The St. Johns herald., 1892-01-21
A PRIZE HOTEL CLERK.
He Had a SEporciiicus Stare, and He
 Couldn't I;e j-ado to Talk.

Couldn't I;e 51ada to Talk.
 fI've met some remarkable hotel
 clerks in my time" said a New York
 man to a Pittsburgh Dispatch reporter,
 but the funniest snap of the sort I
 ever heard of came within my -expe- rience at a big hotel in the south last
 winter. It was one of those big cara vansaries that are springing up all over the south, but especially on the sea-
 board of Florida, and I would give you the name of the hotel if 1 were not sure to be going there again next winter.
 Well, when I walked up to the desk the day of my arrival man with immense wZliskers and voice to match handed me pen and said: You'll want fifty siX-dOllar room and we engaged in the regulation scrap over terms and so on. My wife was with me, and for that reason had to take what I could get and be thankful The man with the big whiskers, whom l aftarward found to be the proprietor, handed us over to the bell-boy. While my wife and the trunks went to the room I tarried be- hind to attend to several matters. The proprietor had retired into a door be- hind the high desk, and across the register from me was a young man of middle height and anywhere from five to thirty years of age, whose prominent features to a ,vo1nan's eyes were blue eyes and curly hair and fair mustache with twisted ends, and to mans a cold, i1npudent stare, and a sneering upper lip. I dislillcd him at first sight. But he was the only man behind the desk within reach, 50 I asked him to look and see if there were any tele- grams or letters for me. He flung out pile of mail matter upon the desk, but he didn't say a word 1 felt my dislike for that clerk grow ing. I noticed. that he was dudishly dressed, that two diamonds of large size sparkled on one of his hands and an odor of cologne emanated from his neighborhOod. When I had concluded an unsuccessful search for correspon- dence it seemed to me that a suspicion of a sneering smile lowered about that clerks upper lip. I didn't want to know very badly, but just to make the super cilious beggar talk I asked him what time dinner was served. He looked calmly through mo as if I'd been sheet of your Pittsburgh plate glass and made no reply. I repeated the question. I think I was really glad that 1 got no answer. It gave me a chance to resent the sneering mouth and glassy eyes of the man. With studied calmnessI said: Is it customary in this hotel to refuse to give the guests information for which they politely asll?' He never moved his lips, and worse still, his eyes were fixed upon me in q cold, hard stare 1 had Q dollar in my hand, silver dollar, and knocking with it upon the marble cOun- ter, l repeated the question with a few added words of a profane character. It hadn't the slightest effect upon the frozen blonde, but the noise brought out the man with the big whiskcrs. I told him very plainly what l thought of such treatment as had received. and I was about ready to sail in and wipe up as much of the floor with the pair of them as I could, for I was red-hot mad, when the proprietor said mildly: My dear sir, Mr. Blank is dumb. absolutely speeches.; and his hearing is affected also
 What in the thunder do you keep him for, then?' I asked.
 '' Oh! he is very useful in his way replied the hotel-keeper, and that is all the explanation he would make. But there is no doubt that the deaf and dumb clerk was Q superb instrument of torture to the guests--and when he was on duty front was deserted"