The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-16

NOlAAC ere L q e d lttlE Ldlh Win you. man
to man-d'ye see?'' And he frowned
fiercely.
Tommy Simmons felt uncomfortable,
but the door would not shut, so he par
leyed. Wolfe want?" he asked. Il dunno
you"
Then if you'll excuse the liberty, I'll
interdooce meself, in a manner Of speak
ing" He touched his cap with a bob of
mock humility. I'm Bob Ford" he said,
come back out o. Kingdom Come, so to
say. Me as went down with the MOCltan-
safe dead five year gone. I come to see
my wife"
Come to see my wife" the man re-
peated. so now we can talk il over-as
man to man"
Simmons slowly shut his mouth. and led
the way upstairs mechanically his fin
gers still in his hair. A sense of the state
OF affairs sank gradually into his brain,
and the small devil woke again. Suppose
this man was Ford? Suppose he did claim
ms wife? Would it be a knock-down
blow? Would it hit him out-or not? He
thought of the trousers, the tea things,
the mangiing, the knives, the kettles and
the windows, and he thought of them in
the way of a backslider.
On the landing Ford clutched at his arm
and asked in a hoarse whisper: COW
long fore she's back?"
Bout hour, l expect" Simmons re-
phed, having first Of all repeated the
question in his own mind And then he
opened the parlor door
Abr said Ford, looking about him,
you've bin pretty comftabIe Them
chairs an things"-jerking his pipe to-
ward them-"was her's-lnine that is to
say, speaking straight, and man to man"
lie sat down, putting meditatively at his
pipe, and presently: well" he con-
tlnued, "ere L am ag'n-ole Bob Ford,
dead an done for; GAVIN down in the
Hoo .s--HA i.
he pointed the stem Of his pipe at Sim
mons waistcoat IT amt done, for, cause
why? Cons kence O being picked up by a
ole German sailin'-utch, nm took to
| Frisco fore the mast I've 'ad a few
years O. knoclin about since then, an
now''-looking hard at Simmons-"rve
come back to see my wife"
'She-she don't like smoke in ere"
said Simmons, as it We're at random.
No, l bet she don't" Ford answered,
| taking his pipe from his mouth and hold
ing it low in his hand. L know Amer.
'Ow dyou find 'er? DO she make ye
clean the winders?"
well" Simmons admitted. uneasily, 81
I DO clip 'er sometimes, O. course"
'Ah. an the knives, too, I bet; an the
bloomin' httles / know. Wy'-he rose
and bent to look behind Simmons head
''s'elp me, b'lieve she cuts yer air. Jes
what she would do, too"
He inspected the blushing Simmons
from divers points of vantage. Then he
| lifted leg of the trousers hanging be-
hind the door. ia bet a trile,' he said
| she made these ere trucks. Nobody else
I'd do EN- like that"
The small devil began to have the argu-
ment all his own way. If this man took
his wife back, perhaps he'd have to wear
| those trousers.
"Ah" Ford pursued, "she amt got no
! milder- An, my Davy, wot a ioreu
Simmons began to feel that this was no
| longer his business. Plainly, Amer was
! the other mans wife, and he was bound
| in honor to acknowledge the fact. The
small devil put it to him as a matter of
! duty.
well" said Ford, suddenly, times
| short an this amt business. l won't be
| ard on you, matey. I ought, prop'ly to
| stand on my rights, but seem as you're a
well meanin young man, so to speak, an
! all settled an alvin ere quiet an matri-
| monual Ill-this with burst of gener-
osity-"Pll compound the felony, an take
me 'ook. Come, I'll name a figure, as man
! to man, fust an last, an no more-five
| pound does itu
Simmons hadn't five pounds-he hadn't
even five pence-and he said so. AN l
wouldn't think for to come between a
man an lis wife, he added, mot on any
account. 1t may be rough on me, but it's
a dooty. I'll 'ook it,"
NO said Ford, hastily, clutching Sim
mons by the arm, don't do that I'll
make it a bit cheaper Say three quid-
come, that's reasonable, amt it? Three
quid amt much compensation for me goin'
away foreVer-where the stormy winds do
blow so to say-an' never as much as
seem me own wife agin for better nor
wuss. Between man an man, now, three
quid, an I'll shunt; that's fair. amt it?"
"Of course it's fair" Simmons replied
effuslvely. IT'S more'n fair; it's noble
| downright noble I call it. But 1 amt 60
in to take a mean advantage o your good
| 'artedness, Mr.. Ford. She's your wife, an
l oughtn't to "a come between you. /
| apologize. You stop an ave yer proper
rights. It's me as ought to shunt, an l
will" And he made a step toward the
1 door.
'"Old on" quoth Ford, and got between
! Simmons and the door-"dont do things
rash Look wot a loss it'll be to you
| with no 'ome to go to an nobody to look
after We an all that Itll be dreadful. Say
| a couple-there, We won't quarrel, jest a
! single quid, between man an man, an I'll
| stand a pot out of the money. You can
! easy raise a quid-the clock I'D pretty nigh
do it, A quid does it; an I'll"
There was a loud double knock at the
| front door. In the East End a double
knock is always for the up stairs dodgers.
COOS that" asked Bob Ford apprehen-
sivey
I'm see" said Thomas Simmons in re-
| ply: ana he made a rush for the staircase.
| Bob Ford heard him open the front
| door. Then he went to the window and
| just below him he saw the crown of a
| bonnet. 1t vanished, and borne to him
! from within the door there fell upon his
| ear the sound of a well-remembered fe-
/ male voice.
| where We goin' now with no hat?"
| asked the voice sharply.
"Awright. Amer, there's-there's some
! body upstairs to see you" Simmons an
! swered And as Bob Ford could see a
| man went scuttling down the street in
| the gathering dusk and behold il was
| Thomas Simmons.
| Ford reached the landing in three
| strides. His wife was still at the front
| door. staring after simmons He flung
/ into the back room, threw open the win
/ dow, dropped from the wash-house roof
! into the back yard, scrambled wildly over
| the fence and disappeared into the gloom.
| He was seen by no living soul; and that
| is why Simmons base desertion-under
i his wife's very eyes tools still for an as
| constituent for the neighbors.