Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1904-07-05
MUGGINS' SCOOP.
By ]. L. HARBOUR.

ing that a boy was wanted for gen
eral work, which included great
many things. Muggins' remark,
when he was told of the multiple
ity of his duties, struck me as be-
ing so sensible that engaged him
on the spot.
"I'm hiring out my time to you,
sir" he said, "and / don't care
what | do so long as you want me
to use my time in that way
Acting on this principle Mug
gins would do anything he was
told to do, from the making of a
pot of paste to the sweeping out OF
the whole office. Muggins came
from nobody knew where. he had
small, wizened features and eyes
like a ferret. He never looked
very tidy, forhe was aslikely asnot
to go down into the engine room
of the Times Office and tumble into
a .pile of waste and sleep there, in
stead of going to his own home
and his own bed, although do not
know that he had either.
Some one had called out:
"Hello, Muggins," on his first ap.
pearance in the Times Office, and
he was Muggins to us from that
time forth, although his name may
have been Jones or Montague. II
he objected to the nickname he
never said so. SlawsOn, foreman
of the composing room, was right
when he said:
IF You want to see Muggins'
dander rise just abuse that dog of
his a little"
This dog was an ill-favored mon
grel-a bOw-legged, bOb-tailed,
one cared little cur of no color in
particular. The dog was always
about two feet from the heels Of
Muggins. The distance was never
heightened or lessened. When
Muggins stopped the dog came to
a standstill, and he started up
with ,elOck-like precision the in
slant Muggins moved on. The
name0f the dog was Pips.
One day SlawsOn kicked tht,
dog, and Muggins jerked off hjs
shabby little jacket, threw his cap
on to the floor, pulled his dirty
shirtsleeves up over his thin, bOny
arms, and screeched out in his
shrill, piping voice:
''ROuch that dog again, If you
dare, Jim SlawsOn! You do it,
and you'll answer for st to mev'
SlawsOn was a giant in stature
and strength. He stared at Mug
1 gins fer a moment, then he roared
with laughter, and said: "'tGOOd
for you, Muggins! That's the talk
DON'T you let any one run over
you or Pips, either! If do il
again,gOu just sail in and give me
the thrashing / deserve"
''Tll,do it," said Muggins. '@Pips
don't Ibother anyone, and i won't
see him abused"
The men in the office laughed So
1Oudly,OGer this incident that Col
Bentley, editor and owner of the
paper came up from his private
,Office below.
What's the matter up here"
he asked.
'~Ltlsalmg of MuggiBs, sir," .said
;SlawsOn, with a delighted chuckle
she and iPips threatens to iclean
out the office"
''1MhO is Muggins?-
why, e0lOnel, is ii possible
that pOulhaw not YET made the.ac-
quaintance 'Of the latest addition
ITO the editorial and general nOnst-
aibOut department of the office
Allow me TO present Mu&gins ITO
you, and thisiis Pips."
~Nslad to iIOn0w you, Muggins, p
said Mr.. Bentley. "YOu keep
them straight up here, and put
Slawson Oart ifhe goes too far
The editorial and composing
rooms of the Times office were ON
the same floor, "a gh board par
tition separating one department
from the other. The door in this
partition was now closed, and the
printers went back to their work
while |, then city editor, began my
regular nights work. The Times
was a morning paper, and we
worked until three or four O'Clock
in the morning. had ustOpened
H., IT,. -