Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-02-04
THE FIVE DOLLAR BILL.

What do you think Of that thing as
capital to get an educationr' queried the
young six footer from tho west He ex-
traeted bill from long, nat pocketbook
rs he spoke and tossed it upon the table
in front of him. IL was SIS note that
had evidently passed through few hands,
and yet was no late issue from the gov
ernment's money factory, for the dull,
furred lines along the creases told of long
storage in some tight quarters. With its
whitened places along the folds and the
remnants of smartness about the rest of
its face, it bore family resemblance to
gray headed, rosy checked, dead black
mustached police sergeant Of the old
regime.
The young man of the east picked up
the bill, unfolded 1t and leisurely IN
spected it under tho kindly glare Of the
incandescent lights OF the Sixth avenue
chop house in which he and his friends
werc sitting. Two rabbits" he'd disap-
peafed to make arrangements for visions
Ct the night, the second brace of fat
''tobies" had suffered seriously from
draught, and half an inch of tobacco On
each cigar had burned into fiaky white
ness. 1t vas wet, chilling night out
side; it was a CHEEKY, warm evening,
within. And so the young man of the
east was nothing loath to hear the tale of
the SIS bill.
81 don't know why it was,n quoth the
narrator, 'or just how it was that l came
to fit for college. 1t was partly luck, and
partly, l suppose, because my old Yankee
schoolmaster, who had drifted west al
most the year I was born, chung to the
New England idea that after the three
RS came Latin, Greek and algebra in
every well regulated curriculum. Ipegged
| away at them drtifully for three or four
winters-school didn't keep there in
spring or summer then, the scholars had
| other engagements at that time of the
| year-without much idea what my work
| was leading to, until when VIC said our
pieces on the last day Of the term, the old
one took me aside.
"'Well, he said, you're about fitted
for college, guess. Which one are you
| going to;'
/ ''That ives the first I'd heard of college.
First the idea scared me, then it tickled
me. Before | slept that night had made
| up my mind; I'd make the venture. And
| the schoolmaster settled my choice of col
leges when he said: You will have to pay
| your way; you will have to make money;
| 10 WHGLD tliGEC IuOSI VI IL Epeutt WutEC
| there are most rich youngsters who don't
| days work for q man They'll spend and
| you'll profit, or else your fathers were
| born in Connecticut for nothing
''Weil, 1 came cast that fall, passed my
entrance examinations-for after all I
found that the old Yankee had seen C
| good teacher--and struck up an acquaint-
| ancc with one of the professors whose
| looks liked. He gave mo valuable nd
| vice, told mo where to get q room, and
! how to fl it up with stove, three or four
| chairs. etc. ! was cxtravasans on just
( one pont-I bought q good bed. When
| these things were paid for had just Sc
! this bill and some change. That night
| was my own, for the college work didn't
begin until tho next morning. walked
| out among tho dormitories, and there /
! made my first strike. y truckman had q
| load If trunks to deliver on the upper
floors offered my aid aud he took it.
For that made enough to be sure Of
| something to eat for another day without
| impairing my capital, and I felt easier.
/ The next day began to get acquainted
with the men, aud before night had
secured Q roommate. Low as my rent
was wanted to have it shared by some
ton, my appetite permitting no division,
and, although ! did my best to pick out
the cheap and filling from the bills of
fare, was down to my five dollar bill be-
fore made my next discovery.
"Half dozen boys in my division had
formed u club and I was dining with
one of them when it came. My friends
were getting pretty bad board and paying
pretty dearly for it, They knew it rs
well as and fell to talking about it, and
from the conversation got an idea. That
night travelled about the college neigh
borhood until found q house whose mis-
tress agreed to furnish me with table ac-
commodations for ten men, do the cook
ing and furnish the necessary service. /
had done some mental figuring in the
meantime, and knew that her price was
satisfactory But went to my friends,
. and that evening I had secured nine to
icin my club and pay me SO week
apiece. On the $54 figured it out that
would be able to pay ten mems ex-
penses. The plan is common enough at q
good many colleges, I have since learned,
but it was new there. But soon found
that as a caterer was at disadvantage.
1t was hard work to get credit ut the
shops. for my SIS bill was something /
couldn't use to impress the grocers and
butchers successfully, my boarders had
vigorous appetites and q catholic liking
for pretty much everything. 1t was
close scrape of it for u month. Then l
got bit ahead and began to feel easier,
until two circumstances combined to
nearly ruin me They came together
one was q snow storm, the other was an
accident disabling one of my boarders,
who owed me quite n little account.
s'To tell the truth, hadn't noticed how
the winte~ had been coming on. and the
snow caught me unawares. It meant
that / must have all oyercoat, just at tho
time one of my sources of revenue was
cut off. In fact, / had been depending
upon the injured man paying up his score
to give me little spending money, and
saw that as far as my restaurant was con-
cerned could look for no help from it on
the clothing account. But had to have
the coat. There was no doubt aboutit, in
fact, it was surprising how cold felt.
There was just ore thing to do, and hur-
ried down town.
"<Here, said, as I rushed into ready.
made clothing store, give me big over
coat, the warmest you've got.
siThe salesman fitted me n garment that
certainly had the virtue of weight. But
like the man who was supposed to be dead,
but wasn't, and came home to read his
own epitaph, thought it couldn't be laid
| on too thick. 1t was not o beautiful gar
ment, hut it was pretty cheap-about $50,
Think.
"'Just send it up to my room,' / said,
as carelessly ss could. / r-.lled out my