Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-09-29
The Mon IN The yellow cool.

I never knew his name. He was repnlsiye
" ugly, and he wore yellow coat.
spare bloke mug d corfee. guv-
nof!" he inquired in a hoarse, unmusieal
4 voice.
| nodded my assent and gave him the
money and something to eat besides.
THANK yer. guy'nor," he said as he
drew his long yellow coat closer about
him. That's the first bite I've 'ad fer
two days
WHAT" I exclaimed in astonishment.
Its truth I'm tellin YER"
"Why, man. how on earth do you man
age to keep aliye3" I,asked in surprise.
In the summer / tows boats" came
the reply
What DO you meant | queried.
flows boats. guv'nor," he repeated.
! "YoH know. Ave a line on, sirI Ave
! a tnyT" he shouted. Take yer from
! 'Ampton Court to Sunbury fer arr
crown, aud he waved his phantom
towline round mis- head as he spoke.
! understood him now. He was one Of
/ those wretched creatures who haunt the
! towing path during the boating season in
/ the hope Of making a few shillings by
towing pleasure boats from point to
point.
resumed my way home, thinking l
4 had seen the last of him. but ] was mis-
| taken / had not gone far when | heard
the sound of some one running behind
me. | had paused under lamp for one
minute to light cigarette and was
about to move on again when the sound
of a familiar voice arrested me.
Eli, guv'nor"' And the next moment
he was again at my side. "iEre, guv'-
| nor, one of these ere pennies yer give
! is a crownm He painted as he held out
| grimy hand toward me. And there, sure
! enough upon his upturned palm, glitter
/ ing brightly in the lamplight, reposed
/ crown.
| was more amazed than ever. / had
put him down as tramp, but he was
| evidently an honest one as well.
"You can keep it, my friend | said.
oyer mean it?" and his voice was
tremulous with eagerness.
Certainly l do"
| "Well, I'm blessedv' and he stared at
me fairly lost in wonder at my generos-
| ity. "Guv'nor," he said at last, ''yer've
! done me the best turn tonight I've 'ad
done me fer years, an I'll never forget
| it,"
A year passed away, and things had
not gone well with me. Business had
been bad. and l had been unlucky, sim
| gularly unlucky, racing. For long time
! things on the Stock Exchange had been
/ inactive, and, with nothing going into
| my bank and a considerable amount reg
ularly coming out, my balance had fallen
/ lower than | cared to think about
That was the principal reason that one
glorious spring afternoon / found myself
at the race courts. | had been put up to
/ a real good thing for the big race, tip
/ straight by wire from the owner, and |
had made my bet and come down post
| haste to see my horse win. | had plung-
ed, and for me, plunged heavily, and l
was naturally feeling little anxious
| about the result.
| The numbers were up, and l was busy
| checking off the starters on my card
| when l felt a touch on my arm. As did
so | felt something thrust into my hand.
! 1t was a piece of grimy paper, roughly
| twisted up into the form of note. \
| few yards from me ! caught sight Of
| strange looking figure which somehow
! seemed curiously familiar. 1t was that
| of a tall. fean man clad in long yellow
coat He was elbowing his way through
| the crowd, which at that point was par,
ticularly dense. Then | read the note,
and it was as follows:
Honored sir--Yer once done me good turn.
l told yer l would DO yer one. Back the man in
! the yellow coat fer all yer worth.
| That was all.
What did it mean? I could not think.
| Then like f lsh it came back to me.
! II was my friend of the coffee house.
What should | daf | glanced at my
card.
"Cherito," l read. yellow, yellow
cap"
| went back to a bookmaker knew.
! "What price Cherito?' l said.
Anything you like" he replied. Eff
ty to one
| l turned away hesitatingly. The odds
were very tempting Why not risk an
other fifty? After all, it could not make
much difference. / hesitated no longer,
| but handed the bookie the remainder of
my money.
"They're off! -
Away in the distance I can see small
rapidly moving group of horses. l pu:
my fieldglasses to my eyes. The yellow
| jacket is not visible-yes, there it is
though, very nearly last.
"The fayorte leads" screamed a
hoarse voice.
mo, Primrose! Primrose" yells the
mob.
Again look eagerly through my binoc
ulars. Two horses have drawn good
way ahead from the rest. One is the IA
vorite as / con see by his Jockeys red
cap; the other is the second favorite
Primrose On they come, straining every
nerve. They are neck and neck; it is q
| splendid race.
1.-THE favorite wins! No, Primrose,
Primrose winsW
Suddenly the cries die away into a muir
muir of astonlshment, which gradually
changes TO a roar of admiration. And no
wonder for like an arrow from the bow,
horse darts forward from the ruck-a
dark bay horse ridden by jockey in a
yellow jacket.
The intervening space between him and
the leaders is covered in a trice, and
now there are three horses neck and
neck instead of two Again the excited
cries rise from the crowd.
"Cherito CheritO wins"