The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-20
JoE'S EGG CORNER.
Copyright, 1901, by Charles Battell
Loomis.)


Loomis.)
1.-THE ice is awful on the river, sonny,
1 was nearly three hours getting over
this morning. They ought to furnish
lunches. ! guess it will be as bad to-
night. I'm glad I'm not going back"
Little Joe Dempsey. who earned a
precarious living by doing odd jobs,
was down to his last three cents. He
was carrying the valise of man who
had just crossed the North river, and
if he had been some boys the words he
had just heard would have passed in at
one ear and out of the other, but he
was not some boys. but just his own
bright little self and he made up his
mind to do something that day to set
him on his feet.
He walked to the Courtlandt street
station of the L road with the valise
and then the owner of it gave him a
quarter. He had noticed that Joe was
trying not to stagger under the weight
of it, and the dime that he had intend
ed giving had swelled to a quarter on
the way.
Tanks" said Joe, his eyes cleaning
with joy. He put the coin in his trous-
ers' pocket and ran to the nearest
hardware store, which was not far
away. He walked into it with the air
of a millionaire, and said
Il want one of dose market baskets
wild lids fer a quarter"
Where's the money!" asked the eau
| tious clerk.
ooh, L got der money all right. See?"
| He slapped the quarter down on the
counter, picked up the basket, looked
at it critically, and then marched out
of the store whistling the latest song
of the sidewalks.
"Chee, hope de ice don't give out"
said he to himself as he ran down
| Washington street until he came to
| Washington market. Here he thread
| ed his way among the aisles to the
stall of produce merchant.
Hello, Joe. What's new?" asked the
man of eggs.
I'm goin' inter der egg business, an
| l want youse to gil me a start. Fill me
basket wit fresh eggs an I'll pay yer
ter morrer, or else take it out woikin
fer YER
Joe had an honest face and he talk
ed as If he meant business, and Jim
Bagsley, who had known him for some
| time, counted out seven dozen eggs,
| packing them carefully in the bas-
| ket
"There you are, Joe. Those are II
| for a quarter. That makes $1.75 you
owe. That's a weeks work if you don't
| pay me-"
wen get dis ting down in writin'.
Leave us have a pencil an a piece of
paper" said joe
Then he wrote:
st, Joseph Dempsey, prommis to pay
Jim Bagsley on doler an sevveny five
scents or work it out fer a week. 10.
| Dempsey"
Say, what are you up to, anyway"
asked Mr. Bagsley.
"Ill tell yer ter-morror, Jim. Do you
'tink de ice in her river is gon' ter
| bust, Ell ?"
mot If this cold weather holds. Co
ing ice yachting?"
Eyes, I'm go'n' ter git me iceboat out
| an take sail down der bay wit Pier
pont Morgan an Russell Sage, an 1
fought we might git hungry"
You'll do laughed Mr.. Bagsley,
and turned to wait on a customer.
$50 long" said Joe, and walked off,
but not as quickly as he had come, for
his burden was not only heavier but
more valuable. All his eggs were in
one basket, and he could not afford to
| drop 1t.
He made his way to a court back of
| an alley, where, since the death of his
mother, he had made his home with a
kindly old Irish woman by the name
| of Clancy.
Mrs Clancy, I'm go'n to open a
rist'runt an will youse boil me desc
eggs ?"
fFor the love of murder, where did
the bye git the beautiful eggs? What
| are you go'n' to do wild dose?'
CON ter chuck 'em at a copper, an
| I wants dem nard. I'll gi yer ten cents
ter morrow if youse'll boil dem"
Sure, l don't want any money fer
bilin' eggs. But who wants hazard
billed eggs in winter. That's picnic
vittles."
"Well, maybe I'm goin' on winter
picnic. I'll tell yer about it ter-mor-
| rer"
Mrs. Clancy soon had the eggs in a
big iron pot that had come. all the way
! from Ireland with her, but ii was a
matter of nearly an hour before all the
eggs were hard boiled.
Meantime Joe had run anxiou'ly
down to West street to see If by any
chance the ice had begun to break up.
But IL was still firmly packed and the
passage of boats was slow and labor
| ious.
The tide of homeward travel set In
early that afternoon, as Jersey sub
urbanites did not want to spend an
evening on the ice. Joe waited until
o'clock, and then he paid out his last
three cents, and stepped aboard a Jer-
sey Central ferryboat.
The passage was very slow, but IL
was not slow enough to develop any
hunger on the part of the passengers,
and all too soon, in Joes estimation.
they made the dock on the New Jer-
sey side and hurried off to be met by
other passengers hurrying on. Joe
walked part of the way up the float
and then turned and came back. He
was a little afraid that a deck hand
might question him, but no one had
noticed him or his basket nor his bulg-
ing pocket containing salt in "A paper
bag--a suggestion OF Mrs. Clancy's.
Cru-u-nch r-unch kerthug clugg
went the Ice against the boat, but the
engines were strong, and she made her
way despite the pressure. There were
very few passengers on board.
"Chee" said Joe 20 himself. IF we
was 10 get stuck now / couldn't sell
more dan ten eggs" He stood out IN
| the nippinR cir and anEiOusly watched
/ the pilot. When they reached the New
! York side the boat made I'VE trials be-