The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1902-03-21


Planet editorial rooms, and the men,
the old men, thatis, had begun to look
upon him as something Of nuisance.
The new men. those just out of college
and breaking in on little assignments,
thought him an interesting character
and often forgot the city editors in
junction mot to encourage the Dago."
Pietro was useful in his way. though,
for he sometimes brought in bits OF
news from the Italian quarter that
could be worked up into Sunday stor-
les, and when the triple murder took
place on Robert street two years ago
it was Pietro who put Johnson, the
police man, on to the hiding place OF
the murderer 1t was big beat for
the planet and Johnson got his salary
raised and a compliment from the
"old man" at the same time. OF course,
Johnson made it all right with Pietro
and kept mum as to the source of his
information.
But Pietro was beginning to be a
all hours of the day and night with
some piece of information about the
advent of a new baby, or the finding
of whole dress in the rag barrel;
things in which the Planet readers
were not at all interested. In the sum-
mer Pietro ground hurdy-gurdy
and in winter kept a chestnut stand
just around the corner from the news
paper offices, and no reporter known
to the Italian ever failed to stop, and
help himself when he passed the stand.
Pietro's hurdy-gurdy was an inhar-
monious machine that had long since
passed its prime, but he ground it
every day in pleasant weather and the
children in the courts danced to its
tiny notes.
Some days Pietro was accompanied
by his daughter. She played the tam
BOURNE and collected the pennies with
business-like air. She wasn't pretty,
except in her eyes and hair. They
were Jet black and sparkled when she
moved or spoke. She seemed about
Is years old, but like all italian child
rem, dressed as though she were 40.
She was childish in her manners, how
ever, and not altogether unattractive.
When she began coming into the
Planet Office with her father, even the
city editor forgot to be gruff, for there
was something instinctively gentle in
the girls manner of speaking Her
mother was dead, Pietro had told us,
and the girl was his only companion.
He seemed to think a great deal OF
her, and always smiled when one of
the men complimented her. The re-
porters began to watch for her coming
and whenever a tambourine accom-
paniment was heard to Pietro's hurdy-
gurdy, at least one of us would take
the trouble to go down stairs and give
the couple coin. No one ever knew
what the girl did in winter while her
father attended his chestnut stand, and
in fact, no one ever had occasion to
ask
One day toward the end of summer
Pietro came in, smiling. He had some
news he said. Angelica, his daughter,
had a sutton; a certain Giacomo, who
owned a horse and wagon and did
thriving business in the fruit line.
Pietro was enthusiastic about his fu-
ture son-in-law.
HE good man." he said. "Maka
plenty de mon. Gotta de boss an
wagon, an say he TAXA me in de biz
witha heem. Maka plenty de mon,
sella de banan'. Angelica, she lika
heem mucha. Dey git marry. ST."
OF course, the staff individually and
collectively, congratulated him on his
prospects, and Hill, the youngest man
on the force, who had picked up some
coarse Italian at his fathers commits
sion house, added phrase. which
seemed to please Pietro very much, but
which had an unpleasant sound to the
rest of us. The delighted old man
promised to bring Giacomo in to see
us soon, and to fetch Angelica, too,
that she might be congratulated in
person.
True to his promise, the prospective
bride and groom were brought in next
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