The Washington weekly post., 1900-04-10
TALE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE.
Ry Hal HoMfsToN.

| OF cid Greenwich village, which forms
| part Of the lower West Side residence dis
/ trict of New York City proper, lived
/ Henry Creighton. his thrifty wife, and
their only child-Joe.
/ Joe had just reached his majority at the
/ time this story opens, but unlike either Of
/ his parents. was as lazy as the traditional
down South Town Niger"
! Joe had been forced through the several
/ classes of Il nearby public school, but re-
/ fused to as pire to higher educational hon.
ors. He had also refused TO follow in his
/ fathers footsteps, and become an honest,
! hard working carpenter. He seemed quite
/ contented to loaf about the corners Of the
1 dreamy old neighborhoOd. enjoying sun
baths, and occasionally indulging in a
! glass of liquor, when invited.
! But Joe wasn't drunkard; he was SIM
ply lazy. In fact, there was only one
| thing which seemed TO interest Joe to any
| great extent, and that was the existence
of pretty Minnie Dugan, one of the bellies
OF THE Village"
! They had made mud pies together when
! they were toddlers, attended the same
school year after year, and then enjoyed
excursions and picnics and parties, as
sweethearts: TO say nothing Of long walks
and love-making pleasant evenings on
neighbors' front stoOps.
Finally, Joe's parents died, leaving an
estate amounting to about s14,000, in
/ cludiIg the little house they had lived in
which had been purchased years ago
when real estate In Greenwich Village
was very cheap, all 10 Joe.
But in the will, or rather wills, it was
stipulated that Mr.. and Mrs. Dugau
=.
Joe should marry Minnie. and pay all
their living expenses cut OF his own earn
ings, for two years. If Joe failed TO 90
this. within reasonable length OF time,
the property was 10 be divided between
half a dozen charitable institutions.
Joe asreed to conform with all the stip-
ulations OF the wills when spoken to on
the subject by MIR Dugan, his sweet
hearts father, but being honestly sad over
the loss OF his parents, wandered about
"The Village" in a dOIeful manner for
many days, and when questioned about
his future, replied: I'll do any work L
can get but it does seem that l can't find
any 10 do
'You don't try" Minnie would often re-
monst-ate mildly, and finally, prospective
| father-in-law Dugan managed to get Joe
on the police force.
The wedding, month later, was enc OF
the events of the season in THE Village"
ard although the honeymoon was brief,
] Joe and Minnie were as happy as the
most critical gossip could wish for.
They were snugly installed in small
| suite of apartments, round the corner
! from where the elder Dusans lived.
Joe, now a policeman, was detailed to
| duty Il. a precinct far up on the East
Side of the city, and consequently was
forced to remain away from home much
| OF the time.
! Considering the fact that Joe knew lit
| tie or nothing about the great city of
! New York, aside from Greenwich Village,
! the new scenes and new faces on the up
per East SIDE interested him, and being a
! policeman, young and handsome, even ii
| no was lazy. made it easy for Joe to form
new acauaintances.
Among them were several girls, just
| budding into womanhood. They were
/ jolly and pretty and quite up TO date, as
| the saying goes, and Joe. as he patrolled
/ his post gradually became more and more
! chummy with his new acquaintances.
Joe, as most policemen do. became i'm
bued with the customs of the friendly
residents on his post, and though in his
nights he might have gone to his cozy lit
tie honae in "The Village" when he re-
maineG on the upper East Side
When Joe, jr., arrived, every person in
1.-THE Village" rejoiced, but wondered why
Minnie did not enter into the spirit of
/ Joyiality.
She was happy, of course, but as she
! pressed little Joe to her breast and re-
| ceived the consra atulatiOns of her friends,
I there seemed TO be something sad about
her old-tiTne merry self, which caused re-
mark
Shes mother, now. and girlhood days
| have gone" said one old dame in explain
alton.
Simply the evolution OF the maid into
the matron." said another.
But the truth of the matter was. that
Minnie had heard through the reports Of
some friendly busybodies that Police
man Joe was not behaving himself as he
should on the Upper East Side
Minnie couldn't believe their tales at
first, but as il happened, Joe did not nut
in an appearance until the baby was two
days old. His Joy was unbounded. and he
begged forgiveness for his delay n re ach-
ing home. pleading police business.
! Minnie brOOdsd over all she had heard
and when baby was almost three weeks
old, she asked her husband why he re-
turned home so seldom.
/ She may have betrayed some jealousy in
the subsequent quarrel. the first they had
ever had, but the end came when she re-
marked half tearfully. and half in anger:
You'd better go and live forever up
town where your post is located.
Joe sullenly walked away, without even
hi IL 4
/ On reaching the station-heuse I'D town,
the young father 70 nd he had ben trans
ferred to the precinct including Greenwich
! Village, and the following night he was
surprised 20 learn that his post included
the very house where he had left Minnie
and the baby hardly twenty-four hours
before
AS he passed through the old familiar
street thought OF all the recent happeq-
ings came so thick and fast that robbzries
and murders might have been commit d.
and Joe would not have even heard the
cries OF the victims. He was thinking of
Minnie and the baby.
I Minnie was almost heartbrcken when
Joe left her. Next morning she hurried 20
her mothers house and remained th=re all
day with Ihe baby Mrs. Dugan gave her
! some good advice and returned home with
her after supper. saying: JOEL be back
when he's through work II rnidnignt. so
be a good girl, and III run in again before
bedtime"
4 But Minnie was TOO much excited TO
wait. and Little Joe seemed unusually
restless az first Then ne topped of into
Sunderland and Minnie was left 10 her
own thoughts.
These thoughts finally got the better
of her. She dressed Little Joe IN his rest
clothes. and as ne stin slept peacefully on.
tucked him snugly in tie market bas-
ket ard hurried out into the street.
Policeman Joe stood Teliectively In the
shadow Of a tree across the way as Min.
ME closed the front door. She did not See
him. but he saw ner. and wondered what
she had In the basket
Had he replied 70 the dictates OF his
heart, he would have rushed across the
street and clAsp>d Minnie in his arms. 2 he
lie on the upper East SIDE became a hid
eous dream. ana with Minnie as OF old ne
felt as though he did not care whe-hs, he