The daily morning Alaskan., 1904-01-09
WHEN SHORTYS
 CHANGE GAME
fcopyrlght- l903. by c. ,. Lewlsl


 Around Fulton market and all along Front stnser they knew shorty O'Hig- gins. His given name was John, but as he was a trlAe less than five feet high he was always called Shorty.
 There was only one thing to console Shorty in his struggles to keep a dun garee suit of clothes on his back and prevent hunger from gnawlng at his yitals. He couldn't sing, play the fd- de or dance hornpipe, but be could sneeze The fame of Shortys sneeze extended clear down to the Battery and up to the Brooklyn bridges It had been heard up Wall street as far as Exchange place 1t was a sneeze pc culiarly his own, and no one could rob him of 1t or produce a successful imita- ton. That sneeze didn't come under the head or "prompness and dispatch" " It was an of ten minutes from the time his nose began to tickle until the ex- plosion came Explosion was the term for it. When the sgFeze finally came it lifted Shorty's cap on his head, rent new holes in his shoes and started the cobblestones in the street from their sandy foundations
 One day Shorty picked up a bit of news and was at once interested. No one could remember when he had been interested in anything before. The Cubans had suddenly braced up and sailed into the Spaniards with new vlgor and the junta had raised a large sum of money in the States to send over a cargo of war material Shorty learned what craft would take tie car go and her date of sailing, aud 1t came about that he was included in the crew, though the mate bestowed a kick upon him is an IN. G." almost before the ropes were clear of the snubblng posts. The craft went south to make a start from a Florida port, and in due time the munitions were on the rolling deep.
 History is silent as to why the mate got down On Shorty and worked up his old iron on him. Perhaps it was on account of the size of his feet or the sQuint of his eyes Steamship mates are rather eccentric in their likes and dislikes. No matter what the basis, Shorty was selected as the man to be bounced about, and bounced he was. The hHbuster craft was delayed at sea by accident, and again she was chased off the Cuban coast by a Spanish gun boat, and the mate had five or six days in which to make 1t plain to Shorty that he was not beloved.
 The steamer at length headed ln for the appointed rendezvous, but when ten miles off the shore two things hap pened. A gunboat was sighted bearing down on her, and darkness had scarce y come when a thick fog settled down with 1t. Shorty wasn't to blame for either the gunboat or the fog, but the mate swore that he was and gave him some more of the same old tonic.
 No living man had ever heard Shorty O'Higgins utter threats of vengeance; no one had ever known of his striking back. Had the fish dealers of Fulton market been told that he thirsted for revenge after that last bouncing about they would have stood amazed. Never theless, such was the case. Yes the worm had turned at last and if the mate had been a mind reader he would have hastened to take of bis cap and apologize.
 The dHbuster had reefs to look out for and an intricate channel to thread. As the fog came down she had to grope A little later she came to standsun The Spanlard came up to within half a mile of her and began to play her search light. No good. Then she crept forward, fathom by fathom, with her crew at the guns.
 The order had been flights out" and no talking aboard the dlibuster. Ev- erything that could creak and groan was dashed fast and such men as were forced to move about removed their shoes. The pail was so thick that a mau standing amidships could not see stem or stern. The hare crouched iu her form while the hound hunted to and fro. Presently. as the ocean was as quiet as a graveyard, Shorty found himself beside the mate. The mate wasn't thinking of bouncing anybody just then, but Shorty was reviewing the past He reviewed for i've min. utes and then whispered in the mates ear:
 "Mr. Davis, I'm goin' to sneeze."
 "If you do, I'll throttle your replied the mate as he turned on him.
 "Alr. Davis, I'm goin' to sneeze, and you can get ready to go to the bottom of the sea and be hanged to you"
 The mate had heard of "the Shorty sneeze," and even as he reached out to grasp the originator and sole proprietor by the throat and choke him into a state of limpness he turned pale and his heart pounded his ribs He failed to get to Shorty's neck in time. The sneeze came, and it was a sneeze that would have set 800 pedestrians along Front street wondering what tug had exploded her boilers. They could have heard 1t aboard the gunboat had she been four times as far away. There was a prompt hail in reply, and then. as the flibuster captain ripped out an oath and the mate drew his leg back for a kick, the Spaniard let go with his hort battery and three big shells crash