Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-01-21
MADE A BAD BREAK.
Whist Ffend on Train Goes Too Far
In Trying to Get One More
Player.

agent who is on the road good deal
relates the Washington Star The
story went that he was standing at a
street car transfer station with young
woman, waiting for a car, when he no
ticed a man standing short dis
tance away staring, or appearing to
stare pretty hard at the girl. There
was, besides, a sort of half-smile on the
starer's face. The impetuous young
fellow took the starer for a masher,
and he walked over and, without a
word. smashed him In the face. Then
he found out that the man he had hit
was totally blind-his attendant had
left him for a moment to get something
in the corner drug store. can imagine
how that young chap must, if his in
stincts were right, have hated himself
for that blow-how he must, indeed
have felt like thrusting the fist that
struck the blow into the furnace, as a
young college fellow that | once knew
did after striking a wrongful blow.
but on a Pennsylvania train, out of
Philadelphia for the west, | saw, few
weeks ago. an incident of the same gen
eral sort that impressed me as pain
fully as it did everyone else who wit
messed 1t. As for the man whose loose
ness Of speech caused him to make the
sad mistake, there was really nothing
to do but to feel sorry for him.
He was clean, snappy, clipper
built man verging on middle age, and
an hour or so after the train left Phila-
delphia-it was during the afternoon
he started through the smoking COM
partments Of the chair cars and sleep
ers to get up a whist quartette,
There were not many male passen-
gers on the train, and Of these few not
many appeared to know how to play
whist Most of them met his invita-
tion with courteous nod. negativing
the proposition on the ground that they
didn't understand the game.
But when a whist fend makes up his
mind to asse mble a party on board
train he never gives up trying until he
has succeeded or rendered good many
travellers nervous, and that was the
case with this solid-looking but snappy
Philadelphian.
After herculean exertions, involv-
ing many excited and beseeching tours
through several cars, he finally got hold
Of two men who announced their will
ingness to take hand Then, Of course
he became more strenuous than ever in
his effort to get the final player
He appeared for the fourth success
CT tirDo IN tho rom ~ rtr ~, nj
in which | sat. and begged each of us
once again to fill up the four Most
Of the men in the compartment, includ-
ing myself. didn't know the game of
whist, and we succeeded in convincing
the snappy-lOOking man that we were
telling the truth about It,
The last man that he tackled for the
fourth successive time was fne-lool-
ing fellow of 80 or so, whose face had a
look Of trouble in it, although he replied
courteously enough to the whist fiend's
invitations. Each time he said, in a low
tone, that he did not feel like taking a
hand.
"On this last time around the whist
fiend said to him:
Come ahead Tables all ready and the
games waiting
No was the reply Of the man with
the troubled expression. I don't feel
like joining in. l should like to oblige,
but, and his voice broke a trife at
that. and some of us in the compartment
could see that the man was under a
etr In pyt ha hietf fo1J IT, ;t
You play. don't you7' he persisted
Yes, play was the reply, still a
little hOarse-and then he turned and
gazed out of the window.
HUH can't understand a man
knowing how to play whist and not
wanting to play it-blamed if can, i'm
patiently mumbIed the whist fiend as he
started to go out Of the car, and he
muttered something, too, as he reached
the door, that sounded a good deal like
lobster
The man with the troubled look .
turned his head about quickly from the .
window, and he had gone a bit pale. a
We could see. He didn't rise from his |
seat, but he stretched forth a long arm.
grasped the whist iend by the sleeve Of /
his coat, and pulled him into seat.
My friend he said to the startled |
whist fiend-and there was a wan and .
gray look around his mouth as he spoke .
you should restrain your impatience
and your tongue. l am not a lobster.
There is no law compelling me to tell .
you why l do not elect to join your game
OF whist, but | shall tell you, not because
you have any right to question or i'm
pugn the motives OF a stranger. but be-
cause your deficiency in tact will stand
l am not Joining your whist
party because the casket containing the
body OF my wife is on the baggage car
attached to this train
Then the man with the troubled look
sazed once more out OF the window, nor