The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-11-17

IT she didn't blame me for it. She
told me that she would furnish no
| more meals for us and that if we
left that room for minute she
would put paddock on the door,
And she meant it.
Nevertheless, we Jared pretty
well for several days, until the land
lady caught Madge, the younger
| girl, bringing tray full of fond up
the back stairs one morning 'Ihat
| game was stopped. Then Susie ard
Harry rugged up private wire
| from the window in our room and
leading down stairs. Under cover
of darkness Susie would steal out
side, fasten to the wire bnsketful
of cold chicken. and bread and any
| thing else she could sneak out of the
larder. Harry would haul it up,
throw kiss to Susie, and dull care
would vanish for the time being
That had to end. The landlady
packed the two girls off to another
aunt in st. Paul.
"One day while was out hustling
Harry decided that it was necessary
that we should have supply of
fresh linen. Filling the clothesbag
he dropped it out Of the window,
locked the. door behind him and
sauntered down stairs, trusting that
he would escape the notice Of the
landlady5'. She was too quick for
him. That ciothesbag aud its con-
tents never reached the Chinaman,
and in jiffy there was paddock
on our door. Then we were out in
the cold.
OF course, as you can readily un-
! derstand, where so many others were
in the same boat we could manage
to bunk somewhere, but as to food
that was another question. It was
easy enough to get drinks-too easy,
in fact. The crisis came one Sunday
afternoon. For three days neither
Harry nor tasted food. We stood
at the. junction of the two principal
streets and looked up and down and
at each other. gave my belt an
extra hitch and tried to brace Harry
up by feeble joke. I said:
" Let's go up to English Billy's
and ask him if he has got any shell
| oysters from Chicago. They're only
81 q dozen.
{" Oysters, moaned Harry, 'why,
could eat the shells
THAT boy had look in his face
very much like. that I saw in the
eyes of the poor devil who begged
me for food tonight. I knew that
something had to be done and that
at once. English Billy, who kept
restaurant and wine vault was
about the hardest customer in town
when it came to asking credit. He
had been particularly ugly Of late.
Still, we were starving, and con
! cluded that some Of English Biiiy's
food was just what we needed.
"'Harry, said, I'VE may not get
another meal in a long time, but
we'll have one good one on English
Billy. You stick to me and don't
show the white feather. Come on.
my Ny oham objected, and I fairly
pulled him along TO English Billy's.
lowed Billy about $3.50, and he had
nearly split the bar in two when
he announced that his slate wes
broken and that he wouldn't give
his own brother cracker to save
him from starving. So when we
entered the restaurant Billy must
aaye hopo1 that money was in sight.
Ito1d Harry 20 let sna DO the order
ing and for heavens sake to stop
shaking.
"That poor fellow was on the
verge OF collapse. AS for me, /
could have eaten the tableoioth, but
there wasn't any. We started in
with cocktails, got outside OF some
soup. and when I ordered double
porterhouse steak with mushrooms,
hashed brown potatoes and canned
asparagus Harry's face was q sight.
oh, Billy win kill US when he
gets that check. he murmured.
Well, suppose he does, whis-
pered We won't die hungry that's
one satisfaction.
Then ] ordered couple of bot.
ties OF ale. Billy brought the ale in.
himself. ! tried to dawdle over the
, meal, bat it was ,.v use. Billy could
see that we were hungry. He didn't
waste any words on us, but there
was danger in his eyes. I was try
:GSS ::GSS &C &C gain tina and mao dater mined
90 make g clean breast tO. Billy. I
concluded 10 stand boldly and say
60 him: i;.3
1he,,' ,s's kssssSs kssS7 sssa.oo77isy, ws spent
It with you, Billy, and as I figure it
out we re entitled to this meal. /
don't know that.we'll ever pay You,
bnt we've got a meal, and if you
want TO fight, let's have It right
| here and now. 6
u think my chum aged five years
i5during that meal. When I ordered
i ta1 rai airNE. = - ..~aA I'd