The morning call., 1893-01-09
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- BLACK ~o
W[7lI77L5
NUMBER FIVE.
Billy Buyers Big Head.

What may be truly termed the financial
venture to date for 1898 took place Satur
day evening in a tail tenement house Oh
Jessie street, near Fifth.
as yet there have been no cash returns
from the transaction, which broke a large
ragged hole in the peaceful, sunlit Sabbath
morn and froze up a friendship of long
standing between two estimable females.
The financial end Of the affair involved 10
cents in nickels. one sperm candle and little
Billy Buger. who, if he keeps in touch with
himself along his present lines, may de-
velop into great fnaneler.
But in the meantime Billy Bulger is full
of dull. throbbing aches, and his ma and
Mrs. ricketts, do not converse as they
float by.
The spot in which this unhappy state Of
affairs exists is in ihree-stOry apartment
house. Every Saturday afternoon the
women folks on each floor scrub the stairs
leading to their respective landings. BY
this arrangement the steps are always in
shipshRpe for Sunday visitors.
Billy and his folks live on the top floor
and Mrs. Ricketts, on the second the ground
floor being occupied by grocer who is not
in on the scrubbing deal.
Fate SO Wills that Mrs. Ricketts, shall scrub
the first fight, which has twenty-six steps
in il. TO Mrs. BulGer's seventeen. This
architectural defect in an otherwise happy
and perfect home has often led Mrs Ricketts,
to observe. good naturally of course, in Mrs.
Buyers presence, that the soft snaps III
this life were not so evenly divided as they
might be. but at the same time she is the
last person in the world to grumble at her
lot herself.
Anyhow. she can see all Of Ms. Bulger's
visitors FIRST, and there is some consolation
in that.
About o'clock Saturday evening Billy
Bulger, who has been saving up. took his
ten cents in hand and started down stairs
to make few purchases for himself. On
the way down he was cOgitating whether TO
invest in smoked behring's or cigarettes, and
had decided on some OF each, when he
dropped one OF his nickels on Mrs. Ricketts,
steps
solitary gas jet burning dimly on the
upper landing knocked the wire edge off
the gloom in the hall. but the light wasn't
strong enough to enable Billy to recover his
money
After fruitless search Billy broke out
with bright idea He had an Inspiration
as it were. Going to the grocery lie invested
tile remaining half Il sis capital in a candle
and started on srill hunt for the other
coin.
Three several times did braIny-boy Billy
explore each square inch Of Mrs Rckels'
freshly scrubbed steps with his dripping
TORCH. He kept ND the search until the
candle nad exhausted itself drop by drop,
and thanks to BiIly's untiring energy 70
two drops fell in the same place.
Then Billy Bulger OF Jessie street went
home broke.
The night wore on apace, and peace and
harmony reigned in the home Of the grocer,
the Burgers and the Ricketses.
When the cold steely glimmer of a pale
gray dawn had been FURNISHED with the
light Of mellow day bright shalt OF sum
slime streamed in at the hail window.
1t Illuminated Mrs. Ricketts, twenty-six
redwood steps till they looked like a
slaughter sale Of polka-dot shirts in The
front window of a clothing-store. Soon
Mrs. Ricketts, was astir. and then Mrs. Bull
ger received her first Sunday visitor.
What these two ladies' said is their own
business, aud therefore viii not be pub
lished. Mrs Bulger, however, spoke to her
husband, who In turn spoke TO the young
Napoleon Of finance harbored by the fam
lily. emphasizing his remarks with q bed
Stat they happened to have in the house.
This occurred before Billy got his clothes
on.
Mrs. Ricketts, worked till o'clock In the
afternoon shaving her steps with a cheese
knife. and this they say. is why Billy Bull
gers face is turned toward the pillow when
he sleeps. CHARLES DRYDEN.