Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-10-22
CHAPTER ~.
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had 1t then; that was bef ore Improvement
ruined the ncighbOrhood The houses in
5weet Apple lane. now mostly untenant-
I'd, were crowded with tenants, and the
Joy was favorite house OF call" Tor all
sorts OF bad characters who lived there,
aud for the men employed In Bakers
wharf, which was then one OF the busiest
stores for dry sailing on this side OF the
river.
Fly Jlgger did well by legitimate trade
but he made still more money by dishonest
means and principally By plunderlng Bux-
ter's wharf For this purpose he and his
crew had made passage under the fore
shore. opening at Que end into the cellar OF
the Joy and at the other end into the
cellar Of the wharf This passage was
called the tub run, because, to prevent the
sides falling in, It WINS lined with casks
with their heads removed and set end TO
end. Az soon Hs the house WIS closed at
night Fly Jigger and his mates would set
70 work, going through the tub run into
Baxter's wharf and returning with goods
from the storerOOms. have seen them
bring out "A many ~ 10 hams In Il night.
The secret wis never found out, but when
tho trade went from Baxter'sand the wharf
was cleared out and clo5ed the run was no
longer 81 any service. The wharf watch
man who had been party to these robber-
les, took care to close and conceal the cellar
opening and Fly JiXgcr masked the open
ing on his side with a flAgstone aud a bar.
row lead Of rubbish. which. trodden down.
presented no difference from the rest OF the
unpayed floor. Previous to that, to keep
the brewers out OF the cellar, he had rn.
moved the beer barrels, which thenceforth
he kept set up behind the bar, saying that
IL was more fair and squArelike for the Gus
TONERS 10 see their beer drawn from the
wood than through the engine from the
deuce knows where,
The closing Of Baxters wharf was sad
blow TO him, but q worse came soon after.
for being Of atoo active disposition he took
to smuggling tobacco and rum from incom.
ing ships, and being discovered 10y the ex-
cise was sent to prison. and the Joy Lost
Its license. The brewers obtained frelh
license 10 sell beer and put Putty in to
manage the house. When be came, the
DpFlng tides had flooded the cellar, ard see.
1ng that 1t waa OF no use he had the trap
screwed down 10 save the expense Of put.
ting new hinges init. since then. ns have
sRld. no one had ever gone down into the
ccllnr
With these recolloctions crowding my
mind and the means they suggested OF de-
livertng Tatas filling my heart with a wild
delight, hurried down Ferrybont alley,
and after looking about carefully TO make
sure that no one was observing me wedged
myself through the ventilating hole aud
dropped into the wharf cellar. knew eN-
nctly whore the opening existed, having
taken part myself "a some OF the old ma.
rGnding expeditions, and dropping down
upon my hands and knees brushed tho
dirt away from the stone that covered tho
hole. There was not enough light to see
1t, but / could trace the outline plainly
enough with my fingers.
But how was l 10 raise the heavy finR'
There was no ring or anything TO catch
hold Of, aud knew that II worked away
the rubbiah sufficiently 20 get my hands
underneath / should still be unable to lift
IL. l must have something 10 pry IL up
with. A bar Of iron would do. It struck
ms chat might ilnd what needed among
the old iron IN lohnson's yard II had
thought OF that beforehand, might have
brought It in with me, but was too Inn
patient OF delay, too eager TO begin. to
waste time In regrets,
ClRmberlng up to tho ventilator, looked
out. Some boys were playing on the shore.
there 1t seemed to me that they would
never weary of throwing stones into the
water, but ut length they gave IL up and
went away. Then l slipped out, and pre-
tending 90 be looking for odds and ends on
the shore made my way up to Johnson's
yard and got In through u gap In the pal
lug II didn't take long TO find what
Nganted-a broken stoking iron looked TO
me just the thing. Asking myself II there
wis anything clsn should nerd, 1t oc.
Cured to ne that a candle would be nee
cEsary, tho cellar Of the JOY being even
darker than the wharf cellar. The gates
of tho yard opened into Sweet Apple lane,
md as they closed imporfoctly was just
able tosqueezo through-thanks TO being a
When / had bought halfpsnuy candle
and box Of matches out OF tho money
given me by Putty, the trembling OF my
knees and feeling OF faintness reminded
mo that Ind eaten nothing all day, so
bought u small loaf and some cold fish and
treated myself 10 cup OF coffee with my
last halfpeuny. The hot coffee set me mp
wonderfully, and with revived energy 70.
turned 20 the yard and hiding the bar
undor my dress snenked back 20 the stairs.
Then after another cautious look around.
finding the coast clear, / slipped tho stok-
ing iron through the ventilntor and fol-
lowed It almost rs swiftly.
It was harder job than / expected to
move the hngetone and get It out OF the
way. But stuck TO It, with the pcrspirn-
tia running down my face, until. tho sem
t.ation 81 sickness aeizing me ngnin, had
70 give over for time TN had eaten my
loaf nnd rcRained strength. At length,
hayirg worked the stone aside, about foot
ont Of It's place, knelt down to feel II the
opening WA large enough for me TO pasa
through lfor had not III the candle 20 do
this work.. and then 70 my dismay l dis
covered that the too careful wntchman had
filled the hcle with rubbish. Sinking
down on the ground. l could have cried
with the mingled feelings Of rage and die
appointment, Int thinking Of Taras des-
peraslon ovcgcnme those sentiments, and
apringiug up on my knees tore attho rub
biah with my hands vehemently, like a dog
In o warren. determined to reach Taras,
= .ough had 70 dig my way TO him through
the solid earth.
Happily the rubbish was loose and Yield
ed readily to my hands, and still more hap
PLY there were not above four or i've feet
OF II, or ] might never have got down 70 tho
tab run with all my discrimination. An
empty hpx thrown down had got jammed
A.. NJ. - "a.