The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1896-11-07
HERO OF THE
HALL BEDROOM,

When l told my wife about it she
exclaimed: How utterly absurd! Why.
l think you should have understood
him all along
Mrs. Dockboy.' said I, severely,
"how was l to believe all his stories
his tales of prowess in matters of Lore.
in feats Of strength? Perhaps he did
knock out O'Sullivan, the champion
middleweight; perhaps he was The
greatest halfback that ever played on
the Cad university eleven; perhaps he
did leave the West on account of the
opportunities of three beautiful mill
ionairesses; but even Lieutenant Swash
doubted the story of his capture by
Apaches and his subsequent release
by the chiefs daughter"
"Swash" retorted my wife. "N'hy
do you always quote that horrid old
thing? 1 think that he is himself in
clined to exaggeration at times, wheth-
er unconsciously or otherwise. I can
not judge"
l do not take my wife's view of the
matter at all, and I cannot csc why the
lieutenant and myself should have act
ed otherwise than we did.
We We're talking of Filkins-Filkins,
who occupied the fourth floor real hall
bedroom in my old boarding house. In
locating the man l have described
him, for that particular room in every
boarding house is inhabited, expert
ence has taught me, by a peculiar gen
ius-men of culture, but on their up
pers, men whose long lines of distin.
guished ancestors have beQueathcd to
them some quarts of blue blood, but
nothing with which to keep it in circu-
lation, and an inherent idea that it
ought to keep moving itself. without
their descending to plebeian labor to
supply h motive power. Just such a
person was Filkins. His clean-cut
features, his easy manners, his polite
bearing, supported by his %pretension
to family. When preparatory to 60
ing out after dinner he donned the
evening clothes of the medical student
who occupied the second floor front,
and you saw him, not a hair of his head
or mustache out Of place. not a wrin-
kle or a speck anywhere, you instinct
lively felt that he was a gentleman
born.
And if, p%erchance. he was off to that
swell little affair at Mrs. Van Foam's
that the papers have been talking so
much Of" and needed a quarter for
car fare, his father having forgotten
to send him his check for the month,
it was willingly given, for he was a
capital fellow. He drew on us occa-
%sionally, but we regarded that as only
a slight compensation for his COM
pany.
Lieutenant Swash came into my
room early n evening as Filkins and
l were discussing things in general
over our pipes, and announced that he
had three tickets for a series of box
ing bouts at the Olympic Athletic Club.
There will be some bruising," he
cried, enthusiastically, land it will be
worth seeing"
lawfully sorry. old man, but l can't
CO." replied Filkins. There Is a GER
tain man in New York who has been
searching high and low for me for
three weeks. He'll be there. l know,
for he has been going to the bowwows
and spends all his time about such
places. I'm not afraid of him. but l
deem it more discreet for a while to
avoid him."
"Your tailor::" ventured the lieuten-
ant.
Dear me. no." replied Filkins, with
great good humor. He seemed to az
JOY the joke. "WOuld that he was and
l was wearing a respectable-looking
cause for him to pursue me. but l am
not SO lucky"
"Now, see here, Filkins, you've got
to come" l said.
ITO tell the truth. il would be awful
ly embarrassing for me to meet that
fellow" he replied. You'd be sur
prised if I'd tell you who he Is. Every
one has heard of him-rich, great
SWELL"
.Swash looked at me and winkcd n
of his knowing winks. Then, turning
to Filkins, he asked:
well. what does lie want with yOu:"
"A woman n the ir.:tnW Of rhr whole
thing" reH..r: Co.. -..t-:t~. Hlruf-