The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-11-17
TRICKS OF TRAMPs.
Secrets of Trade That Fail to SECURE ?
Meal for a Knight of the Road.

meal Tor AniSht OF the Road.
He had seen better days Anybody coulc
tell that But the chances were that hi
sight had not rested on day that had NO
been decidedly worse for very long time
His clothes were not in as good repair a
they might have been. His beard, whic
was of pronounced red, with traces her
and there of warm Titan shade, was full
two weeks advanced toward maturity, an,
his nose matched his beard perfectly il
general appearance. He was not pretty
man.
To get down to hard facts he was ;
tramp.
He walked up West Main street in al
aimless sort of way and his every actioI
gave proof to the fact that he was playing
in hard luck. Just up by Plymouth av
enue another tramp came along. The sec
ond one differed from the first but very
little in his general makeup. He was
younger though and not quite so dirty
The two men met and stopped. They eyed
each other curiously for q moment and
then the second one said, How're they
comin?"
Rotten" replied the first one senten
tiously.
GdilC nCLCy SdlQ GuO ObucI Ouc kI1mI1
Had any grub?"
"Nope."
"What are yer doinl"
"Loolin fer IT,
Where yer goin?"
"Goin ter try my luck out here on this
street. Worked the same woman, four
times by calm an askin if her mother was
in. She's sixty, but she thinks she don't
look it, an she's bit every time on the
same gag. Wanter go 'long?"
The young man was pleased at the pros
pect, and said that he did. Up the street
the two pedestrians sailed, and after few
moments walk reached the house where
the susceptible woman lived Just as the
man who had been there four times was
about to try, a happy thought seemed to
strike him, and he turned and said: "Say,
watts the matter with your goin' in an
maxim bluff at her. She'd know me,
sure"
"W'at'll say~ asked the young man.
"Aw, give her any CUFF you think Of
Ask her if her grandmother is in, and
when she tells you she is dead, beg her
parding an tell her she's so young lookin
that you thought she was livin with her.
Any sort of stutf'll go, she's so dead stuck
on bein taken for younger than she is"
The young man was tickled with the
idea, and he pulled the gate open and
walked up the front steps with noncha-
liant air and pulled the front doorbell. In
moment the lady of the house came to
the door, and he took off his hat and made
low bow. "Scuse me, ma'am, but is any
of your grandchildren homer"
Il haven't any grandchildren" snapped
the woman as she started to close the door.
Il ak your parding, ma'am. Come to
look at you, you amt old enough to have
grandchildren. Can l see your married
daughter?"
why, you insulting wretch, and me
only thirty years old. Get out of the yard
or I'll scald you," almost shouted the
woman as she slammed the door shut with
bang that could be heard a square.
Meanwhile the other tramp stood at the
bottom of the steps, black in the face from
anger. When the young man came down
he grabbed him by the throat and hissed
What did you ask her that for? You're
handsome gilly, you are. You don't know
as much bout tatfyin a woman as l do
about the inside of a bank" Then he
pushed the young man from him and
strode out to the sidewalk At the gate
he turned and shouted back to the young
fellow who stood where the old man had
showed kim: You're tramp. You!
Bah! The best thing you can do, young
feller, is ter go ter work"
And he strobe down the street never
once looking back Mt his Quondam partner.
Rochester Democrat.