The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-06


monplace until he went into the little ten
cent museum outside of which stood a
man with a voice as raucous as his clothes
and mustache that hung over his mouth
like a ragged black lambrequin This fellow
was crying the attractions Of the place,
and when he saw that Freddie going
III, he stepped into little box office and
sold him ticket. Then he ran up the steps
(the museum was upstairs) and took the
ticket as Freddie came along.
Freddie looked about for the curios; but
all he could see was an old woman sitting
on a box; an odd, water-ilter looking thing
fastened up against the wall, and big
white cat in a basketfull of kittens There
were three other spectators gaping about.
kard-faced men in country clothes. The
man with the mustache, who was also the
lecturer got up on the box by the old lady
and announced that she was the Portuguese
Princess Lasturono, The only tattooed
woman in the world whose tattoo marks
had faded away. Next, he went over to the
tabby and solemnly declared that this
the Sacred cat of Tamula, from the River
Ibis, captured from the priests after great
loss of life, and worth her weight in dia-
nlcnds. He finished by remarking, with
villaiEous glance at Smith, that it was a
rule of the place that each visitor must buy
a kitten at the merely nominal price of $40.
The three Bowery-looking countrymen
stepped up at that and each handed the
lecturer a ratty greenback and put kitten
in his coat pocket. Freddie laughed. is
there anything more to see? he asked.
The lecturer pointed to the water filter
Over it large placard hung on the wall
with the words: Try our Lung Tester
There was a glass tube fastened to the
| 1.od
alongside that ran numbers up to 200, which
indicated the highest lung power Freddie
picked up the mouthpiece and gave a little
puff. The red liquid slid up the tube like
base stealing, and the instant it touched
the two-hundred mark the placard on the
wall tapped gently over Upon the size
now exposed it bore The legend Ten Dol
lars to Try Our Lung Tester
Freddie laughed This was the SOFT of
thing he had been looking for. If this IS
all there is to see he began.
It's ALL the lecturer answered. You've
seen our show, and we hope yOull recon-
mend it TO your friends. Help Yourself to
kitten and hand over the so you owe us.'
I'll recommend the exhibit to heads of
families and teachers smiled Smith, start
ing for the entrance, which was. a fmsy
door over the stairway I have enjoyed
your moral and interesting lecture extreme
~, and bid you good evening"
Not much,' said the man with the
mustache, beginning to look ugly. Ten for
the kitten, whether you take it or not and
ten for testing your lungs, or you don't
get outlof this
THE three toughs in the sylvan garments
ran in.--fronts Of the door and the head
swindler Joined them, while Freddie paused
in the middle OF the room. He noticed that
two of the fellows confederates had nasty
looking knotted bags in their hands and the
third was wearing brass knuckles.
:" Give up the twenty you owe me- Missed
the lecturer, and be dead quick about it,
Freddie laughed and ran back to the cor
her of the room to get good start for Il
charge to force his way through them, but
they, thinking lie meant to call for help at
a window, made rush at him together
Freddie reached down the lung tester and
fired it at the lecturer, and followed this
missile with the basket of kittens, old cat
and all, into the brown of them. The
Portuguese princess seemed to fear he
might be inclined to hurl the only remain
ing curio after the other, and she left her
throne with a shrek, and Smith let the
box go at his assailants to keep the water
filter and kittens company. This stopped
them long enough for Freddie to make his
rush. You've seen a half back break up in
reference when crowd of chaps on the
other side have passed the line and the half
can hardly tell which man has the ball and
couldn't get at him if he knew. He tackles
the whole bunch and does it with u long,
hard dive. That's the way Freddie went for
the roughs; he sailed through the air like
a line drive for short, with his long arms
spread wide to gather them in between knee
liz,
as he struck the heap, drove them slam into
the crazy door, which burst its rotten hinges
and fell on the pile of them. Down they
went together, mass of ldttens-those in
the swindlers pockets must have suffered
considerabiy-old cat, water filter, box
splinters, broken timbers and bad language
They rolled down the stairway in a tangle,
over and over. In the midst of it all Smith
saw the man with the mustache kicking one
of his pals into little pieces, thinking it was
Freddie; and the Portuguese princess fell
down the steps after them, screaming for
keeps They all tumbled out into the street
together and into he legs of a passing po-
liceman. Freddie had grown warmed up
and enthusiastic, and things were so home
like that force of habit prevailed over re-
spect for authority, and he pushed the po-
liceman over the heap, the way they do
when the balls down under crowd and
they want to stop the man that has it from
squirming for an advance. Then Freddie
left for his hotel. When he came back to
college he said he'd had a fair time, though
he was sorry about the kittens and feared
one or two Of them might not have recov-
cred; but the next time he did the Bowery
he was going up with some one who knew it
and could show him really gay and excit-
ing evening"
story of the Second Underestimate.
The young man knocked the ashes from
his pipe and slowly polished it against his
nose while the other undergraduate in
quired if he remembered Bobby Mcpherson
and how he got off the train at Fenndale.
II remember Bobby we'll enough said
his friend. ''He was end rush in freshman
year and caught on the nine. l remember
seeing q pitched ball strike him on the leg
one day and hearing one of his classmates
say he'd bet Bobby was sour because it
hadn't hit him in the face But what about
his getting off the train?"
'.That happened this way said the other
student Bobby fell in love with q girl who
lived at Fenndale, and she was queen, tool
Easily He used to go up to Fenndale every
Saturday afternoon in the winter to spend
Sunday with her brother. aged fourteen.