The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-06-24

young man who wore his hair cropped
closely and showed taste in the Selec-
ton of neckties. He had read all the
way from Thucydides to the Duchess,
and uttered smart phrases which he
thought epigrammatic. Also, he was
addicted to verse writing-bad vesse
about death and love which nobody
would read. But his f~avorite pastime
was the writing of imaginary obituary
notices of himself, made up of glowing
eulogiums of his intellectual achieve
ments," and full of such phrases as 1.-THE
literary figure of the century, ~ "a style
peculiarly his own" and so on.
Perhaps it is well to say that his heart
beginning to read the lady novelists.
But then he was only twenty-five years
of age.
Bolter had been doing work for differ
ent newspapers but had not prospered
because his language was too fiowery and
he lacked a certain perception necessa-
ry to distinguish news from news.
Finally he found that his services were
not wanted, but he still haunted the
local rooms, trying to sell his lorid
copy. This was pathetic-since nobody
bought it-but no one had the courage
to tell him that nature had not Sc
lected him to be newspaper man. He
soon joined the money-borrowing horde,
and then his trousers became fringed,
and he had just become a familiar street
figure when he dropped suddenly out OF
sight. At the end of a week he was
forgotten, for just at that time start
ling things happened.
An organized band, among which it
was thought were several notorious
criminals, had been robbing houses in
the western section of the town, to
the terror of the public and the despair
of the police departments, which had
thus far been unable to obtain a tangi-
BILE clew. Indeed, SO marked became
their skill in operating under the very
eyes of the law that they were nick
named the ''Slippers,' while the author
tiles We're harshly criticised. 1t was
during the %disquiet following one of
their most successful raids that | came
upon Bolter, late at night, while smok-
ing my way honeward. He was with
two shabby men, whom he dismissed
with a word when he saw me.
Joe" | said, looking at him sharply,
"where have you been all this time,
and what have you been doing?'
He glanced over his shoulder nervous
ly, | fancied. and then looked at me
with a weak smile. There was a shifty
look in his eyes that l had never seen
there before.
I've been alternating at home try
ing to evolve a masterpiece for poster
ity."
But the ~buoyancy was unreal, for his
Zip qulvered, land, with a husky good
night" he left me.
About a week later the slippers Sc
leeted a house on Nineteenth street and
stripped it. Excitement ran high, and
the paper became sarcastic anent the
local administration. On a SATURDAY.
night was sitting in a hotel reading
one of those scornful effusions when
Bolter and a companion entered. They
did not perceive me. but when l saw
them go into the billiard room-which
was frequented mainly by gamblers
and patrons of the turf followed in
sorrow. The man with Bolter was a
boisterously dressed but dirty individ-
ual. whose general aspect was so unim-
pressive that | sighed for the boy.
They had stopped near a table and
were talking angrily. AS l looked,