The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-10-06

An he:says, says she: 'You done quite
right, Mr.. Connolly-thank you, Mr..
Connolly" ...
The janitor paused and looked at
the little boy steadfastly, his hands
resting on his knees. The boy looked
back searchingly at him, and at last
smiled broadly and incredulously.
Il don't b'lieve it, he said, with an
air of decision. "You wouldn't hurt
anybody. My ma said you was too easy
have said that if you burnt them up.
I think you jes' made up that story
Lemme go, August; I want to play
three-old-cat with Willie"
AS he broke away the janitor caught
him and held him for moment. "Now,
look here" he said, 'if you get up to
any more mischief down here I'll speak
to Officer Noonan about you. I'm not
joshin' you now."
This time the boy looked impressed
and went out of the basement with his
head hanging; but he recovered in
time to whoop at the janitor's cat as he
passed her on the stairs, and August,
peering through the smoky window a
few moments later saw him with a
mite of his own age throwing coal at
a banana vender from the vantage
ground of the courtyard.
"You can't bluff that kid" remarked
the janitor. "All the same, his dad will
have to put up for new mop for Au-
gust. He does it pretty easy, though.
as a general thing. He's all the kid
they've got, an they was about IL years
waitin' for him. reckon if he set fire
to the buildin' he'd say: oh, we'll. we
was all young wanst,' an then would
ask if we had estimated the loss so he
could draw his check.
''There was a time when they didn't
allow no children here, an the place
was as we'll ordered as a millionaire s
family vault, but, quiet as it was, it
KEEP tn agent hustlin' to get tenants.
They was all right what he got, but
there wasn't enough of them, an there
was half dozen scots empty as dago's
dinner bucket half-afternoon most of
tn time. It used to break the agents
heart when some swell guy would say:
Well, I like the apartments an !
guess I'll take them. Here's my gilt
edge references. Make out my lease
an here's my check. presume you've
no objection to children 1t KEEP get
tin worse an worse, until at last the
agent took trip to New Hampshire
where the owners live, an when he
come back he let down the bars"
swell, yes, on the whole, I like il
better. Of course, it isn't as quiet as
it was before, but then it's not as mo.
notonous. You can expect something
about all the time, an it's generally a
surprise. AS usual thing keep them
out of the basement, but they break in
once in awhile-this feller's about the
worst of them for that.
1--WE felt sometimes like pickin' him
up an beatin' tn dust out of his little
breaches for him. I've got sort of ar
idea that it would do him good; but
I've been kind of easy with him for thu
last few weeks. He got to maxim trips
up an down the little parcel elevator
pullin' himself up by the rope an
knockin' at the panels on the different
floors as he passed. He nearly scarce
| two girls to death one evenin'.
caught him finally an gave him song
an dance about skinnin' him an b'ilin
him in oil, an thought he'd quit it
but it wasn't week after when wen
to send a basket of peaches up to 80,
found the elevator gone.
II was just goin' 10 whistle up, whe1
I heard a scream that made my bloot
run cold, an the elevator come whiz
Zin' down the shaft an smashed all t.
smithereens at the foot. knew wha
had happened in a flash, an felt sic]
to my stomach. I would have givel
$500 to have been anywhere else bu
where l was; but, SEEM 1 was there
J. stepped up an made grab at some
thin that showed white through tn
dust. 1t was tn kid all right, an h.
wasn't as limp as I expected. In
minute he had got breath enough t.
howl: an it seemed to me that l neve
heard pleasanter sound in my life
That brought his mother down, an
when she seen what had happened sh
dropped in dead faint. Then the oil
man come an half dozen other PEG
pie who had heard the yell an tn
smash, an we had circus down Their
for ten minutes.
"Well, his hands was burnt by tn
rope little where it had slippe,
through his fingers, but you might sa,
there wasn't a scratch on him. Whe1
it was all over I went out an bough
myself drink an I let the kid loa
with me at the bench all next mornin
I had a little paintin' to do in the after
noon, an he upset lot of the pain
over himself, and then went drippin
upstairs without consultin' me abou
it. August put in four hours on tn
carpet afterward."
AS the janitor spoke leather-boun
ball crashed through the window, scat
tering glass all over &he workbench
and pair of small panic-stricken leg
twinkled in hot haste for the court
yard gate.
cts what I looked for" said the jar
itor, philosophically.-Chicago Dali
Record.
The Frenchmen of Asia.