St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-02-27
~ Is '.--| ~ ' ?
A STREET CHARACTER.

A STREET CHARACTER
sDoc" Horne walked into the Alfalf!
European hotel feeling as if he wer,
returned rip Van, sVVifnkle, 2
He had been away from Chicago only
two months, and the streets seemed un
familiar and changed as he came into
the Alfalfa ncighborhood. At one cor
Eer where a four-story building had
stood there was now muddy. .excaya,
ton. The hoteffront, TOO seemed dif.
ferent. There was something missing
or something added, he couldn't tell
which. Perhaps the explanation was
that he Now looked at the ola building
with refreshed interest.
There were two strangers seatedsin
the Office, but they lowered their pa
pers and studied ''Dod'"' as if he were a
stranger. ;ya .a ,s.5s1s- 81 sv u
As usual, there was no one behind the
desk. The Alfalfa hotel usually took
care of itself-the patrons taking the
keys from the pigeon-holes, setting
down "calls"s on the, slate and hunting
-tA LLIttIi oHt VI lIIC dSSOllnlGIlt IeIG DV
The postman.
'Doc" Pnt his now tan=colored Ealise
On the floor and removed his new black
derby hat Withsthe sWathes of Grape
around It.
The Gay was damp and muggy, and
Docs" baldfrontal was dewg with per-.
spiration. - II. Us. -
aAnvhrdv at ho,,,e %, bo ,rl.a5
The strangers did not condescend to
reply, and "Doca felt~more than ever
like a Rip Van TinEle.
Well, if it amt Doc!'"
Tt was the lightning dentists He
slapped ''Doc" on the shoulder with
familiarity which would not have been
pardoned under other circumstances.
"Ycs, my boy, back again-baek to
the old home
"1'm mighty glad to see you. All the
boys have been asking. about you" y
"No, Rasen't YOU Heard ?SlnEggahy,t SAY,
Doe this has seemed like a different
place since you vent saTag. Let's sit
down" sE-f&5 siff& f35
They sat. on the side of the Office
whore dim dayitglst fs1l gfron the,
street windows, and the lightnipg. dem,
tist gave doc" long, pale cigar with
a red and gold label aroI,nd II
tsYou heard about TIA: hanio ,nan
didn't you?"f asked the dcnt;st'
Il haven't heard ia word. I'VE been
very busy. settling the: affairs of my. sis
ter's estate. i had a Lawyer and an ac=.
countant to help me, but all tlaresoon.
sibility practicable restea Oh nles',~
''5We heard about yotfr sisters death
Was it unexpected?'
swell, you go ahead and tell me what's
happened here and III give nv story
later" s4,. A4.a ~.
''YoilskfbSv Tie lani6ssplatas,,3. Tsfs Z
"Theoas;sasos stsdna asaI Il
Yes, Well, ghe's married In III arriestf
the week after you went aWay. She's
al actress, and they Wentao thes5stage3
together. He can sing some and play
the banjo, and they say she's quite
dancer. They act. atsthese continuous
houses.
"Well,well IL Il our. otherfrienddrink-
ing as hard as eyer?'
Who. the lush? Well, sir. he's try
ing his hardest to quit. There was
three days Last week that he edidn't drink
anything but ginger and some new cider
they've got in at the han Then one
night he got with some fellow, who was
here buying a stock OF goods, and he
got an awful skate,
'.Too bad, too bad. A man of good in
stincts, yes, sir. It's too bad.s,
''The real estate fellow is out on the
road, advertising a. couch medicine or