The Ravalli Republican., 1898-02-09
HOW HE GOT A MEAL,

tiently to a hard luck story from a !
beg gar and gave him 81 with the re-
mark: II believe you are hungry
I've been there myself. Take this
and fill up.
"Why, Drifter,' said his friend,
when they were in snug corner OF
the smoking room, "that fellow Z
would havo been just as well OH
with a dime as with 81. He's blow
ing your money in now in some bar
rel house for bad whisky.
Il don't care what he does with
the dollar, y said Drifter. He said
he was hungry and l could see star
vation in his eyes. | know what 1t
is to be hungry. don't mean the
hunger that comes after good day
work, or the appetite such as you
get by tumble in the surf or by a
drive in the park or brisk walk
through the fields. mean the
gnawing, sickening hunger that
comes when food is in sight and you
have neither money nor credit TO
exchange for meal experienced
that kind of hunger many years ago.
"This is what happened to me III
a mushroom town out west, he
said. 1.-THE bottom had dropped out
of every deal in which l was inter
ested. The town was absolutely flat
broke. An accepted draft for $500
on the best man in town would not
buy bite of dried buffalo meat. |
had mining stock, land certificates,
promissory notes and poker | q
US enough to paper this room, but
l couldn't raise enough on the whole
outfit to pay my hotel bill 49,
"You have met my friend Harry
Winslow He's made a fortune, as
you know, as (, contractor, At the
time | speak of no was my closest
chum. Harry came out to that
mushroom town as civil engineer
Hewas to superintend the sewerage
system. We roomed together and
had many good times until the bnb
bic burst and left Harry and me
stranded. Harry was fabbergasted
when he learned that the time he
had put in on that sewer contract
was wasted and that his chances of
getting paid were about as desperate
as a swim across the Atlantic. had
done some roughing in my time and
while l did not know SO much about
civil engineering as Harry did,
managed to survey the situation II
our hotel and to keep the land]ady
in check until she quarantined us
She used to nail Harry and me a
the dining room door with sucl
pleasant shots as these:
+" Well, l suppose you're coming
in to eat some of the food that oW
for. If you don't pay something o.
account of your bill today, you can
have another meal in this house.
tThat would take the edge off
mans appetite, wouldn't it? Harr
etaid in our room most Of the time
It wouldn't do for both Of us to +
absent, for the landlady had threa
ened to grab our baggage, and Ha
~ swore if she ever seized his QUIT
he'd commit suicide. | never sa
such a lay out in a frontier town ;
that Boston civil engineer brougl
with him. When he unpacked h
trunks and spread out silver back(
brushes, silver backed combs, silv
nail sets and shoehorns and sily
soapboxcs and other accessori
that his sister and his sweetheart
Boston had provided him with,
called him the rajah. OF clothes
why, he had no end-that is, VIII
he arrived.
"There were two pretty girls
that hotel They were nieccs Of t
1andlady. They simply wore the'
selves out taking care Of Harry
elaborate outfit Before he land
in town the dust used to be an in
thick all over that room and | mig
have tangled the bell until it brc
without getting any attention fix
either of them. But with the raj;
well, it was different. They QUAR-
ed as to which one should take G.
of the rajah's clothes and b1usl
and fancy tixings. You couldn t +
speck Of dust in the room wit
microscope, and they put lace c
tains up at the window and gave
clean towels every day. | had
up with one week. They sm
gled cold lunches up to the rool
for Harry Of course. The IA
spread himself on tips for Il
girls. Nothing was too good
them. He didn't know that the
was in sight. l managed to picl
$50 one day down the river, an
sent it back to Harry posth
with orders to give it to the |;
lady as part payment on our bill
"When I got back to town,
landlaly's reception Of me told
that something was wrong. II
found out what was up. Harry
blown in every cent of that Sc
those two girls. Of course the |
lady heard Of this. I'll be hal