The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-13
II HOUSEKEEPING.
Also an Account of the Nerve
that Has Made a Plunger Of
Steve L'Hommedieu.

on q single race on the previous day, ana
it was estimated that he had walloped the
Chicago bookmakers to the tune of some
thing like $1SO,0O0 since the opening Of
the Chicago racing season." said a depart
mental official here who hasn't seen horse
race for good many years, but who at
one stage Of his life was reduced to the
smoking OF much punk tobacco in unsa worry
dudheens through his addiction. strictly
as a piker, to the horse game. II am glad
to hear that Steve is beating them out
again. because he helped me to st art house,
keeping here in Washington lot Of years
ago.
AT that time l. Hommedieu made his
headquarters in Washington, because he
found II warmer here during the hard
winters than in some other places and
because there used to BIZ summer racing
here. He was only plunger in embryo
then. but even then he had the plunger's
nerve, if he did lack the resources. He
didn't have solitary attribute of the piker.
whereas was horn one.
u had just slid into the departmental
service and when they started to race
at the old 81. Asaph track, across the Poto-
mac in Virginia. took my annual leave
in halliday sections Of afternoons, with
the nebuous idea OF running shoemaker's
bank roll into Shoe and Leather Bank
] had often met 'Hommedieu around
town before the beginning Of the races,
and resumed my acquaint anceship with
him at the st. Asaph track.
my Government pay was pretty small
then. My wife and were living in dingy
boarding house, and by the time I got
through paying the board what was left
of my wages was mere metallic junk. But,
by the time the St. Asaph meeting was a
week old, was just $500 to the good.
Il flashed that colossal bundle on Steve
on the in-train from the track.
Look what I've done to EN-. said
to him, gloatingly. And they're never
going to feel the heft Of this wad again
Pm through. Pm going to start house.
keeping with this wealth
-L'Hommedieu took the wad, shuffied
it, handed it back to me, and shook his
head
Isn't enough Of it, he said. That
might set you up in housekeeping in
Manayrnk or Scituate or Ipswich, but
it'll never do it in Washington. Got to
buy the furniture on instnllments, haven't
you2'
OF course, told him.
"Wcll, said he, by the time You pay the
first instalment on the furniture, and a
months rent in advance, and make the dig
to have the gas turned on, and cough for
the moving, and stake the larder to a bottle
Of queen olives and Jug of Worcestershire
sauce, not to mention few incidentals,
why. you're all in. Better nurse that roll
along little more.
His view Of my housekeeping project
rather Disconnected me. Tho 5000 did look
kind O. small When got to looking it over.
'I'll spin it along to thousand for you
tomorrow II you want to take a chance
L Hommedieu put in while ] was still
wubbling.
Dye think it could be done?' asked
him. hesitatingy.
"In n smoke, he replied, and fell to tie
temptation with nary another flap.
Il had all of the following day off. and
was due to go downtown in the morning
with my wife to start in picking out kitchen
chairs, eggbeateIs, hash choppers and other
hcus excepting biiout erie She didn't know
that / had all OF that $200 roll. but / had
given her to understand in general sort Of
way couple Of days before, that / had
snagged out enough to make a beginning
toward the housekeeping scheme, and she
WAS tickled to death over the prospect of
beginning to buy the housekeeping truck
so soon
II had to side-step the buying expedition
that morning, though, for wanted to keep
the 5000 intact SOS TO run it into thousand
according to Steve's pleasant, not to say
tittvating, way Of putting ii. She looked
me over pretty srlspiciously when at noon,
edged out with the remark that | was
going after a cigar.
when had made the gate called back
to her that she could expect me when next
she saw me- and then I ran for it. | met
L'Hommedieu at the station, and we went
over to st. Asaph together.
All but two OF the horses were scratched
out Of the first race. and the dope made one
Of th, two SO much better than the other
that the bookies chalked that one NJ at |
to IS, and the other one at ~ to
Put fifty on the long one, Steve told
me There never were two racehorses
that figured so far apart a. that chalk since
the world began. Anyhow, this is St
Asaph, in Virginia. I'm going to tap
meself on the dozen-to-one plug, for there's
one chance in few that the to Is trick
will fall down
"And he did tap hims elf on the - to |
shot in the two-horse race all right
saw him put his 49, all he had, down,
gett ing n $3.50 to $40 ticket No piker would
ever have done thing like that with the
idea of tearing down to Is shot.
-When was playing en-. as | say, was
an instructive and hopeless piker, and so il
thing that was up against a to Is trick.
But did 1t. all the same, because there was
mighty catching in 1.'Homme-
deus confidence in Ills picks.
"The result OF the race showed that he
had been pretty close TO the truth in saying
that no pair Of horses on a racetrack we're
ever 40 far apart as The betting on that race
uid seem to indicate. The to is shot
had 10 stick out his tongue TO win on the
wire. But that didn't help any, at that.
Steve was all in, and was already helted
for $50.
II took Steve's selection for the next
race. a TO thing, and put $50 on il. 1t
won. but was disqualified because a lead
pad had slipped from beneath the winner
saddle during the race, 80 that the horse