The morning call., 1891-06-19
THE TRAMP'S GIMLET.
How He in Revenge Let Sc Bar
rels Of Cider Go to Waste.

I was sitting on bench in Battery Park
the other day when rough looking, shah
billy dressed man who occupied the other
end OF it pulled an old handkerchief out of
his coat-tai pocket. With it came some
thing which fell under she bench unnoticed
by him. l saw 1t was a gimlet-a plain,
cheap gimlet, without the least attempt at
style or ornament.
Excuse me, but you have dropped your
gimlet," / said after making sure that its
loss was unknown.
80 | did-thank you" he replied.
1t takes very little to bring two strangers
together unless both are mighty mean men,
A gimlet will do il as well as a Fourth of
July celebration. hitched little toward
him aud he hitched little toward me, and
| observed:
81 often carry q pair Of -pincers. a
whetstone. door-sprlng, trunk-lock or
jack-plane around with ME, but L can't
say have any use for gimlet."
mo? Well, we are in different lines of
business, you see, he replied. You travel
around the town. while | travel about the
country. a month ago / was in Ohio"
"A tourist, eh?"
Eyes, by the name Of tramp. I came here
with pard, who is sick. When he gets
well we are going to do the watering places"
''But to return to the gimIet. Do you hap
pen to have it by accident?"
''Oh, no. It's part of my outfit I've
had this same one year or more"
Il can see where you might make use of a
crOwbar, wagon-jack. bear-trap or ox-yOke,
but where does the gimlet come IMP"
''My dear sir" he answered with a laugh,
''some men have to fight against being too
wicked. L have TO struggle against being too
good. This gimlet assists me to strike a
happy medium. You don't catch on? Wen,
I'll explain. The average tramp is not a
bad fellow"
NO"
Generally given to drink, and not too
ambitious, but all he asks of the world is
old clothes, cold victuals and bed on the
hay-mOw. He seldom does any great wrong,
and often does great deal of good"
"Wen?"
About one man ont of twenty sizes
tramp up correctly. The first and last idea
with the others is to give him the boot.
When | am out on the road | get kicked
almost daily. 1t would be foolish to kick
back, for | am in the minority. therefore
take another way of getting even. | will
tell you how it works. | enter a grocery in
a small town and politely ask for a Bite of
crackers and cheese Grocer is one of the
props Of the church, and weeps over the
heather of Africa. Reads of a case of
starvation in some big city and calls the
people savages. l am hungry and ragged
and penniless. but he takes me TO the door
to be in Jail.
"Well, | walk around until night He
has five or six barrels of kerosene and three
or four of vinegar on the platform. As he
sleeps to dream Of leaving fortune to the
poor | am at work with this gimlet. 1 bore
a hole in the head Of each barrel, low down,
and when morning comes they arc empty
and the account is square. See?"
IL do. | read Of grocer in this State
having seven barrels tapped that way"
Il 60 according to circumstances, he cop-
tinued. IF kicked once tap two barrels !;
if kicked twice tap three; if kicked and
sworn at and threatened, away goes the
whole lot"
What's your best nights work p
well, depot agent in town in Indiana
kicked me four times, hit me In the meek,
and then threw me off the platform. | had
no precedent to go by, but there were fifty
six barrels of cider on fiat cars In tie yard,
and tapped every one Of them | was ten
miles away when daylight came, but |
thought could hear him as he Jumped up
and down and swore blue blSzes. M.
Quad in the World.