Smyrna times., 1902-12-24

maid to attract custom to his bar and
that my attentions to her had caused
great falling off in receipts. l should
have argued the case with him, giving
him to understand my paternal inter
est, but as he was not remarkably in
telligent l passed him over a sovereign
to make good his losses and said moth
ing. 1t was o'clock in the morning
when sat at an open window to smoke
my pipe, and l had not been ruminat-
ing for more than quarter of an hour
when the young man l had seen three
nights before came tiptOeing along the
street under my window and made for
the rear entrance of the hotel. My Gu
riosity was considerably aroused, but
there was no way of satisfying it. The
next day 1 learned that a residence
had been robbed of quite large sum
in cash and jewelry by a porch climb
er. Officers were scurrying around aft
er a clew, but the matter was of no
moment to me.
The next evening, as l walked with
the superior barmaid in the twilight,
having tipped the landlord another
sovereign to cover prospective loss,
tried to make my position plain to her,
and l quite succeeded. Indeed it real
ly surprised me to see how promptly
she grasped the idea of my paternal
position. She was willing to take all
my good advice to heart and act on it.
and she had not permitted herself to
build any castles because of my mark
ed attentions. If l remember Alright, l
was somewhat disappointed and cha
grined, but man who will not swal-
low his own philosophy has no bust
ness to complain.
Four days more passed. l cOntin-
ued to be paternal and the barmaid
continued to be sensible. Then l went
out one night to spear fish by torch
light. The landlord had become so
rapacious that it was cheaper to go
fishing by torchlight than to sit with
Ethel in the starlight after the bar had
been closed. did not return until aft
er midnight, and once in bed 1 slept
until 8 o'clock the next morning.
might have slept an hour longer had
not a constable aroused me and placed
me under arrest. A dapper young man
had been seized as he was making off
with plunder and after escaping from
the officer had been trailed to the Oak
and Ivy. While the baffied cOnstables
were arousing the landlord and tum-
bling over each other the fugitive had
somehow got clear of the house, but
had left surprising clews behind. The
barmaid, the superior barmaid, was
missing, and her female garments, or at
least most Of them, had been left be-
hind, together with articles of apparel
never worn save by the male sex. In
| fact, after several hours of study and
/ investigation the constables had de-
cided that "Ethel' was young man in
disguise. If not, she had assumed q
full suit of male attire at night as she
stole forth to plunder. In her haste
enough of that plunder had been left
behind to convict her.
Was it not perfectly natural that my
paternal and platonic attitude toward
the girl, or boy, should cause me to be
suspected of being her pal? OF course
It was, and 1 was in Jail for ten days
and in the clutches of the law for 9
month before l cleared myself Of the
imputation. Even then there were peo
pie who darkly limited that had bribeC
the judge and bought up the jury ant
that l ought to have received a five
years dose at the very least. AS to tht
superior barmaid, was she a male o.
female? Do not ask me. pressed he
lips, held her hand and stroked he
hair as we sauntered in the dusk o
evening, all in a paternal way, ant
when l reflect that she might hav,
been young man instead the situation
is not to my liking. When l was a
last through with the case, l vote
myself a fool, and perhaps it is bes
that l make no change of opinion o.
that score.