counter, and a man was sem
out for a jeweler. In a few minutes he
returned with the workman, and the
watch was handed to him for inspec-
ton. He looked at the case, then filed
through the surface, and applied a drop
of acid to the exposed metal. In a
half-a-minute he returned it to the bar
keeper and remarked that it was solid
silver, heavily plated with brass.
Five minutes later a short man with
a red nose slouched into a cross-street
gin-mill and sat down beside a tall,
red-haired, ministerial-appearing man.
"Well, Jimmy" inquired the second
man: ''what luck?1"
II worked the watch-racket for a
hundred"
''Where's the beodle?" laconically
inquired the other.
"Here,'' and he pulled out the bill he
had won.
".Well," remarked the red-haired
man, with deep disgust: you're nice
man to belong to the profession, you
are"
"Why?" gasped the short man:
whats the matter with me?"
s'There's nothing the matter with you
except you're an idiot"
"Why?"
''The bill is counterfeit"
1t was.-Puck.