Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-10
NARRATIVE OF THE
DOUBLE-JOINTED "HUNCH"

"a rsS1S
I four previous starts. a long time before
The old form charts. too. contributed TO
taking some of the stiffening out OF his
hunch. Then he asked one of the ticket
| writer's at St. Asaph what allied Honolulu
that he should be at such a ridiculously
long price.
Say" said the ticket writer, "d'te ever
take a peek at that old crabs legs? Why.
he's the worst old Grip in training. Both
| OF his front legs are as big as a bag OF
down on them cagey legs and lose an eye
any minute in race. l wouldn't play that
| one with Colombian paper money, good
when the canals dug
Thus the bunch was in a fair way to be
punctured when 1t was suddenly Inflated
again by couple of new feeders Medl-
| tating upon the undermining ability of
! Honolulus great sire, Star Ruby, the COM
mittee clerk recalled to mind. with re-
awakened enthusiasm, that the wife OF his
brother In Honolulu was named Ruby
This recollection famed the hunch into "a
pretty sizeable flame again. The thing,
however, that blew it into a roaring blaze
was this: The committee clerk found
himself brushing elbows with wealthy
Filipino student here who had been play
ing all kinds of winners for several months.
The man with the bunch had often seen
this Filipino. and the Filipino had always
made him think of a Honolulu tailor, "A
Chinaman named Ahana, who is particu-
larry cherished by American naval officers
for the excellent fit he makes OF white uni
forms. Ahana had made the committee
clerks mutt garments during his stay in
Honolulu with the volunteer army; and
here ducking around the pool room. was
the little Filipino who had always made
him think of Honolulu and Ahana.
We'll, me for the Honolulu thing, any
how. he found himself gibbering as he
made his way up TO the counter. I'm not
framing up any lifelong regrets for my
self IL | can help 1t, and that's how II 'ud
be with me If Honolulu went through and
me not down And II Honolulu should
cop and the bunch at the Capitol heard
that the long price had stampeded me OFF.
they'd never stop making my life misera-
bic with their kidding.
"A hundred each way across the board,
Honolulu" he said TO the srllfning ticket
writer passing over his three 800 notes.
The manager of the room happened TO be
standing by the counter. and after the
ticket-sl,OOo to 500, $500 TO 500 and ZOO
to slOo-had been written. he smiled sar-
donically.
Nice grease. shipmate," he said to the
committee clerk. Like taking rubber ring
from a sick baby. Why don't you drop
in on us oftener. Honolulu. hey? HIM.
You like cheese, then? And todays Thurs
day, too. Die ever hear OF Honolulu bust
ing into the one-two-three money on
Thursday"
fallen under the guying of so erudiie
horseman as the manager of the pool room,
was trying to frame up some sort of an
answer. when the operator announced that
the horses were off at the Springs.
Honolulu was beaten just one tooth on the
wire by the favorlte, Stand Pat, and the
committee clerk was $50 10 the nice on
his bunch.
The committee clerk with the vindcated
bunch put on his overcoat and he was the
first in line at the cashng-tn window he
wanted to take the first train leaving ST.
Asaph for Washington, and he only had
margin of seven minutes. There was some
delay in confirming the race, and when the
committee clerk got his money he started
to run for the station. He was only nam
way to the station when the electric train
pulled in and, after only an instant stop
pulled cut again. The committee clerk re-
turned to the pool room to get out OF the
cold and wet until the next train for Wash
ington was due, half an hour later. Again
he took seat in the extreme rear OF the
pool room, SO that the sight OF the black
board would not tempt HIM. But he had
hardly sat down before the telegraph opera
tor sang out through his megaphone the
first line of betting against the horses at
the Oakland, Cal, track.
The Hay-wayne, 10 to L. called out the
operator after announcing the prices
against the preferred ones.
The committee clerk sat stunned In his
chair. He was familiar with that pronuncia-
ton OF Hawaiian" But until that instant
he had never known that there was such
a race horse in the world The Hawaiian.
Dazed at the possibilities of this No.
bunch, he almost tottered over to the black
board There it was. all right. The Ha-
waiian, 10, and =, across the board. Bot
tom horse on the list Apprentice boy up.
The committee clerk fevershly grabbed
the dope charts out of the hands OF man
he knew, to look up The Hawaiian. He
found that The Hawaiian had been showing
himself to be one of the most consistent
horses on the California tracks. That is to
say, The Hawaiian had finished "A consistent
last in all of his recent races.
Same on the charts as he is on the board
last horse" muttered the committee clerk
to himself.
But the No 2 bunch was strong enough
to overcome all resistance. The committee
clerk went to The Hawaiian. hundred
each way, receiving the same kind of a
ticket as he had got on Honolulu-Sl 900 to
500. 500 to 800 and 500 to $lU0.
Flash on The Hay-wayne." droned the
telegrapher. almost as soon as the man
with the No. 2 bunch had played the horse.
1.-The Hay-wayne is now to l." and the
boardmarker chalked up 6. and even
against the horse giving the committee
clerk $500 the best OF it, so far as his ticket
went.
Mother flash on The Hay-wayne-he's
now to L. called out the operator a min
ute later, and the committee clerk gazed
joyfully at the ticket he clutched in his
hand. He had the additional comfort of
knowing that the plungers at the California
track were playing The Hawaiian.
The Hawaiian didn't get so much as
whistle from the operator, even when the
first three leaders were in the stretch with
ten lengths separating them.
Then:
THE Haywayne wins. easy, by two
lengths" bawled the operator, whereupon
the committee clerk, with a grave, chalky
face. solemnly removed his new s. derby to
which he had staked himself the day before.
placed 1t carefully on the floor in front OF
him, and then jumped on it till ii was
shapeless mass
He felt that he Just had to do something
He caught the next train for Washington.
vicious and unusual to express his ecstacy.
2,1O0 to the good on his doube-jointed
bunch. His missing the other train had been
worth 600 to him. Had he caught that
other train he would not have known that
there was such horse as The Hawaiian.
The next time that committee clerk had
a bunch all of his pals up at the Capitol
listened to him and then they sent bundle
OF money as big 81 worth of lettuce down
to be put on the hunch
But the next one didn't connect