The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21

how. / had made elaborate adleus there. pre-;
paratory 70 my departure ior me Fast ana
FELT that | couldn't stand for the Indians maj
Id said good by 10 dancing around me WIN
hosrse hoots and deri-iye lyloats' y crafty
looking CRATER took a seat beside me.
"N therefore, the gloom he asked me chesfly'
"i jus, found my last cigarette broken In my
pocket said !, witheringiy d'dnt feel 'aiky
$50 bad M all that said the CRATER, good
naturally. Nothing DOING Broke
GO 10 the devil, said !
-Id already wen, until | struck ms feather.
flowers graft said he, unresentfully, NOW
I'm getting the cush. Want 70 com" ln' ] need
a man for Sacramento
Il looked the guy over then, and while was
They were roses made u uny feathers eAart
limitations of the real thing, Cbinks down ~
Frisco made EN- for him Tor 10 cents a buhch
He had neopl. selling en- IN stores; chIrny en-
poriums de booze. all over the State. for n dollar a
throw, IN neat little wire baskets.
MY nan IN Sacramento has proved himself
q dead ono by running II up all the time ana neg
lectng business the CRATER went on. Now.
you look Ike a clean, sober young fellow want
MA. Sacramento territory, toT al, give SSl ~ Genus
gu 70 ON, said l. -,
$50 went NJ To Sacramento with the cheerful
CRATER thatnight, and the next day ives penillns
wire baskets filed with lunches Oi feather roses
| passed up all the flagOns that CAM. my nv
I'd got the irigid pedal, all Of a sudden that morn.
ing IN the Stockton Hotel Office, when | thouslt
# the girls rolling around In the surf at Manhat
tan Beach, and me at the other end 81 the rou'e
and | sold thirteen Of the punches IN. first day.
That made 81, 20 as my rake OIL. The grHiter
| patted me on the back, told me that1 was a wonder,
and informed me that IL was on the cards that he q
use me In the business AZ far east as New YORK,
II | kept on making out so well told MIN 10
when | land in New York ! told him, III
have the CONCEALED d~awdrops on, me- and the en-
sraysd papers in my dqs.er' or don't 60 at al.
bundles Of feather roses. worked Sacramento
for a week. and averaged IS a day. AZ the end
Of a week | had SIS, after paying hoard and other
expenses I'd had the dogs sicked on me- \ good
many times, butI couldn get used 10 the slammed
door and the occasional threatening bungstartor
So I gave the cheerful CRATER the parting init
he emitted a sigh oyer losing III, and the NEXT
morning, shined and shaved, and with a scheme
in my nd, | took a train fol-, San Francisco, !
wouldn't have returned TO San Francisco II It
hadn't been for this scheme, which ! thought out
all ~ a sudden, after overhearing a couple OF wise
looking geeDArs talking IN one OF the KIN mills
where I'd been peddl'ns feather roses The day
I'm going to wire a check or two Town TO
S~ausalito to be put on Long bridge Tomorrow,
| heard one of these chaps say. He's been run
ming ike a mud turtle lately, but hes good enough
to beat any Of the little bunch Of four he in with
To- morrow II he's right, and as he'll b. the bum
outsider I'm going To spin n few chips on hi H.
QUEER. isn'tit that way ont IN q bit ~ a burg
like to. something like 400 miles from
New York, you should hear n duck talking So
Beach This fellows spiel got the horse bug TO
buzzing beneath the hat again, and that's when
1~nDrdght out my scheme. figured that anyo old
thing would beat ped1l,ug feathnrruSpS.
Il ct into San Francisco about noon, and |
lust caught the Tburon, one OF the ferryboats
that used to Ia Se the gang Of plungers and pikers
2 ,,on, the @o6 nay 10 ' ns PEP ,i, I THIni at ~ Sa' b%nr n Wy ~
the top notch suit In the progress OF those three
bulb yisltatluns with the other togs in Stockton,
and always was q powerful supporter Of the
spotless linen and the shine and the shave under
any aud all ClrcunSta noes They're tldisprnSa
BILE. | knew the people behind the desk at the
pool room well, | worked for them for nearly
a year, they didn't pay me wages, but | wnrkrd
for them; they got the wages that other people
paid me And ! went over there this time with
the intention Of. getting a hatful Of money or OF
getting pounded 10 death.
