Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-11
VALUABhES IN PAWN

A 0ubstantial-looking man, with good
deal more than the nucleus OF a jag,
pledged for IS the other afternoon. at q
Washington pawnshop. diamond ring ana
diamond pin Of q combined value OF not
less than $1,000.
such things as that happen oftenF a
man who happened to be In the pawnshop
inquired Of the pawnbroker, after the Jag
ged patron had gone.
"Oh, occasionally" was the pawnbroker's
reply. THAT man has got lot Of wisdom
under his hat, outside Of the fact that he's
been applying hot and rebellious floods to
his blood in hot weather. And 1t is I'M
questionably the wisdom of experience. AT
some time or other that man has been
rolled as the saying goes, TOT nus oia-
monds when in a condition of INCONSISTENCY
such as he's making for now. wen, tnat
experience was no doubt a lesson 10 MN !.
He perceives a moist. jocund time Oh ~
ahead of him. He knows beyond oouot'
that he's liable to go to sleep somewhere.
And SO he very level-headedly brings ms
gew-gaws down here to be taken care ot
until he energies into the gray. olsmai ngnl
of Realityville with that remorseIui: l. $
all-over-now feeling heavy upon MIN: lhen'
conforming to the immemof1ai custom IL,
such cases, he will hop out of bed. pig head
and all, and do hurried stock-taklns
stunt.
He may find that all of his roll Is absent
either spent or lost or something, out theie'
most probably, will be his tickets ior ms
gauds. If the tickets are not there, having
been deftly removed by cheerful worker,
he will vaguely remember having pasSeo
his baubles over to me before the game ue
came utterly ferocious and lndlstlIlc' AM AM
them over to anybody but himself no MAJ
ter by whom the tickets are presehteu "
me- until I've found out Whetner no 70 Nv
ing or dead. Then, after the not pa,n a.,d d
foil ar
fruitless mutterngs to himself anent 'ne
four-ply burro he has made OF nimsel, no
will come down to me, solemn ana uepi 20 s,s
ed and gloomily sober, ana reoeeih 'A'
gear.
"I'lI hand the stuff over to him whether
he's got the tickets or not, for IN. OF
course, remember him. or course III ina.
case I'd protect myself by navils ,l, ,,
make the little affidavit with wnlcn YOU
may be familiar, yes? If he hasn got tie
tickets. and some foxy-eyed chap stroiis III
little later on with the tickets, II knoM
just how to step on little electric out.oit
I've got at the end of this shop, ana aDout
four minutes later a large. red-mustacneo
person. wearing a uniform ana pauSo,
will canter in here and make tne sial'
with the tickets wish that he hau eaten
the same with mayonnaise dressing peioIe
taking the idiotic chance OF coming mere
with them
The man to whom the pawnbroker was
talking suggested that the custoolanshlp vi
IN
of responsibility for the small proht TO De
made on a 50 loan. ,
Don't you worry, son." quickly replied
the pawnbroker, "about our not getting
ours There is one little chance in great
many that the man who just played safety
with me will never come back Suppose ne
loses the tickets and then gets run over
by milk wagon? I am not going to read
the newspapers especially to find out If
anything like that happens to him, His
heirs or assigns will not know where MS
stuff is, and it would be no part of my vo-
cation to hunt them UP and tell them. That,
philanthropic thing for me to do, but"
Here the pawnbroker began to chuckle
softly to himself and then he went ahead
to elucidate the significance of his chuc-
king.
Along toward dark of St. Patricks day
last year, when we were about fixing to set
the time locks and put up the blinds,
fine-looking big chap same sort OF a man
here and unloaded his bright articles. I
could see that he was a westerner and ask
ed him how things were out in Chicago.
He told me to, take the top of the class
merchant in a pretty extensive sort of
way out in Chicago. He was just here on
little off-side excursion for himself He
came in here to do the safety act. which. by
the way, is really "a Chicago scheme; 1t
originated out there 1--WE Or six years ago.
when the footpaddists Of the windy town
were rude and unnlahrierly. The Chicago
merchant perceived that he was in for a
real. sure-enough vortex that night, and so
he dropped by here to stow his brilliants.
They were worth about s3,5OO-five articles
and I passed him $25 on them. He had a
wad of bills on him the size Of a robust
cucumber. '..
"I'Il brush by in the morning he said to
me. and give you your discharge as re-
ceiver of that stuff
But he didn't come in the next morning,
n hn t,ir,tr tI,t
month later. After a month had passed 1
figured that he had been suddenly sum-
moned to Chicago and | expected to get
letter with the tickets and a money order
from him almost any old day. with a re-
quest that his stuff be shipped to him.
But didn't get anything of the sort from
him. After six months so 1 began to
wonder If he had cashed in. When March
the 1st of this year rolled around got into
the habit of taking that mans stuff out of
the safe and looking. at 1t real covetously
We'll. when March the 18th drifted along
and no big Chicago man around for lis
shiny things, the game sure did look like
all mine. and 1 kind O. calculated that I'd
wear the big three-stone ring myself for a
change. supposing nothing happened. The
stuff wouldn't be mine for another month,
on account of the months grace customar-
lily allowed. but l didn't figure upon the
Chicago mans knowing anything about the
months grace business. and had 1t pretty
well fixed up in my own mind that If March
lHe lttH low ueSCtHulHR sun SnOt below
the Virginia hills and still no Chicago
man I'd be about due to fall into line and
collect.
About half-past 5 o'clock of the evening
of March the 18th l was just stroling back
to the safe to lay clutch on that stuff
and wrap the big three-stoner around my
finger, when a voice at the counter gave
me sudden attack of locomotor ataxia
oh. we'll thought I'd Just drop in, see
ing that I'm some due said the voice real
cheerily. and then l managed to wheel and
catch my Chicago mans broad grin
Just by nose said 1. trying TO look
blithe. as / took the tickets and handed
him over his gear. Quite little delay at
the post. eh?'
Oh dunno he replied. I just wanted
to make you feel some to the good that's
all. Real magnanimous of me. wasn't it?'
and then he walked out beaming 1 hate
to get slaughtered in the stretch tina.
way"
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