The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-24
these two fighting for her, Here in the

these two fighting for her! Here in the
public gaze on the hatsl For almost
five minutes she was Helen Of Troy.
And i'll much less Billy tasted repent
ance. The haze of half pints was dis.
PEELED, and some teeth went with it.
Presently he rose and made a running
kick at the other, but being thwarted in
bolt flung himself down, and it was
like to go hard with him at the hands of
the crowd. Punch, you may, on Wan
sted flats, but eXecration and worse is
your portion if you kick anybody except
your wife.
But as the ring closed the helmets of
two policeman We're observed working
inward above the surrounding heads,
and Sam Cardew, quickly assuming his
coat, turned away with such an air of
blamelessness as is practicable with
damaged eye, while Billy went off I'M
needed i'll the opposite direction.
Billy was all very well, but Sam was
better She resolved to draw him for
feathered hat before next bank holiday.
SO the sun went down OH her and her
bloke hanging on each others necks apd
struggling toward the Romford road
with shouts and choruSes. The rest was
trancar, low music hall, half pints and
darkness.
Billy took home his wounds, and his
mother, having moved his wrath by ask
ing their origin, sought refuge with a
neighbor. His revenge he accomplished
i'll two installments. Two nights later
Lizerunt was going with jug of beer
when somebody sprang from park cor
ner, landed her under the ear, knocked
her sprawling and made off to the sound
of her hullabulloo. She did not see who
it was, but she knew, and next day Sam
Cardcw was swearing he'd break Billys
back.
He did not, however, for that evening
gang of seven or eight fell on him with
sticks and belts. (They We're Causeway
chaps, while Sam was Il Brady's laner,
which would have been reason enough
by itself, even if Billy Chope had not
been one of them.)
He lay at home for nearly four weeks,
and when he stood up again it was in
many bandages. Lizerunt came often
to his bedside, and twice she brought an
orange.
But the weeks Went on. 1t was a
month, and Sam had left his bed, and
Lizerunt was getting little tired of
bandages. Also she had begun to doubt
and consider bank holiday scarcely a
fortnight off.
For Sam was stone broke, and plush
hat was farther away than ever. And
all through the later of these weeks Billy
Chope was harder than ever on his
mother.
There was milliner's window with q
show of nothing but fashionable plush
and feather hats, and Lizerunt was lin
gerinS thereabouts one evening when
some one took her by the waist, and
some one said: Which dyer like, Lizer:
The yuller un:'
LiZerunt turned and saw it was Billy.
She pulled herself away and backed off,
sullcn and distrustful. earn" she said.
''Straight" said Billy. iii sport yer
one. No kid, will"
"Garn,' said Lizcrunt once more.
"Wot yer gcttin at now"
But presently she approached less
guardedly, and she went away with a
paper bag and the reddest of all the
plushes and the bluest of all the feath-
ers, Il hat that challenged all the flats
the next bank holiday.
AS for Billy, why, he was as good as
another, and you can't have everything,
and Sam Cardew, with his bandages and
his grunts and groans. was no great
catch after all.
This was the wooing of Lizerunt, for
i'll few months she and Billy married
And they lived with Billy's mother
National Observer.