The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-28
CHAPTER XI

4 SuCccoQeQ making IL more llLcAllRlDle
| than Il had seemed to Redwood. What
with his naturally laundering style Of mar
rative and his lapses of memory he sue
/ ceeded for the most part in working his
| hearers mind into a complete tangle, and
| the universal impression was that he was
/ crazy, and that his story was without foun-
\ dalton. His own inaction gave color TO the
| general opinion. He took no steps TO COM
municate with the lawyer whose address
Redwood bad given him, and made no at
/ tempt TO discover the whereabouts of his
| wife in any other way. He loafed about the
/ village, sometimes unreasonably hilarious
| and communicative with strangers, some
times morosely uncivil at intrusiOns he had
himself invited, but generally IN a patient
stupor which would have been pitiable if bis
true story and condition had been known.
One thing was abundantly clear to the
| village intelligence. Potter's story OF
| Hesheridges temperance was mAd-abso-
lutely and definitely mad. No oman who was
alive TO prevent it could possibly allow es-
tates 50 vast as Hetheridge had left behind
| him to pass away from his possession. Had
the man been poor, or in legal difficulties, or
in dread of the police, a motive for self
| placement might easily have been found.
But in Hetheridge's case there was no reason
dis oernible. and the public intellect, such as
it was, houted Potter's ill-told and disjointed
tale.
had fallen in with most Of the manners and
| customs Of his comrades with conspicuous
readiness. One habit prevalent among
| them, perhaps more honored in the breach
| than in the observance, was that any man
who received a check for service rendered
should instantly proceed to the nearest
| place where drink could be obtained, and
should there 'knook down" that check. 1t
had not been thought the right thing to do
this in solitude, and the customary manner
was either to select a comrade or comrades
with whom to get drunk, aud keep drunk
till the whole of the money was expended,
or to shout Unfortunately for any house
full OF loafers the moneyed man might light
upon,
For the first five or six days of his stay
the Australian was but an Improbable
client to the Bull. He had surprised the
landlord by egregious orders for cold tea
which he drank by the quart. 1t was made
up of an unheard Of strength and bitterness
TO suit his palate, and formed the only liquid
refreshment he INDUCED in. He was known.
however, to have pocket full of money, a
gold watch and chain, and some other val
uables, and since he insisted on paying UP
his score with absolute regularity before
breakfast, his whims were respected, and
he was permitted, though not without some
grumbing, to have his way.
Tramps of all sorts passed through the
Nnidkoe WuiCu lay uullWhy DeLW6eu Two
union work houses, and in these shabby
wayfarers Potter took curious interest. 1t
is probable that they reminded him of the
swagsmen who had for so many years been
familiar to him.
He scanned the tribe day by day as il he
were searching for some special man among
them and at last he seemed to find him. He
stopped a burly, jovial-looking BLACKBOARD
in the dusty road.
Morning, matey," said Sam. SLOWS
things with your
Pretty bad, said the tramp.
Looking out for jobP Sam asked.
"You got one to offerw the tramp re-
torted.
Eyes. 1 have.n
"What is itp the tramp inquired, with all
the caution of his tribe.
he was not so madly anxious to get to
work that he was willing to set his uuac-
customed hands to any unspecified labor
chance might offer them.
II want a man." said Sam, with perfect
gravity, ito drink fair along o. me-"
10" jeered the tramp, suspectng mock
cry in this simple and natural statement.
whats the wages"
"a dollar day." Sam responded.
The tramp stared hard at him, but there
was no light OF humor in SANS eyes. The
offer seemed too heavenly to be real and yet
the man who made it looked sincere.
"A dollar day." said the tramp. ITO
drink fair along o. you. I'm on. I'll take
the first days wages in advance and Pm
ready to begin at once"
There was a little trembling hope in the
tramp's bosom. the least lnfantine fiuttering
beginning Of hope that this amazing offer
might be real. But he seemed to feel his
heart turn over when the solemn
stranger drew out handful of gold and
| silver from his pocket, selected two half
crowns from the glitteriug pile and dropped
them In his outstretched palm.
Now mind you, matey," said Sam Pot
ter, you're in my service as long as this
check lasts You've got to drink fair, you
understand that. There's to be no greed
and there's to be no Sinking, Fair play be-
| tween man and man is what l expect and
what l look forrad to-"
The tramp bound himself by a grisly
oath, and Potter led the way, we'll pleased
| with himself and his man. On his way to
the Bull he paused at the village ironmon-
| gers, and by way Of giving an air of Aus
| tralian reality to the solemn festival on
which he was about to enter bought two tin
| pannikins. One Of these he gave to the
| tramp. and himself carried the other.
what do you say to rum to begin
withm Sam asked as they walked on side by
| side
The tramp, whose brightest hopes had
not carried him beyond the limits of six ale,
turned faint at this glimpse of heaven.
"Yus," he said. meekly. ''Pve nothing to
say agen rum to begin with
His spirit quailed within him at the
| thought that rarer and more elysian splen-
doris might await him.
They entered the house and sat down to-
| gether in the tap room; and Sam having
called for a bottle Of rum and paid for it on
the nail they began solemnly to drink to-
| gether. There was no unseemly revelry
about the business but all was done de-
Gently and in order. Plug tobacco and
matches in plenty were provided, and the
two sat in silence, the tramp keeping an
| obserVant eye on Sam and drinking when
he drank, and oh. he Thought, if this might
last forever.
AT noon they left the room for steak and
| onions, and the tramp was blessed beyond
| the measure of mortal man.
In the wilds which through long use had
| come to seem native to him, Sam would
have found no one to interfere with his
freak, but be found the English folk con-
sentative and illinclined toward innova-
ton. The landlord stepped in in the course
OF the evening and put a stop to supplies.
The tramp became abusive, and was given
| in charge.
Mr. Potter, inarticulately protestant, was
put to bed, aud by this means the orgie was
brought to a speedy close. But poor Sam,
like so many of his class, found it impossi-
bic TO leave Off drinking when he had once
begun and he took to incoming boozily in
the tap room or bar pnrlor all day long. He
| was Dorfectly ouier and inonansiva hpt