The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1904-04-22
In on the
Ground Floor
BY WIN. II.
100000
Copyright, 1904, by Daily Story Pub. Coz

DS S"'S -ND- :"
rENHE underworld in New York is di
vided into two great classes. First
those who get caught; second, those
who don't, The police department
Nndlng 1t impossible to keep an eye or
everybody all the time, had come e
h conclusion that Britches BeIlmar
belonged to the latter class. Ii theil
hearts they knew that Britches was III
60 many things; but when they cane
10 sift even one of these things to the
bottom invariably they found them
selves wofully weak when it came tC
evidence.
Evidence" snorted Britches; 81
amt got no use for it. l don't want
none of it around me. To - with
evidence"
Now, Britches Bellman, being a citi-
zen of the underworld, had come to the
conclusion that for a part of the time,
at least, such a citizen ought t. reside
underneath the ground. He got this
idea n day when he was passing the
County National bank. In front OF the
County National bank was a ditch.
a IA 0itCu 10 CdllCu ll6 uDWdY
'Gee!' said Britches Bellman,
knocking himself on the side of the
Head, Get down in that hole, Just
@here you belong"
Now, If Britches hadn't been an ex-
Tr%aordinary kind of a man, he never
could have pulled off the little scheme
that filled his head. But he was ny
II him q md a,yor,y+1;~~ F,ox. -
fzlaan down to the lowest kind of a
fstrong-armer. In a high hat and a
Grock coat he was superb; in a bust
ness suit, III was all matter of fact: in
u SLOUGH hat, he could scare the wits
out of a belated rich old party by lust
looking at him.
One day a genteel looking son
called at the office of the subway con-
tractors and announced that the Coun-
fy National bank (Which, by the way,
WAS backed by the democratic boss)
saad concluded to strengthen it's under
E'lnning just a bit. He produced a let
Ter apparently on the letter head Of the
sranK. signed apparently by its presi-
dent He was c~ourteously received, as,
OF course, any representative of the
aoss's bank would have to be, and he
lett bearing with him the written di-
'Fectlon of the contractor to the section
foreman to permit the workmen of the
County bank to make any necessary
excavation in the subway. This gen
8eel looking parsonage, it cannot be de-
Taied, looked extremely like Mr..
Britches Bellman. A day later a
rough, honest looking workman, wear
ting a union button and dressed in TOLL
stained oyeralls, handed the letter to
n section foreman, together with an
other letter from the bank, stated
casually that he and Sam Parks had
known each other all their respective
2ives, borrowed a chew of tobacco. and
started in to work.
The work he was about to do he bad
all planned out on a sheet of rough
drafting paper. 1t was to cut a square
hole four by four from the subway in
20 the foundation of the bank.
Ihe bank" he said to the foreman.
amt SO much afraid Of going up as It
OF fallin' down. Its pins is weak or
somethin'.n
IN I'VE hours the genial Mr.. Bellman
made himself the most popular
in the ditch. He talked to eyery-
body, sympathized with everybody
everybody.
But he was a good workman and he
understood his business. But he in
sisted upon n thing. Every nigh.
when he left his job. he carefully COW
up the mouth of the hole he was
making with a pile Of dirt.
Some fellow he explained to the
Foreman. might take a notion to An
lsfs up my Job some night and go clean
through the bank, outside and in The
oreman exrectorated.
Gee!f said the foreman, that's 80
I thought OF it, He scratched
bus head and grinned.
I s'pose, he added, sthat Il mielt
tale hack at it myself some n;eht
What aye think?p
Rsitches Bel1man, honest worl,,nsn
shook his head. If YOU tain fhaf
way, he said, smiling, sYn have to set
= pain clothes man on top Of YOU.
asst g take care of that there bank
aAsid no mistake. He caught The other
81 the arm Say, went On Bitches
l5elainap its 4 blamed goo6 thing YOU
u