The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-01-12
HIS OLD FRIENDS.
Read This, Then Listen to the Crickets'
Song''-Had Them in His Pockets.

He was an old man in a faded straw
hat and a ragged oyercoat and he sat
on a bench under a tree on the COM
mon. Presently a companion sat
down on the other half OF the bench
with him. The newcomer soon had
his curiosity aroused by what sounded
very much like the noise made by
crickets. He carefully scrutinized the
bark of the tree and looked under the
bench, but could not discover the per-
petrator of the noise. Finally, turn
ing to the old man, he remarked:
Il guess you must have a cricket
round your clothes somewhere.
Il amt got but two or three now,"
was the answer. Sometimes | have
a dozen or more"
Garry 'em in your pockets, eh?"
yes, they're all the friends I've got
left" replied the aged pilgrim, sadly.
Like to hear 'em sing, l s'pose?"
Yes, it sort o cheers me up, an it
don't cost nothin'."
Don't they never let up on sing
ing?" inquired his companion, after
a pause as he listened to the muffled
notes.
"Skurcely, skurcely, they're won
derful little animale," affirmed the
aged one, with great solemnty.
81 should think they'd wear their
throats out"
Wear their throats QUIT Dang It'll
the ignorance OF folks in gineral makes
me sick. Cricks don't sing with their
mouth or throats, man."
You don't say. How do they, then?"
with theiI wings. or their wing
covers, | shonld say. You see they are
Tidged on the under side, an the fric-
ton Of rubbin' EN- together makes the
creakin' you hear. Talk about yer
white wings that never grows weary!
Why, man, the cricket is the next
thing to perpetual motion when it
comes to working wings. 1t never
gets tired
What makes 'em sing all the time?"
Its only the male that sings. Con-
trary to the human species, it's the fe-
male that keeps her mouth shut in
this case, an the male does all the
hootin'. Some says he does it only to
attract the female, but if this is so
some Of 'em must have purity hard
luck in court. for I've heard 'em
keep it up all day an night too. But
I'm of the opinion that the critter
sings a good deal Of the time just be-
cause he's happy-same as the birds
dc"
Its funny how they never git tired
amt it?"
That's what puzzled me at first"
resumed the old man, sagely: but
Eve just come to the conclusion that
the friction Of the wings makes lee
tricty, an arter they geg we'll charged
they sorter work themselves, don't yer
see?"
The ancient wayfarer paused few
moments as lie wiped away the tobac-
co juice from the corners of his mouth,
and then he whispered confidentially,
as his small eyes twinkled eXcItedIy:
They'll fight like wildcats, too.
Want to see emp" and he produced
two small boxes from his pockets.
The boxes had sliding covers of glass
and were pierced with small holes. In
one Of the boxes was only one large
cricket, while in the other there were
three or four. The old man opened
the latter and tished one out and drop
ped it into the box with the big fellow.
instantly the two crickets made a ter
rifle rush at each other and were at it
tooth and nail.
In China and Germany cricket
fights is one of the principal amUse-
ments," remarked the old man. They
never stop until one gives in or is
killed."
As he held the box in his hand and
the two watched the fierce struggle of
the combatants, people stopped to see
what was going on and soon quite
a crowd had gathered to watch the
sport
Cheese it! Dere comes a cop!"
yelled a bootblack, whereupon the
lonely old man whose only friends
were the crickets hastily separated
the antagonists and put the boxes into
nis pocket.
Dang it," he growled. as he hurried
down the mall. I'D oughter passed the
hat afore that bloke hove in sight. Be
tween the cops an the 2, c. A. chumps
a poor man has a hard time gettin' q
livin'. ."-B0St0R Journal.