Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-10-12
HENRY AND THE SAW
THEY CAME TOGETHER TO SAVE A
THIRSTY TRAMP.

but Henry speny Knew the Money Would
Go For Drinks -His Odd Ruse to Outwit
the Tramp and Its Sequel.
Summer was here and the day was
warm. Henry Speny had been walking
and now stood at the corner of two streets
mopping bis brow. Henry Speny was
conservative, and although Mrs. Speny
had that morning gone almost to the from
tiers of a fist fight to make him change his
underwear for the lighter and more gauzy
apparel of jocund July Henry Speny had
refused He was now paying the piper,
and was just thinking how much moro
Mrs Speny knew than he did when the
tramp came up.
"Podner," said the tramp in low,
cultural whine, intended to escape the ear
of the police and touch Henry Speny's
heart at one and the same time" podner,
couldn't You assist a poor man a lttle?"
Assist poor man to what?" asked
Henry Speny, returning his handkerchief
to his pocket and looking at the tramp.
He was a fat, healthy tramp, in good
condition. Henry Speny hardened his
heart.
"Dime, replied the tramp; dime to get
something to eat"
mo Not ON your life" said Henry
Speny shortly "I'm half dozen meals
behind the game myself"
This last was only Henry Speny's hu.
NOR. Mrs. Speny fed him twice u day,
but Henry Speny knew that the tramp
wanted the dime for whisky.
well, If you don't think want it to
chew on, :" said tho tramp, Just take me
to bakery and buy me loaf of bread
I'll git away with it right before you"
Say, remarked Henry Speny in tone
of sarcastic irritation, whats the use of
your talking to me? There's charity
woodward in this town where, if you were
really hungry, you would go and saw
wood for something to eat You can get
two meals and bed for saving one-six-
tenth OF Il cord of wood. "
"You can't saw wood with no such fin
as this podner, " said the tramp. And pull.
ing up his coat sleeve he displayed to
Henry Speny an arm as withered as
dead tree. "The others all right" he
continued, restoring his coat sleeve, "but
volts one arm in catch as catch can
racket with q bucksaw?"
Henry Speny was conscious stricken,
but he would defeat the tramp in his efforts
to buy whisky.
'Ill go down to the woodward and saw
your wood myself" said Henry SPECIFY
He told Mrs Speny afterward that he
could not account for the making of this
offer unless it was his anxiety to keep the
tramp sober All the tramp wanted was
10 cents, and for Henry Speny to propose
to saw one-sxteenth of cord of hard wood
on hot day when a dime would have
made all thing, even was conundrum
too deep for Henry Speny as he looked back
over the transaction, but he did make the
proposal, and the tramp accepted with
grin of gratitude.
There were 90 sticks in that one-six-
teenth of cord-hard, knotty sticks too.
And each one had to be sawed three times
so cuts in all. 1t was a poor bucksaw.
Before he had finished the third stick
Henry Speny declared that it was the most
beastly bucksaw he ever handled in his
life. The buck itself was wretched buck
and wouldn' stand still while Henry Speny
sawed. 1t had a habit Of tipping over, and
when Henry Speny put his knee on the
stick to steady the refractory buck the
knots tore his trousers and made his leg
black and blue. Then the perspiration got
in his eyes and made them smart. When
he wiped itaway, he saw two Of his friends
looking at him In shocked, sober way
from across the street. They passed on
and told everybody that Henry Speny was
down at the charity woodward saving
wood for his food. They said, too, that
they had reason to believe he did this ev.
cry day; that business had gone to pieces
with him, and an assignment couldn't be
STAYED off much longer. Henry Speny
would have thrown up the job with the
second stick, but the tramp was already
half through with his meal. Henry Speny
could see him boiling his food like a glut-
ton through the window from where he
stood
1t took Henry Speny two hours to saw
those 20 sticks 80 times. His hands were
a fretwork of blisters. His back and Shout
ders ached like a galley slaves. Henry
Speny hired a carriage to take him home.
He couldn't stand the slam and jolt of
street car. He was laid up three days
with the blisters on his hands, while Mrs.
Speny rubbed his back and shoulders with
arnioa.
On the fourth day, as Henry Speny was
limping painfully toward his office, he
heard voice he knew.
"Podner, can't you assist a poor NJ
Oh, beg pardon. You looked so different
didn't know you"
1t was the fat tramp with the withered
arm. Without word Henry Speny gave
him 10 cents and hobbled on.--New York
Journal