This Long Bridge race that I'd heard the
wise looking guy in Sacrament, talking about
was the fourth on the card There were only four IN
down at the track 10 s to 5. Declare. opening at
eycns and going up TO ! to :; Little Mat. opening
at 3 and going up 10 Z u ,, and the rank outsider,
Long Bridge, opening at 10 ana drifting up 10
20 70 l.
Il sat in a rocking chair and looked the board
over. had $40 in one dollar bills in my pocket
| wasn't going 10 invest any Of that, but was
going TO use them as props was going. how
ever, 70 bet 500 on Long Bridge at 20 10 ! and
take q chance on being crunched 10 q pulp II the
mutt lost the race.
Il waited near the desk until the telegraph
instrument began " click.
"Oh a, Brighton Beach the operator an.
nounced, Paladin in the lead, Declare second,
Little Matt third"
Il rushed up TO the ticket writer with my $40
in one dollar bills in my fist, starting to strip
them off, but carefully conceallng their denonl-
nations from view
I'll bet you a hundred on Long Bridges I
said u the ticketwriter. who knew me we'll,
"Paladin at the quarter, Declare second, Little
Mat, third" the operator was announcing.
"fou're on said the ucketwriter, giving me
a slow smile, nd beginning 20 write the ticket
That's Ike taking candy from a child. The
mutt won't be one, two, three
All the time | was slowly stripping bills from
that little bundle Of one spots, and attentvely
watching the operators lips at the same time
The ticket writer was u good deal interested in
the outcome OF the race himself, having n bit ut
a bet down, probably, and he'd only half finished
writing my ticket when he gave a whoop and
yelled, Go II, IaiHdin"
Il neld my m onev in nv hand. carefully con.
ceallng The numbers, 50 that the ticks writer
hal no means of knowing whether | had a hs'ful
Of centuries ~ not He was considerably inter
ested in the race. anyhow.
"PalAdln AT the halt Declare second. Little
Matt third. announced the feegrapher.
Here's where lgoto an early grave though
!. at ne same tine keeping ne lamp on the door
"faladin in the stretch by. a length. Declare
second, Little Matt third croaked the operator
"l am 50 young To die, | reflected, wondering,
at the same time how good the pool room people
were On the sprint.
Long Bridge wins shouted the operator, a
note II str ng surprise in hiS voice.
L W. my Nb'NH blNlhk way btlA y me, II
I'll bet | was white around the gills all right
But kept myself I gether.
"Hully gee, where did you yet that ONE
the dJg ran n rank last The last time out" said
the ticket writer, looking AT me- W nderlngly.
"Oh, said |, calmly. a Iriend Of mine, one o
the trainers, q he Beach, wired me that one his
morning. Wish I'd put another hundred on H.
The operator finished writing my So. 900 &c
800 ticket where he'd left of in the excitement
Of hearing The race called of.
Say, said | 20 the ticket writer. with AL the
sang rOid | could muster. the lowest I've go,
here is one Of The five hundred dollar boys Just
pass the word along to the cashier that there's
! only two THOUSAND coming 10 me, will you, and
it l. save you changing a billo'
The ticket winter, as | said, knew me well.
messenger boy behind the desk, tell the cashier
that there's only $1,000. instead uf SO, 100, com.
ing to the holder Of ticket 9I2 Tell him were
shy # change here
Then the ticket writer, Ticking me my
ticket. began TO throw the congratulations in g.
me. and in two minutes II was all over the room
that I'd yanked down 81 OCO on Long Bridge
win. | took II all as II the raking down ~ that
much quartz was an everyday matter with me,
but my heart was up in ny throat and say
didn't | see the Swept by Ocean lireszes' sign
then
Twenty minutes later was sitting on the
hurricane deck Of the Tiburon, bound back for
San Francisco, with 5000 in my hOmespuns
As soon as got Of the boat | went directly ~ The
hotel Were Ia been stopping most 81 the time
sp nj in San Francisco. The clerk looked me
over as II | was a ghost
Say, where the dickens have you been?' he
asked me. Why haven't you been to nue. for that
money"
"What money | asked him.
That two hundred you left with me for safe
were souSed' Said you were going to n Turkish
! hath. and that Won vera afraid Won might ppi