The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-03-22
NEW TO THE GROCER.
gwIndle with a Ten-do1Iar Bill Practiset
by Fluent Young Man.

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by Fluent Young Man.
The grocer sat on a high stool, hii
elbows on the counter and his fact
buried in his hands. The Brooklyn
man came in to get quarters worth
Of eggs.
now?"
"I'm thinking" said the grocer
"that the man who said that all the
tools are not dead knew precisely what
he was talking about"
"How could you think otherwise?'
remarked the Brooklyn man, with true
Brooklyn humor with all the Gus.
toners you have?"
"Hold on" said the grocer, "this is
no joke. Let me tell you about it. A
little while ago I was sitting here do
Ing nothing in particular, when in
rushed very pleasant looking young
man. He had lot of bills in his
hand, and he wanted to know If
could let him have a ten-dollar bill
for small bills. He said that he want
ed to send $40 away in a letter, and
didn't like to put small bills in an en-
velope. Well, I'm a pretty good
natured sort of a man and | told him
that | would be very glad to oblige
him. So, while I went into the drawer
to get the bill, he counted out $40 so
that 1 could hear him, and then flshed
out an envelope into which he placed
the bill that l gave him. Then he
started out of the store. He didn't
seem in great hurry, and so when,
In counting over the money that he
had given me, found that there was
only SO. I didn't have any suspicious
of intentional wrong-doing on his
part, but credited the matter to a
very natural mistake.
'Well, I called him back, and he
was very apologize; said it was cur
ious mistake for him, and lew other
things that / don't remember. AS a
matter of fact he talked so fast and so
smoothly that half of what he said
escaped me in my admiration for his
cratorical powers. While he was talk
ing he was fishing around in his poe
kets for an odd dollar. Apparently he
couldn't find one, for ne finally said:
''Well, I guess I'll have to give you
your bill back until can get that 9TH
er dollar" Then he looked at the en-
velope in his hand and continued:
LGSs LudL GOO Udus VIC SOAC anu
sealed that envelope up and it's ad-
dressed and stamped and your ten-dol-
lar bill is inside I'll tell you what we
might do, though, he went on, after a
moments thought. "You give me my
nine small bills, and I'll go out and
get the other bill. In the mean time
you hold on to this envelope and when
come back I'll give you the entire $40
and we won't have to open up my let
ter at all.
"Well, swear l couldn't see any
harm in this arrangement, and | said
yes without a moments hesitation.
What makes me SO darn mad now is
that l was excessively polite to the
duck. Why, fairly bowed him out of
the store, and after he had gone
carefully placed the envelope in my
cash drawer and locked it up Then
waited for fully half an hour for the
young man to come back, and when
be failed to show up took the envel-
ope out and ripped it open, not with
any idea in my head that anything was
wrong, but simply because | was inn
patient with the man for being so in
considerate after l had done him fa-
vor. Well, there was a neatly folded
piece of paper in the envelope and on
II was written in neat hand: I'll be
back when the robins nest again
"Say, even then it was a full minute
before the truth dawned on me. When
it did hit me it came like a ton of
brick. oh, you gosh burned fool |
murmured; and then l came around
on this stool and sat down to think.
/ was still thinking when you came in,
and I'll start in again when you go
out"
up in Reubenville, where I lived
before I came to Brooklyn" said the
Brooklyn man, 1--WE used to call that
film fam"
ooh, you did, EN-" said the grocer,
swell, l don't know what they call
it in Brooklyn, but it's good game
and when I go broke in the grocery
business I'm going to try it on some
guy myself" and the grocer went back
to his thoughts, while his friend walk
ed out.