Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-12-27

selves, othsrs shabby and hard -iooKlng.
were sitting at little tahlsa At oos end
was IN orchestra playing . lively air. In
few moments young woman in fanciful
cssums walked in front Of ths orchestra and
sang . sentimental ballad The three
young men sat down &C ono Of the tables.
Harold ordered beer. When they left the
plaza half an hour latsr they had each
drunk three glasses Of bssr, and Harold had
paid Frank Storm the three half dollars he
owed him
Bob and Tom'u be waiting Storm sug-
gested Lets hurry up"
Yes" said Harold. sits getting toward 10
o'clock, and can't stay out too Late"
-Oh, You could stay out Il You wouldn't
get up for church in the morning" sneered
Storm whats the uss Of going to church
every Sundayi believe you're mashed on
that girl II were you
well, never mind about that Harold
answered testify. III don's 60 to church,
the old lady at homo viii hear Of It and l
must keep up appearances Hurry up, now;
want to get through early"
The three young men reached saloon on
a side street and entered it The placs was
small and quiet. Back OF tie bar-room, and
.
square apartment with two round tables
the other sat Bob and tom" Bob" is q
salesman in the same clothing store with
Harold.
He has been there longer, and is a much
older man than his companions He wears
a Disconnected look, as though he had found
life unsatisfactory. Tom" Is the son Of q
politician. He doesn't work regularly, but
always seems to have plenty Of money
His present companions like his dash, but
his companions are always q little shy Of
his acquaintance on any but Saturday
nights.
A BARTENDER comes in, places pack Of
cards and box Of ~chip," on the table and
says: whats your orderr They all drink
beer. except the elderly Bob" who orders
whisky. Quarter limiti' he asks, and
throws for deal tom acts as banker.
Harold invests s., loses that, invests g.
more, and at midnight finds himself IS win
ner. ~Now, / must catch my car" he de.
claresn
All Of his companions objsca Play till
O'Clock" is the chorus "rll play till half
past IL. " Harold proposes, and this is agreed
to. The young clerk had, by this time.
drank good deal Of beer, and
the bartender had frequently to tell
the party to make loss noise. Sits
Sunday morning now" is his repeated re-
monstrance. The game grows more excit-
ing and Harold less steadily. At 1880 he
is s. out Yet nobody seems to have won
anything Where has the money gonsi
The bartender has most Of it
Harold, after a final drink, started 70.
home with Frank Storm They missed
their car and found themselves on
the corner with nothing to do but wait for
half an hour. ~rll tell you, said Frank,
a1et's walk up as far as Race street and look
at some OF those concert gardens. l don't
believe you've ever seen 'em.
Harold unsteadiiy objected. He looked
down at his trousers. which hs had
spilled sons beer. Il shan't wear thsse
pants in a spree again, he declared.
@Oh, it's easy enough to take care of your
clothes il you're careful" replied Frank.
The two young men discussed this point
aimlessly for some time, when Harold sud-
denly remembered Franks proposition.
"Oh, those concert clothes Yes. let's 60
and see EN-" he said Ten minutes later
they entered vile den on Race street.
Drunken men and vile women jostlei them
in the narrow hallway which at that hour
was the only entrance. "Look at
tine dudes,' cried girl scarcely out OF her
teens, but with brazsn face and Haunting
air. BUY me a drinki'
"Yes, you've got to treat Us, said an
other woman, pulling Frank to ono Of the
sloppy beer tables, An indistinct vision Of
Mary fioatei through Harold,s befuddled
brain. but he sank into seat by the side Of
the brazsn girl. Some negro singers filed
-. al
with tobacco smoke, and drunken laughter
and the cries Of slovenly waters added to
the din. The two clerks were by far the
best dressed and most respectable men in
tine saloon Around them were thieves,
loafers AMI outcasts. Frank and Harold
bought two rounds of drinks, and then
Harold dimly resolved TO GO. He
was tipsy. bat he hated this place. He did
not know the character of tie rough men
he saw around him. but he saw that
they wers badly dressed. The two women
at the table urged him to stay, and Frank
in no hurry; but again Harold re-
Mary, and the thought Of his
mother and sister came to his rescue.
"Coms on be said. His silver-headed cane
had dropped on the floor. One Of the women
suddenly picked it up and ran toward tho
back door.
"Hold On" cried Harold, and rushed after
he-.
Here, where you goin'P yelled one Of the
dirty walters He seized Harold by the
arm and pushed him back. "You can't go
out that way" he said. Harold saw the
angry looks Of the rough crowd and was
frightened. "All right" he replied, with a
lipsy smile. but sick heart, and he and
Frank went out together. The cane was
gone and Harold made the long walk home
in moody silence.
This morning he will have headache,
but viii force himself to 60 to church. He
will carefully brush and spo,.;e his rumplei
clothe>. and with guilty feeling of self
reproach will walk horns with Mary. Prob
abby ne will stay to dilner and Mrs
WI ine will notice his lack Of appetite and
ell berseif that she must write to her old
friend, II rods mother, to advise her boy
% take mora exercise. Tomorrow morn
ng Hsroh will begin his weeks work with |
he resolution not to come down town ON |
night.
He is like hundreds o: other young men In |
own. There Is nothing b;si about him at !
ieart, and the better influences about |
him will probably win II they win. thero |
will be wedding some day and Mary will |
% a happy wife. IL they do NOT, this |
1oung salesman will drift into cynical
like his elderly friend Sob
IN