The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-04-30
LONG AND SHORT
Tales and Incidents Taken from the
Notebooks of Journal Reporters.
Green Smiths Bon Not, Pro'uced in a Mo-
ment Of Disgust-Young Mans Predica-
ment-A DEPRIVED Horse.

ways SAYS Just about Wnat ne THINKS, re-
CARELESS of consequences. The other day.
in the lobby of the Bates House. h~ met a
friend with whom he had. in times gone by,
slipped many q friendly cocktail. and as a
matter of course. soon invitedhim TO partake
of another. lt happened that the friend
was In q facetious mood. and il occurred TO
him that IL would be something of q joke to
spring a surprise on the Attorney-general.
Il have quit drinking long ago." be said
solemnly. After long elaboration / have
concluded TO mend the error of my ways.
and no longer indulge in riotous ways nor
associate with the ungodly. And has it
never occurred TO you. ms dear friend.
that q man OF your position and dignity IS
a public officer. elected by the people.
should set a high moral example TO the
ignorant masses about you. Would IL not
be be tier for y on TO absfsia entirely from
Intoxicating liquors. to discountenance
the rum habit by letting il severely aIonc:"
Smith was dazed and s~stounded at first.
but as the friend proceeded on and on with
his lecture. pIling mp moral platitudes, this
tense disgust. At last the friend ended his
solemn n.onologue with. No. sir. / shall
never again put an enemy IN my mouth TO
steal away my brains"
"HumphD grunted the Attorney general,
II guess You couldn't convict him of grand
4 larceny If be did get 'em" and be started
OFF. +
People waiting for their trains. the regu-
liar loungers about and the officials Of the
Union Station saw nothing unusual in q
1 couple. q young man with q touch of gray
! in his hair and a suspicion of badness, and
O young woman attired in g. neat travelling
l gown, who had an air rs IL going some
! where. They entered the depot at an hour
: approaching midnIght. last week. and. in
deed. the under strata of feeling vas not
apparent. except, perhaps. to q elise OBJ
server. She was going away and he had
come down to say good bye lie was one
OF the well-known and well-liked clerks in,
the Dostofice. and she resided in st. Paul.
. She had been visiting friends in the city.
and had succeeded IN tying this particular
fs1nns man rh very fast to her dainty apron
one, and he was q trifle ~1nstcred
as be asked for her pocketbook,
and went up and purchased her ticket for
her. Handing her the change. he said that lie
swould keep the ticket until she got aboard
SO that there might be no difficulty in his
getting past the strict watohmen at the
gate. Then they went ont together, and
got her trunk checked. Neither said much.
1t Was not q time for profuse talking. but
"eyes looked love TO eyes which spake
again" and SO It went until the train ruIn-
bied into the station and the man with q
sonorous voice warned all who desired TO
take 1t that they had better get aboard.
He accompanied her TO IT.. found her the
best seat In the car, put her -innumerable
belongings away In the rack, and fixed her
: cloak so that her head would rest comfort
ably against it. Then he sank down on
the seat at her side and waited for
must climb of. and that she would be car
,ried far away. The signsl came all
too soon. There was q hurried clasp
OF the hand, q last look and
ing into space as the train gathered speed
and swept around the curve. The first
thing q man thinks of when he has under
gone some loss is tobacco, and this Young
man reached in his pocket for a cigarette.
HIS fingers felt q piece of paper. and. not
remembering what 1T could be. be pulled It
out and looked at 1t. Earth and sky came
together at that mOment. Its her ticket.lV
was all he could gasp. Next instant he
was tearing up the railroad track at q high
pressure speed. He ran half a square and
then realized that he coald not catch the
He rushed up to the man at the ticket
window, and. showing the bit of pasteboard
toward him. painted:
let the conductor put her OIL! I'll pay for
ir. only send it TO her, PIease." And his
voice broke into q supplication that moved
even the heart of the man who worked for
q railroad corporation BY dint of dilIgent
questions be found out who the her was
and wired the conductor of the train.
In the meantime. the young lady, not
thinking of material things. had ridden In
q cloudland OF past memories until the
conductor appeared on the scene. Then the
situation burst upon her. and it was, per-
haps. well that the young man was not
there The conductor didn't just exactly
say that he must put her OF, but be talked
about 1t in an uncomfortable way, and it
wns not until Lebanon was reached that
sns was able 10 prove to him that she was
not a fraud. Now the young man is wait
ing tor her 10 write.
+
There in q case of total depravity down
1t the police station. He is confined in q
cell separate from the other prisoners. and
the officers and attaches of the place, in
stead of e~xerting an influence for the bet
ter over him. utilize every opportunity to
encourage him IN his wickedness. The case
referred To is none other than Frank" the
spanking iron-gray horse, that does duty
in drawing the patrol wagon. Frank IS
not naturally base, out has acquired his
habits from constant association with the
class of prisoners brought To the place, and
from the fact that his stall is located with
in u few feet of that apartment known as
,ths bum ROOM" The most vicious of
rFrsnk's' accomplishment is an abnormal
desire to get hold OF a ping of tobacco. and
so often has this desire been satisfied
by frequenters of the station house
that be has finally degenerafed into an in
Seterate tobacco chewer. Woe 10 the man
who c0olly bites OF q chew from q plug in
the presence of the horse without tender
ing the weed. He must get out OF the AMI
male way or lay himself liable TO q severe
ibiting. The officials have long since learned
the value OF discretion. and all old men on
the force studlOusiy refrain from display
ing tobacco while the animal Is on duty.
How Prank" became possessed of the
strange habit no one around police head
quarters Is able to explain, but there are
many who can testify TO his craze for the
weed. His favorite chew Is Star plug. and
9recently Joe Steinrock. driver of the night
patrol, was con- PEELED 10 purchase several
nIckels' worth IN one evening TO satisfy his
comrades neighingsL Joe does not use
tobacco. and has made a number OF futile
attempts to reform the fallen Prank but
has now given up the task as hopeless.
Iernie Alberts and Will Colbert both use
vast ouantities of gum, and have no stand
ing with the wonderful equine since they
undertook TO substitute q stick of lucatan
between his teeth, one night last week. in
stead of the tobacco he was begging for.
William Wheeler. the day driver. is prob
ably the only man on the force who can
smoke a cigarette with dudish nonchal-
arce. and he nearly lost q hand the other
day when he rendered a lighted one TO
"Frank-" The horse draws the line at
cigarettes. and hence IS in high favor with
Nthe superInrendent. But his mania for
Afronu fnbafe0 Ia aomafhino afartfln0 M