The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-02-04
MY OLD VAC.
BY N. QUAD.

| HdOc WEcCk OI nlIn. 1LS sing OIaf about these tramps and vagabonds. Once in while there's something in one of them which will make you take to him in spite of his rags and vice and drunkenness. Old Jack was uncouth, red faced and ragged, but he came in with his hat in his hand and made every effort to keep his legs under him as he said:
 "In case you can overlook my pre- sent condition I should like to be given a show"
 He got it. Thereafter he attached himself to me. I became his banker. The feeling gradually grew upon him that, no matter how luck went with him, he had reserve to fall back upon. It put him above other vaga- bonds in point of independence. He invaribly used the same words and sentence in addressing me, and never replied with a word. For the first five or six weeks he went over the whole sentence as I have given it i above. Then, as he felt that formality could be dispensed with, he abbrevi- ated it to:
 Overlook my condish and lend me a dime."
 It meant the same ting and saved time. He had three regular days in the week for coming, and many time have stopped at the post office to get change so that he should not be disappointed. The police got hold of him one night and run him in, and he was sent up for thirty days as vag. saved out his dimes at regular inter- vals, piling them up in pigeon hole, and on the day he came out he came to see me. There had been break in our arrangements, and he felt that an explanation was due me. He began clearing his throat to make it, but I handed over the money. He slowly counted it over, found the sum cor rect, and went out with the observa- tion:
 "We does business on a reg'lar sys- tenn, we does."
 As time went by and he felt him. self more solid, he abbreviated his "opening address" still further. He came in, steadied himself on the corner of the desk, and said
 "Present condish-ten cents."
 He acted as if he expected a kick or protest on my part, but there was none. 1 don't think he ever satisfied himself as to my motive in giving For long time he must have argued that was batting a trap for him, and would some day read him a lecture on temperance and industry, but as the days went by and nothing of the sort occurred he felt more at ease. On several occasions he waited minute as if anxious to have me ask why he didn't brace up and become better and different man, but didn't do it.
 Old Jack finally became jealous of me. That is, he was jealous of his in- come. One day there was a wrangle in the hallway. A strange vagabond had come up to hit somebody for dime, and old Jack had followed after to say to him:
 "Who yer going to strike, because Pve got rights up here?"
 "Who be you as talks so big! Do you own this foundry p
 "I say Pve got rights as no bundle O bones must interfere with! You skipw
 "I won'tw
 "Then Ill make yerp'
 And the strange tramp was hustled down stairs in manner to damage every square inch of his anatomy. On another occasion, when I was convers- ing with an old vag on the market, my friend happened to pass. He didn't proceed to violence, but he gave me such look of rcproach that felt it for week. There was that in the look which accused me of an intention to swap vags and serve cheaper one, but after a week or two old Jack evil dently realized that it was only a chance meeting and that was not to blame.
 One regular pay day I again missed him. He was always on time to the minute, and when he did not show up l was somewhat alarmed. Had the police run him in again? Had the end finally come2 I was waiting and wondering, when bit of ~bootblack appeared and handed me a piece of brown wrapping paper on which was scrawled: "Condish-ten."
 Thereafter, every pay day for the next three weeks, the boy came for the money. Neither of us asked question, but I suspected that old Jack was laid up somewhere with sickness. After the third week the boy ceased to come, nor could hear of the old man. His "salary" was regularly laid aside for him for six weeks, and then started out one day to hunt him up. After a long search 1 found him in a riverside hnvol uo hol ham xuslI and