The morning call., 1893-05-07


ing OF the difficulty changed the charge TO
that of simple assault and a fine of 500
which Havens insisted upon paying, settled
the damages.
But enough of Havens' freaks in the
business into which he embarked with
determination to rev0lutiOniZe it. During
the first months the receipts were large but
IN balancing accounts ut the end OF it little
or nothing remained to be divided in the
way of profits. The partners had lived
well, even eXlrayagantly, but that was
about all their capital aad labor had
yielded.
The exhibit was not satisfactory to
Havens. and his enthusiasm began TO wane
The expenses of the establishment were 30
per cent more than the business warranted.
Tbs purchasing was extravagantly done,
and employment given to double the num-
Der of walters and kitchen assistants re-
qaired But he would not retrench. That
would amount to an acknOw ledgment that
his theories had proved to be faulty, which
he was by no means prepared to publicly
admit whatever may have been his own
views on the subject. He did not greatly
regret that he had gone into the business
since the money lie had invested was of
little consequence TO him; but he felt that
he should not regard as the greatest cal
amity that could happen fire or flood that
would leave the place wreck. The wreck
I'm aly came, but in an unexpected way.
The Hole in the Wall was within a few
doors Of Lees Exchange, a large, une-story
gamblin?alall of evil repute, at That time
rented by party of three-card-monte and
ten-dice pirates. All kinds of rascally
games were carried on within and on the
veranda in front of it. and far into the
morning of every night the place was bed
lam of shout, Song and profanity. Between
l and o'clock IN the morning the Hole i'll
the Wall was largely DatrOuized by the
nightbaNks of Lees Exchange. Tney paid
liberally and were served with refreshments
suitable to the hour
About s o'clock one morning a gang of
twelve or fifteen of them came in together
They had been on a lark somewhere and
seemed to be i'll a jolly mood. They occu-
pied tables in groups of two and three. and
for an hour or more they kept the night
waiter and his kitchen assistant busy. With
suspicious prcdgality, they ordered fine
wines and choice food refreshments until
the sum of their aggregate bills amount ted
to over $500, when. In seeming spirit of
haif-drunken frOlic, they began to throw
slices of bread at each other Heavier mis-
siles soon followed, and then the sport began
in earnest. The purpose OF the rioters was
now manifest. From the beginning 1t had
been planned to end their entertainment
with the semblaDce of a general fight and
thus get ort OF the house without settling
their bills.
Slipping from the room the waiter hastily
stumbled up a narrow flight of stairs TO the
second story and. awaking Havens. in
formed him of what was Transporting below.
Springing from his cot and drawing on his
trousers and boots Havens snatched a re-
vnlver from under his pillow and started
downstairs. By the time he reached the
saloon ali the lights were out and the place
was almost wreck
He was evidently expected, for as he
opened the door connecting with the
Kitchen. with a dim light at his back, cas-
ter was thrown at his head. 1t missed the
mark, but G bottles were shattered against
the decreasing within foot OF it and his
eyes received part OF the flying contents
Of the cayenne pepper cTuet Blind and al
most crazed with pain he rapidly empted
the chambers OF lis revolver at random as he
advanced in o the room. Meantime the
gamblers drew their pistols ana began 10
fire at everything in the saloon except the
proprietor, whom they did not seem dis
posed t. additionally injure.
EXhaustIng his shots Havens viciOusly
threw his revolver at an lmag enemy
and, coming in contact with a chair, seized
it by the back ana assisted in the work of des-
truction by swinging it in wild fury around
his head as he bllndly groped his way
among the ruins
BY this time Ferguson and two or three
of the day walters aroused by the fusillade
made their appearance, armed with cleayers,
butcher-kniYes and other weapons found in
peared, leaving Ravens in the middle of
the room with upraised chair, listening for
footstep 10 guide his avenglng hand.
Satisfied that the rioters had escaped to the
street, as parting shot he savagely hurled
the chair in that direction, which com pleted
the demolition of the show-w indow and
then with blOod-curdling mDrecatiOns be-
gan to stamp the floor in agony and wipe
the pepper from his eyes with his shirt
Sleeve.
He was led into the kitchen by Ferguson.
where with proper bathing the cayenne was
finally washed from his eyes, and he was
able. by the aid of hand-lamp, TO view the
wreck he had assisted to some extent in
making. II was complete The floor was
strewn with broken glassware and cTockery
the mirrors and wall pictures, many of them
eXi enSive, were full of bullet-h holes; the
sideboard had been overturned with every
one OF the tables; the bottles had been
swept from the wine-racks behind the cOun-
ter, and little rlvuletS OF mingled cham
ragne and claret had found their way out
of the front door. The night waiter, who
nad taken good care of himself during the
disturbance, related the story of the calam-
iiy. with further information that patrol
man, whom he had nightly treated to Oys-
ters as an incentive to extra watchfulness,
had looked in Immediately after the rioters
disappeared, but showed no disposition 20
make any arrests.
Ferguson was in despair "The scoun-
Altlo uuBhI W oulIoI lUi tllAt ub 5alu, Will
tears in his ewes.
Yes. with drunken headaches" was
HaveDs' not very cOnsohng reply. They
came in to beat the house and carried the
joke little further than was neighborly"
"Do you intend TO DO nothing about il ?"
"Oh, yes. we'll 60 something, Dan. Wen
lock the door and 90 TO bed"
And SO they did, Ferguson feeling that
Providence had deserted him and Havens
that il had kindly opened hole through
which he could conveniently crawl out Of
the restaurant business in Sacramento with
ont further humiliation.
With a cheerfuness quite astounding to
Ferguson, Havens paid off and discharged
their help early in the morning, with q
gratuity for cleaning up the place, and then
turned the wreck over to Starr, the auc-
tioneer, to be sold under the hammer for
the benefit of his discon solate partner. II
was not until he came back with the auc
tioneer that he observed that few slight
changes had been made in the lettering OF
the sign over the door by the humorous ras-
calls who had made a desolatlon OF the
interior. Hole in the WaH' had been
neatly converted into Hell in the Well"
Starr stared at the sign and grinned,
Hayens expressed his appreciation of il in
roars of laughter and Ferguson greeted IL
with sad smile.
The next day Havens left for the mines.
with eyes little inhamed, but as cheerful
as If he had just stumbled upon a pocket of
nuggets. He is still living. The public is
in ba habff NJ 1icfa T.