The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-08
STORY OF A KEY.
How Strange One Glanced to BE
Found in n Liberty Door.

IN IA GiDCHtS OoOA"
Members of Liberty street house
hold are trying to account for key
that was recently found in the front
door. 1t was a latchkey of much the
ordinary shape and size, and the onl!
remarkable thing about it was that It
was jammed into what was once a key
mole. Had there been any other evil
dence, it might have been suspected
that there had been burglars about the
house during the night, but save for
the key, there was naught to lend color
to the suspicion.
Two, or, rather. one young man,
could throw some light upon the mys-
terry. He has not been talking very
much about it, but the occupants of
the house might welcome its elucida-
ton through this story. Ii the other
he about whose ability TO explain the
occurrence there is question, was really
correct in a declaration he dwelt upon
with elaborate and positive insistence,
he may find 1t hard lines to live longer
in the household.
One of the two--the one who tells the
story, was walking home even later
than the witching hour. Traffic had
stilled its wheels, and not even a soil
tary nighthawk was proving slowly
through the deserted streets. for they
had gone to sleep in their usual man
ner, Pedestrians were not to be seen.
and the stiffness of the night was over
the city.
Reaching Madison square, the late
wanderers attention was attracted by
some dark object lying on one of the
grass plots. 1t looked susplciously like
the figure of a man. Curious to know
whether there had been murder, with
the gruesome evidence before him, but
more suspicious that the sleeper had
only imbibed too freely of the cup that
lnebrtates while it cheers the wayfarer
approached the out-stretched figure
There was no rigor of death in its lines.
but rather those of deep slumber.
EenuIng over, he Scrurfntzed the rea-
lures of the sleeper and discovered that
they were those of a young chap he
knew. with sundry kicks and shakes
and verbal efforts, the chance conner
sought to arouse the sleeper. hut there
was nothing doing. Only inarticulate
reJoinders could be secured.
f1nally concluding that 1t was a bad
loo' the Samaritan decided that about
the only service he could do the victim
OF good time would be to forestall
some less scrupulous passer-by and re-
HeVe him of what valuables he might
have on his person. Half suspecting
that the quest might prove bootless, as
oeVotees of Bacchus, as a usual thing.
when they have reached so delicious a
state or rest through worship of the
Wlne-cup, have little of this worlds
goods left upon their persons. the sam
arltan started to dig. He went through
pocket after pocket and then counted
up, The total was SO.
Ihen he determined to leave the
ineprate to Providence, which is most
KIND to DRINKS, and the night dews.
Ihat thought of the night dews. how
ever, restrained him. He had innlicIt
talth in good offices of Providence in
cases OF in VIM extremis. Again he es
sayed to arouse the sleeper and this
time, by dint of even more vigorous
Kicking and more stentorian shouts, he
induced the subject to find his feet
Encouraged, the Samaritan asked the
young rounder where he lived To the
forty seventh repetition of the cues.
ton, the answer that it was at Lib.
erty street, west, was forthcoming.
Ihen a walk for that number started
1t was presumably but just around the
corner, and the destination was soor
I.r reached, though walking was no cas-,
matter for the Samaritan, who was do.
ing 1T for two.
ARRIVED at the alleged residence OF
the inebriate, his friend asked him for
his night key. Finally he got il and
climbed the stoop, while the inebriate
promptly took advantage of the OBJ
portunity to go looking for that sleep
he had lost. The Samaritan tried the
door. It was. of course, locked. Then
he tried to slip the key into the lock.
IL wouldn't go. Evidently it had new
er seen the lock before. and the latter
would not permit an introduction.
Then the Samaritan went down and
said things to the inebriate, waking
him up to make him listen. The i'm
ebriate was insistent. He was inform
ed that the house was not number -.
to which he Alphabetically replied that
1t was supposed to be that number.
anyhow. 1t was where he lived, what
ever the blooming number might be,
anyhow.
So the Samaritan went up against
the door again, and the inebriate went
after that sleep. There was another old
keynote in the door, and into II. in des-
peratlon, went the key II stuck. It
wouldn't turn or come out. Disguised
the Samaritan decided he would shake
the good" Leaving the key In the
lock, he went back to the sleeper
steered him to a nighthawk, walked
up the driver, piled in the inebriate
and told the driver to take him to a
hotel giving him the SO of which he
had relieved him. That's how the kew
happened to be there.