Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-09-11

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plenty of fun while in Louisville. He
was around the hotel for several days.
until he was finally missed. About the
same time a gentleman, who roomed
next to the young man. complained
that his valise, filled with articles, was
missing, and diligcnt, search failed to
reveal anything of it. Suspicion at
once fell upon the guest from Cincin-
natl. Detective Bligh was called in and
given the facts. After a hunt of sew
eral hours the missing man was found
fast asleep in a bar-room up town. He
could not tell anything about the va
lise, as he was too drunk to talk. We
brought him back and kept him until
he was sober. He then told that all
his money was gone, and he had
pawned his valise for liquor. When
this gave out, his longing for more
was so intense that he took his fellow
lodger's possessions and pawned them
also for money with which to purchase
whisky. The stolen valise was recov-
cred and returned to the owner, and
the young man was allowed to go free,
but we did not receive a cent for his
weeks board"
The reporter remarked that he
thought a man might easily go up with
a crowd into the dlning-room, secure a
meal and no one would be the wiser.
THAT is sometimes done" was the
reply, ''but not often. We usually
know every man who is a guest in the
house. We may not be able to call his
name, but his face is familiar. AS the
guests go up stairs We usually notice
them as they pass. Then l make an
occasional trip through the dining
room, and if 1 see any stranger there l
watch him and soon ascertain whether
or not he is "a dead-beat. I will tell
you an instance. Some time ago there
was a young man who was a travelling
salesman for a Main street house. The
fellow was drinking. and gradually
began to get down in the world. He
loafed around our hotel a good deal,
and was pretty familiar with the place.
One day while dinner was going on l
concluded to take a stroll through the
dining-room and see how things were
getting along. 1 hadn't passed half
way across the room before / noticed
this fellow sitting at q table, and the
waiter was just taking dinner off the
tray for him. He was surrounded by
the dishes. I walkedu up to him, tapped
him on the shoulder. and said:
How do you do, B.? DID you Just
come IMP"
ooh, yes" he replied very calmly,
! a few minutes"
Ibid you register" said 1. 81 do
not believe that l saw your name on
the book"
mo. I didn't, he answered, con-
fusedly, ''but I will as soon as I finish
my dinner"
'.You should have registered before
you came up" l returned. 1T is a rule
in all hotels, and suppose you come
down now and do it?"
But you don't want me to leave
while | am half through with my din
ner?" he exclaimed.
Eyes. right now," I said, decidedly.
You must get up and go down tc the
Office"
''Well, he arose from his chair, left
the untasted dinner on the table and
went with lAe down stairs, but he didn't
register, for he had not a cent of
money. He walked out of the front
door, and has not been inside this hotel
s.nce." "
The speaker .e:apse1 into a kind of
brown study as he finished the story,
and a dreamy look of satisfaction crept
over his face. At length he resumed as
follows:
"The wife of that same man tried 10
beat us once. Last winter a lady came
to the hotel and registered as Mrs.
B.. The clerk on watch was not
aware of her husbands financialstand-
ing, and at once assigned her to a
room, where she had her supper sent
to her. When I came on watch and
saw the name OF the reg ster, l asked
about it. and at once knew that
we would not get anything FOR
her board. l went up to the
room and found her eating the supper
-th an air of great content. I spske
to her, told her that | was aware of
her husbands inability to pay, and did
not think she was doing ri light to como
to the hotel in that manner. She loud
ly protested that she had no intention
Of deceiving us; that her husband was
to meet her there in two days. and
would make things all right. Iargued
with her. and she finally packed up
her things and went to the house of a
friend in the CITY," .
81 don't suppose that the members
OF the gentler sex practice hotel dead
beatism, do they?"
"Somet mes. but their wiles are all
of one sort. She emphaticallv asserts
that she had no intention Of deception
when time of payment comes. but she
expected to receive q check from
friends. Through a delay in the mail
the check did not come, and she is
most unfortunately left without funds.
She goes on to say that she had just
money enough to get here, but the
check would have supplied her with
sufficient to pay the b II and reach the
CITY of her destination. You can't ar
que with a woman. and we have to let
her go. She leaves protesting that She
will send the money by the first mail.
but the first mail comes and the money
does not"
do the dead-beats ever grow re-
pentant and afterward send the
money?"
THAT is all romance. A dead-beat
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