Morning journal and courier., 1894-02-17

touched his own bell, Ninth Floor, Rear, was inside the door in an instant. and was making fine headway up the stuffy stairs, when a frowsy head with e hstchet face, hooking Itself over the lower pewel-post ss If 1t had been sprung from its capsclous panels by his guilty tread, snapped ont,
 "Mister HsrdyI'
 "Oh-aha' he stsmmerei, balting on the last stair as If caught red handed in the apartment house domestic crime of ss- cending to his own domicile without hay ing given account of himself. "Is that you, Mrs. Rasperi"
 "Yes, it's mel"
 "Well, my dear Mrs. Rasper," he tenn porized while his heart beat rapidly, for he did not know just how to handle ths virsgo turnkey of these modern penitenti- ary home-cells without 6 penny in his pocket, "what-vhat Is 1t you wishE"
 "Stuffl" chopped out the nsuel post tooIn
 ''Coal s outer your bin"
 "Ahln
 "Grccsr s raupin' round"
 "Well, veil"
 "Milkman says youse givin' him th' Bowery."
 "Ths Boweryl"
 "Yee, the faucet"
 "Yes th' D. B."
 "Well, we'll. welll I'm surprissdl"
 "I aint. 'N' th' lan'lord says rent Sat urdsy, or out youse go."
 Dear, dear!-not quite SO bad. Mrs. Rasper; there's 6 good woman: I'll see about 1t at once; st once, Mrs. Rasper."
 "fouse better" And with this the frowsy head, hstchet fses and biting tongue Of Mrs. Rssper, isnitress, dissp- pesred Into the newel.post or the equally dark mahogany somewhere with a sharp click and loud bang.
 Up, up, up, he stumbled to where an- other head, little, round, kindly, smil- ing head had hooked itself over a bslus- ter; not as hideous gsrgoyle Ike the one below, but as calm, clear, ever steadfsst mentally exclaimed. ''God bless that loyal fsce" as he st last espitd it and smiled back Its bright welcome; though his heart sank within him as he reflected that he could bring its precious owner no other news than of hard, hard times and every where his own Ill success and failure.
 And SO out of the compassionate cow srdice of his heart he began temporizIng again. Before he had turned upon his own landing he stopped, reached up over the stsir-rail, drew his wif-'s face to his own, kissed 1t tenderly, and still stand ing on the stairs with his arm half around her waist, as he seemed to be merely resting leisurely from his effort up the eight psir of stairs, he said pleasantly and effectively,
 "Dot'-he called her Dot, becsuse 1t always seemed to him thst she hsd the happy faculty of puuciusting their af- fairs with kindly duties and resolves- Dot, you know that whenever I climb these internal stairs it always ssems to me that the lower down s fellow gets in city life the nearer his abode reaches to hesveni'
 "CspItsl ideal" returned Dot enthusias- ticslly, "Ill iot 1t right down and put it in your Ideas' envelope immediately sf- ter supper That is"
 Here she paused and looked at Richard Hardy, hterator, ruefully-
 "oh, that's all right, Dot" he replied, quickly divining her meaning, and giv- ing vigorous rssssuring thumpipgs to va rious protrusions of pockets and coat skirts.
 "Goodl" said the little woman. bright enirg up not!ceably. "But, oh. Dick Hardy, where did you ever get that costE'
 "Oh, shl Yes, this coat. This map of Connsught, you meant Stood in line for 1t, Dot"
 ou don't mean ir, Dicki"
 'Sure. The other one went-went up the sluice, Dot, to get some returned manuscripts out Of the post office. You know, Dot, the winter storms whistle pretty recklessly around the front of the government buildiugl Well. was stand ing there with the manuscripts and with out the coat. Rather chilly exchange, Doti Seeing the 'or clo's' line forming below, in front of the old Herald build ing, l just pulled my jacket collar as high as l could, dropped my face ss far as 1t would go, put my glasses on upside down so no one would know me, and fell In line with the rest of the Godforsakens"
 "Poor, poor Dicki" whispered Dot con solingly over the bsluster rail.
 "No poor Dick about it, Dot It was great luck. Well, there was sn awful lot of chsttering, shivering, shuddering and moaning in that crowd. and some club bing by the police, just to keep our bloJd d circulating, they said; but at last I got swept In there somehow. A pompous old fellow seemed to siugie me out for a fraud He glared at me for 8 while, and then he whispered to sn officer, who ysnked me inside the railing. I thought for a mo- ment, Dot, of the Tombs and the leland: but after old Pomp had glsrsd at me for a few minutes longer he questioned me & lit tie, then walked around and around In a circle, chsfing and spusteting as though the room were too small for him. Of sudden be blurted out he'd be upper cut, loEer-ribbed and stomsch-gitted If 1t wasn't blsnkety -blsnked tough when he jerked the Irish friezs coat from his own ponderous frame, chucked me into the coat, and then gave me & rush out the side door. as though he might possibly relent If I was not hustled out livelyl"
 Two heads and four arms had su sffec-