Evening star., 1903-11-07
MADE A BAD BREAK


'T read somewhere, not long ago, story
of an impetuous young fellow who per-
mitted his bad temper and his Imagination
to lead him into striking blind man. said
a treasury special agent who is on the road
good deal 1.-The story went that he was
standing at a street-car transfer station
with a young woman, waiting for a car,
when he noticed that man standing short
distance away staring. or appeared to De
staring, pretty hard at the girl. There was,
besides sort of half-smile on the starer'
face. The impetuous young fellow took
the starer for a masher, and he walked
over and, without a word, smashed him in
the face. Then he found out that the man
he had hit was totally blind-his attendant
had left him for a moment to get something
in the corner drug store l can imagine
how that young chap must, II his instincts
were right. have hated himself for that
blow-how he must, indeed. have felt ike
thrusting the fist that struck the blow into
| the furnace, as young college fellow that
1 once knew did after striking wrongful
| blow.
But on a Pennsylvania train, out of
| Philadelphia for the west, I saw, rev
| weeks ago, an incident of the same general
| sort that impressed me as painfully as 1t
| did every one else who witnessed 1t. AS
| for the man whose looseness OF speech
| caused him to make the sad mistake. there
was really nothing to do but to feel sorry
| for him.
HE was a clean, snappy. clipper-built
man verging on middle age and an hour or
| so after the train left Philadelphia was
| during the afternOon-he started through
| the smoking compartments Of the chair
cars and sleepers to get up whist quartet.
There were not many male passengers On
| the train, and of these few not many ap-
| peared to know how to play whist. Most of
| them met his invitation with a courteous
| ha
ground that they didn't understand the
game.
| But when a whist f1end makes up his
mind to assemble party on board a train
| he never gives up trying until he has sue
| ceeded or rendered good many travellers
nervous. and that was the case with this
solid-looking but snappy Philadelphian.
After herculean eXertions, involving
many excited and beseech'ng tours through
| several cars, he finally got hold Of two men
| who announced their willingness to take a
| hand. Then. of course. he became more
| strenuous than ever in his effort to get the
| final player.
HE appeared for the fourth successive
| time in the smoking compartment, in which
l sat, and begged each of us once again to
| fill up the four. Most of the men in the
compartment. including myself, didn't know
| the game of whist. and we succeeded in
convincing the snappy-looking man that we
We're telling the truth about it.
| The last man that he tackled for the
l
| fellow of thirty or so. whose face had a
| look of trouble in it, although he replied
| courteously enough to the whist fiend's in
vitations. Each time he said, in low
| tone. that he did not feel like taking a
| hand
"On this last time around the whist fiend
| said to him:
You'll make the fourth I'm sure. Come
ahead. Tables all ready and the game
waiting
NO. was the reply of the man with
the troubled expression. don't feel like
| Joining in. I should like to oblige. but
and his voice broke a trife at that. and
some of US in the compartment could see
| than the man was under a strain. But
the whist flend didn't see 1t.
| You play, don't your he persisted
| " Yes. 1 play was the reply. still a lit
tie hoarse-and then he turned and gazed
| out of the window.
HUH can't understand man know
| ing how to play whist and not wanting
| to play it-blamed II I can,' impatiently
| mumbled the whist iend as he started to
go out of the car. and he muttered some
| thing, too, as he reached the door, that
| sounded good deal like lobster
1.-THE man with the troubled look turned
| his head about quickly from the window.
and he had gone a bit pale. as we could
| see. He didn't rise from his seat but he
stretched forth a long arm. grasped the
| whist fiend by the sleeve Of his coat, and
pulled him into seat.
| my friend he said to the startled
1
| look around his mouth as he spoke-'you
should restrain your impatience and your
| tongue. l am not a lobster. There Is no
| law compelling me to tell you why l do
| not elect to join your game of whist but ]
| shall tell you, not because you have any
| right to question or impugn the motives
of a stranger, but because your deficiency
| in tact will stand correction. 1 am not
| joining your whist party because the Gus
ket containing the body of my wife Is on
the baggage car attached to this train.
| "Then the with the troubled look
| gazed once more out of the window, nor
| did he turn his head again. The express
| sion that appeared in the face of the whist
| fiend was so absolutely pitiful, in it's elo-
| quence Of the mans mental self-denuncia-
| ton, that we couldn't help but sympathiZe
| with him.
| ga thousand pardons, old man. he said.
| in a choked tone. I've been a cad. and
| he went out with the alertness gone from
his carriage and his shoulders hunched
| forward. There was no whist played on
| the train