The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-05

a. n0NKBSB III i I'LL
heard one say, tho taller OF the two a YER
table street urch.n who wore a soggv fur
esp. which gave him rather the aspect Of
! soused rat
.Tvo dimes and eight cents. Jim. How
much yer got2"
/ could NOT quite determine from The
sneakers tone whether he considered the
result satisfactory or otherwise from the
roint Of view Of trade. 1t was not exactly
forlorn and yet certainly not triumphant.
Il vss rather that of the established mer-
ehant taking account of stock at the close
81 business hours and conscious that one
day has to be rsckoned in with those which
have preceded and those which are to fol-
Low il in order to Judge OF success or fail
IRE. Clearly. however, ne considered shas
sOnly six cents, Patsy. ! had no luck,
anaverSd the smaller boy, who. now that |
glanced q him for q second time. touched
narhaps by the pathos OF his speech, seemed
p~itifuily ANAL to be wrestling with the big
vorld on his own account. He wore by
va Of IN overcoat . red knitted scarf, the
ends Of which dangled down in front, and
sfter exhibiting the precious result of his
days labor on his palm, he blsw on his I'm
- ma thrust tho hand back into his side
nooket 10 match its fellow. Still he did
not look particularly cold. Indeed, l came
q IA conclusion that the scarf and his
tide pockets were his only ordinary and &C
oustomsd protection against the rigots OF
winter Weather.
that / had not noticed . seedy q slightly
intoxicated individual coming toward me
until q Ruying exclamation on the part of
both the BOYS drew my attention to him.
The fellow was en%deavorinR with the mock
dignity Of inebriation to maintain his
euuilibrium ON the sidewalk by dir of
stabbinR the ice with his umbrella point at
critical iuncturss. He had q long nose and q
long moustache, which gave him the air of a
%disreputable Don Quixote, for the two ends
OF his moustache were twisted wi II
utterly ont OF harmony with each other.
From under his SLOUGH hat, however, a pair
Of Qrssnish, yellow eyes psepsd out SO alive
with good nature and so suggestive some
how Of 4 humorous consciousness of his
own miserable absurdity that said to my
self ''poor devil' with more genuine fervor
than one 10 apt to indulge in under similar
circumstances. But apparently for the
boys he was merely a drunken man who
was fair game. At least Patsy assailed him
promptly, as he paused once moro and held
on to the sidewalk with his umbrella point
for dear life, with:
5sHu| xxOAO tOO1 Udbct uAbbcHs AAciC wv
ont aud the only Kelly's at the bat"
STEADY now, Gully; wait for a passed
ball." cried Jim with the exaggerated ur-
gsncy Of = genuine base ball coach.
As il apt to be the case with persons in
his plight, their besotted victim was merely
spurred by these invectives to try to prove
how incorrect was the assumption that his
that was still good humored though proud
be drew himself up to his tall full height
after a preliminary collection OF his snsr-
gies. and with a nonohalant swing Of his
umbrella, as if to show he had no particu-
lar use for it, he lurched forward grandly
and for q moment successfully.
Yer doing great business. old man.
pipsd Jim by wav Of encouragement.
Squared perhaps by the little %rascal's
words Don Quixote flung all prudence to
the winds. He made a defiant step to the
front and, slipping e~gregiously. utterly
lost his balance and pitched forward over
the edge of the eurb-stone on to the slushy.
filthy pavement. His hat few one way. his
umbrella, the point OF which snapped in an
abortivs attempt IN his part to stay his
fall. another. These last details dawned
upon me later when I was thinking the
matter over. At the moment l merely saw
the man shoot forward, and heard the guy
ing voice of little Jim shrek, "Three out,
all out" Then before l had time to think
/ was struggling with u brute of a herdic
horse whose feet were threatening to crush
tho breath out OF the PROSTATE stranger.
Rather it was the driver who was the brute.
He had come swinging round the corner
with the utter disregard Of life and limb
for which the gentry know as herdic drivers
are celebrated. ! will do him the justice to
state that / do not think he wished to kill
the man if he could escape doing so then;
Ut least, he strove to back his animal with
passable enthusiasm.
While ! was struggling with the horse
and driver l was aware that the newsboye
Tatsy and Jim were lahoring at my side to
raise their fallen victim. At last, by our
joint efforts, the death-dealing herdic wae
free to proceed on its way. The driver
must have had a guilty conscience to judge
from the fashion in which be
piled the whip. We had dragged Dor
Quixoto on to the sidewalk, from which
we assisted him to rise with considerable
trepidation on my part that every Done ir
his body WAS broken. But though dazeC
and dripping with muck he was able t.
stand. which proved that his underpinninp.
at least were still sound. What u gruesom,
looking object he was, TO be sure! Hi
hair was replete with an interminRliug O.
mud and blood from a n slight cash in hi
forehead; his moustache seemed to poin'
mp and down In its eccentricity. He looket
far more ridiculous than ever. But tn,
humor6 OF the situation were apparent,
lost upon my young assistants. They stoot
looking up at me with u~ndisguised con
Germ, though l do not imagine that the,
considered themselves n whit to blame TO
his disaster and presently Patsy inquire.
In his own choice vernacular:
do you think the bloke's busted any
thing, misterI"
II guess not; he doesn't seem much hurt
How ia it, my man, can you move you
srms?"
The fellow. who had been slowly collect
ing his scattered senses. glanced down frou
one hand to anothe as the result of m
question and stretched apart his fingers il
involuntary disgust at their miry aspec,
Psrceiving that he had escaped serious in
Jury ! said;
"Whers do you livs?"
He told me in = thick, husky voice, which
though Ineligible enough. showed that h
vas still the worse for tho liquor he ha
swallowed. Then he began to look himsel
ever with Q hAlf-ashamsd.~ half-maudlin ali
glancinG Ut NJ once or twice with a humor
Gus twinkle ~ II TO let us know that b
sould appreciate . joke against himself.
Ny irst impulse WAS to let him 60 on hi
Vay Ard oensigs him 10 oblivion; my nez