The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-06-16

| the honor of giving him a call at some hour
| when his screams are not frequent with the
| pain"
The girl had come into the parlor her face
| clouded with despair, but she went ont like .
sunbeam. for there was JOY written upon her
countenance.
The next morning the Orator and George
had consultation in the little studio, and the
Orator, taking down a book, putting on bis
spectacles, and running his stumpy fore finger
over the lines. read as follows: 1t is a fact
demonstrated by many experiments that the
human body is one inch taller in the morn
ing Or rising that it is in the evening on going
to bed. That is explained by the fact that the
muscles are relaxed during Sleep" Having
read this the Orator closed the book, keeping
his thumb between the pages for finger mark,
and looking soIemnly at George, he said:
What time of day was it by the clock whom
you was measured, George?"
"'Twas 2 in the afternoon"
"And what did you measure them"
" Five foot FIVE and a fraction"
Well, then, If that is so, George we'll have
you on the force with the Grand street beat
within 10 days."
The next day the Orator took George to the
apartments of the Grand street Bantam. He
was a one-eyed, slender individual, regarded
with great awe by the youth of the East Side
because he was said in his day to have knocked
out every man of his weight he met in the
ring. In his declining days the Bantam made
a living by giving lessons In the manly art, and
also in instructing aspirants how to train for
battles in the ring.
Uncle Bill I've brought you q young man
who has the muscles of Heenan and the neck
of an OK; but it isn't sparring be wants, but
pull" Such was the Orators introduction of
George.
ga pull' Well, now, Mr. Clancarty you're
wi In o1l Ix.t& Al
OBrien, he's got the biggest pull in the ward
take him to him."
No. no. Uncle Bill. It's pull on his muscles
and stretching Of his joints apart and
lengthening of his neck, so to speak. l want
you TO pull him out an inch.'" And then
Clancarty went on to explain more clearly 10
the old prizef CHER what his purpose was.
"Tll do 1t for $50 BILL" said Uncle Bill,
but therell be pain in his joints and q
racking of his limbs like an ague spell for two
or three days. If he can stand that I'll give
him the inch and the night before he goes in
for the examination again I'll put him to bed
In my own rooms here, keep him abed till half.
past ono and drive him in hack to the head
quarters at two"
The bargain was struck, and within half an
hour George was in vapor bath improvised
for the occasion with an old kettle filed with
boiling water and pint of alcohol. When he
had sweaed for half an hour Uncle Bill came
in and pounded his limbs with his knuckles,
and then calling strong -limbed assistant, who
took George by the feet, while Uncle Bill held
him by tie shoulders, they pulled until the
poor fellow howled with pain. Then Uncle
Bill gave him a mug of old ale as being some
thing that would soften the muscles, and then
put him on cot. At the end of four days of
this treatment they measured George, and
Uncle Bill gleefully hurried over to the College
aud announced to the Orator that they had
got "a pull on him of half-inch length.
Four days more and It's DONE" he said.
The Orator was so delighted that he set ont
peculiar and private bottle of bog whisky
with tho smell of peat smoke very strong
in 1t.
George was as holow-eyed as any tramp who
ever sopt in City Hall Park. Uncle Bill had
half starved him in order to make him thin
and by his philosophy thereby to gain ten
dency to elongation. He would not even per-
nit George TO shave, fearing that the razor
might insidously casse him to contract. He
kept him awake on the night before the ex-
animation until o'clock IN the morning and
then let him go to sleep. He slept like one
who Is dead. When Uncle Bill reused him at
1:30 of the next afternoon the poor felloH
uttered yell OF pain, so sore was his skin. SO
sensitive his muscles. Uncle Bill would not
even let him walk downstairs. He and his at
tendant carried him in his arms to. the hack,
and in 20 minutes George was at police head
quarters.
Grit your teeth, and bear it, George" said
Uncle Bill. Take your punishment like as
though you were in the ring and make the
doctor measure you quick, and within an hour
you'll be on the force, my man."
George did grit his teeth. The expression on
his face was as balmy as May morning, but
the fortunes of the Inquisition were In his
muscles and bones He stripped as soon as be
got in the examination room, saying to the
Surgeon that at the previous examination hs
was marked all right excepting as to hight, and
that he believed some mistake had been made
about his hight. Tho Surgeon looked at the
record. eyes. that's So" he said. "Get under
the measuring tape"
When the Surgeon had taken measurement
he gave q low whistle, looked curOusly at
to see that he was not getting false hight, and
then he said:
well, young man, you're phenomenon.
You pass. The tape shows that you're exactly |
five feet six without har's-breadth to spare |
But you're the only man ever saw who could |
grow an inch in 10 days How did you do
it?"
"Well, sir, had pull" said George.
GIVE heard" said the Surgeon, "that good |
many men get onto the force with pull bat |
never knew a pull like that"
Within q week George was, as tho Orator |
predicted, twirling club on the Grand street |
beat and Mary was the happiest girl in the /
ward. The fame of the Orators exploit spread |
abroad, and Mary's father sent for him and |
between the bowls of anguish caused by the |
sciatica he made the Orator his Deputy, giving |
him charge of the machine at the coming cleo |
ton. George had so many friends In the ward |
and their natural sympathy for his pluck and
his pull was great that he was able nightly
to help the Orator on election day and when
the vote WAS counted 1t was found that the |
Orator had carried the district for Tammany
by 122 votes, more than any majority ever at
tanned there.
Of course the orator was made politician,
aud Mary's father being permanently disabled
by rheumatism the Orator became the leader of
the district and George his stanch, although
silent, lieutenant. Ii was a great wedding
they had in the ward. Clancarty gave the bride
away, and John Kelly himself sent the couple
a handsome wedding present. and two months
later George became o roundsmaD, and was
called the little policeman with the handsomest
wife in the ward. To-day he is Sergeant with
rs pretty wife as ever and three children,
and they do say, or the Orator puts it: otis
.aid by them that knows" that before the year
goes by George will be Captain.
The Orator is still writing orations In his
little studio. He hasn't got quite as far as
Aldermans Chamber yet, but he expects to get
% Congress by and by. When he does tho
House OF Representatives will bs enlightened
,y some OF the marvellous specimens OF elo-
,uence which the orator has been spending
years in his moments of intellectual activity
md business leisure in Observation-Disclosures