Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-25
THE WORM TURNED

n man never KNOWS now 8OOQ ne IS untll
he tries" said a railroad conductor whose
run Is between Washington and Chicago
''On an out trip that male few weeks
back took along a man who Is the pro-
prietor OF one Of the most successful haber-
dashery shops In Washington. He's q
stout, puffy little man Of thirty-five or 50.
with rosy skin. fat cheeks and mild blue
eyes, which he shelters behind q pair OF
thick glasses. He Is noted around town for
his unfailing amiability-one Of the sort OF
men who would instantly agree with you il
you claimed that the moon was composed
OF frontage de brie.
He was taking a smoke and reading the
paper after we slipped away from Cumber-
land and sat in with him for chat. 1t
was the morning after the Corbett-McGov-
ern fight. and. like almost everybody else,
he was surprised over the fact that Corbett
had succeeded in walloping Terry for the
second time.
u never read an account Of prize
night, the agreeable little haberdasher said
to me, that don't wonder how the fellows
conjure up the nerve to stand up in front
OF each other with their hands up. hon.
estly believe that I'd rather do fourteen
years In Trenton prison than go up against
game like that. Even If was trained and
felt right. I'd hate to take a chance on
having another fellow hand me Jar on
the jaw that would cause me to go to the
=
the feeling, II sgt hit real hard, I might
never come to. haven't got any nerve in
the hghtlng way, anyhow. think I'd let
man pull my collar and cuffs OF me any
time rather than take a chance on having
him pass me haste in the eye-Pm sure
enough afraid of that kind Of work. AS a.
matter of fact. I've got it pretty well doped
out that I'm a physical coward
He had barely finished making this little
deprecatory speech about himself when
big, rough-looking chap. with plasterer's
trowel stuck in the outside breast pocket Of
his coat, walked down the aisle with pint
bottle of whisky in his hand. The plasterer
was just beginning to accumulate a travel
ing artisans bun, and he had just about
enough In to make him familiar with folks.
l was sitting by the window, the haber-
dasher holding down the aisle seat. The
plasterer stopped suddenly when he came
alongside my Seatmate and sat down on
the arm rest of the haberdasher's seat He
extended his black bottle to my puffy little
friend, the dealer in neckties and things,
saying:
Have one. cap.
''The haberdasher kept on his smile that
wouldn't come off, and passed the bottle
back to the plasterer.
No. thanks he said. I've just got
through eating, and it's pretty early for
me-
1.-THE plasterer got ugly right away
You're one O these snippy little dudes
that won't drink with man that works
with his hands, hey? he said. quarrelsome-
~, anu uOuCeQ tnaI the naDerQaSner was
beginning to get pale around the mouth.
It's not that at ALL he replied, weakly,
bat l just don't happen to feel like drink
ing right now, that's ALL
;" Cute little bit Of work. amt your said
the plasterer with a sneer. Got a nice
little curly mustache. haven't you, hey?
Say, I'll tell you what you are, Algy.
You're a newsbOy. You ought to have a
bundle of papers under your arm For
cents I'd give you the sassiest slap on the
wrist that you ever heard Of
=" I wish you'd go away" said the haber
dasher to the plasterer. You annoy me-
terer then, and go light on that booze, or
I'll be giving you dump when we reach
the next station. You don't know this man.
and he was minding his own business You
mind yours
But the drinks in the plasterer were
pretty busy, and he couldn't see the light
He suddenly reached his hand over, and
with his index and middle finger. he took
tug at the haberdasher's mustache.
Then it happened. 1t happened so sud-
denly that didn't have show to get in,
although, as the man in charge of the train.
I was due to figure in all occurrences Of
that character.
1.-The little haberdasher jumped to his
feet. The reddiest flush that I ever saw
on mans face took the place of the pallor
that had mounted to his countenance when
the plasterer had begun to get ugly
'In getting up the haberdasher forced the
plasterer to his feet. too. and the haber-
dasher planted mastery left right in the
pit of the plasterer's stomach-he did 1t by
instinct. the haberdasher afterward told
me, not because he knew any of the rules
of the game. Then, when the plasterer
bent forward under the impact Of the
stomach slug the haberdasher caught him
right on the point Of the jaw with his right
and the plasterer went down in the aisle
for the count He was all out
1.-THE little haberdasher sat down by me,
putting and he grew pale again.
~ hope I haven't hurt that fellow he
said
1.-THE brakeman undid the plasterer's COL
lar and neckband and threw some water In
his face, and in about three minutes the
man with the trowel came around and
asked where he was.
YOU'RE all right. son. he said to the
haberdasher after he had recovered himself
and thought 1t over. and the two shook
hands and made 1t UP on that basis.
It's lucky for me that am not pull
verized,' said the haberdasher to me when
he left the train, and he was still pale and
slFaky over the remembrance Of what he
had done to the plasterer.
"A man can't know how good his nerve
Is until he tries it out"