Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-30

Sure said the head earkeeper. .bu.
give you what7
Dang it. anything. so IT'S quick spun
out the 1ets-hurry-up- and get IA bun
dipso. Say. jiggle me up an absinthe
| frappe in a hurry, will your
He had his mind all made up, you see
before starting for here-whene he al
ways drops OF the wa gon--and so he hot
footed for here as soon he left his Of
| fee. SOS he wouldn't have n chance to
think 1t over and cool out. The rum
banker was burning such holes in him
that he couldn't have stopped to take
think about 1t IL he'd wanted to. A few
nights later I saw him with his shoes
poked out OF hanson window, and the
| next day heard that he was in the ward
where the dipso boys nearly all finally
land.
But the LEGISLATORS among the periodi-
Gals observation-disclosures usually all up
a kite as to the proposition before they
take the first swig, even when they get
within eight feet of the place where the
goods for which they banker are repos-
ing.
An Undecided One.
| The most undecided one that I'd seen
for long time drifted in here one after
noon early In the summer. He was a big.
Notwithstanding chap OF thirty five
or so. could see that the rum hank was
strong upon him, although he hadn't yet
yielded to It,
Say. let's have the bones he said to
me, and passed him the dice box
He shook poker dice with himself for
Tour or I'VE passes and lost every one of
the passes, which caused him to look dis
pleased. He was keenly anxious for the
dice to tell him that he could call for his'n
| IN the way of wet goods. but the dice
were coming out of the box on the side
OF his wife and family
Then. chucking the dice away in dis
gust, Got pack of cardsY he asked me,
NV lork <Nfe rdS
He cut them about forty times In ac-
cordance with little system of his own
devising. the cutting to decide as to
" neither he should take that No 1 hooter.
as could plainly see.
But the pasteboards too. were on the
side OF home and flreside. and the big
p~ss.
The man stuffed the cards back into
| their holder and tossed them back to me.
Just Once More.
Just once more he muttered and
| then he asked ME for some kind OF
| book. l parsed him out dog's-eared
novel that / found kicking around. He
began, to open the book for the first let
tiers, again with system that he'd ar
ranged in his mind for the purpose of
| finding out whether the book was going
to call for his taking that initial hooter.
could perceive by his increasing glover
that the book, too was all on the side of
MS continued sobrfety and wholly ag'in
him on the question as to whether he
ought to drop off the water cart. He
picked up the book and slammed it down
on the floor.
oh, pickles. he growled gimme a rye
highballr
whenever see a man nudge In here by
himself, with his eyes a bit vacant. and
watch him spin a coin on the bar before
ordering, l. know that he's making the
coin do the arbitrating as to whether he'll
order a soft one or ball with action. It's
| mighty rare. though, that these boys abide
by the decision of the disk.
when they first come In they usually
have 1t all framed up that they'll make
just one spin for 1t and no more, and. II the
spin goes against them. why. the soft stuff
for them, and no 'suds.' But I've noticed
that, usually, when the spin does go against
them they then proceed to make II the best
two out Of three, and, still losing. the best
three out of five. and so on. till they get
the piece of silver to go the way they want
1t to umpire.
Not long ago one Of this sort was reso-
lutte enough-for all of half a minute-to
stick to the decision of the one spin of the
coin. But when the coin came down the
wrong way for him he looked like a man
whose horse had been disqualified after
winning by about four blocks.
Settler and Lemon.
"'Oh, a settler and lemon, vichy and
| milk, or something he said, disconsoiately
to the barkeeper. ..
1.-The barkeeper was getting the soft drink
ready when the periodical knew him well.
and he'd been on the water wagon for six
months or so-had another idea. He spun
| the coin again, and then again, to make ii
| the best two out of three, and he won.
Then his face looked like that of a man
| who's just found a $40 note tucked away
| in an old topcoat.
"'Well, guess you can make that lit
| tie Scawtch and soda, barkeep, he said
| and after about fourteen more of EN- he
| was telling me how sadly the folks al home
| misunderstood his CHEEKY nature About
| five days later he was hunting for rocs'
| eggs on top of the Andes as he imagined
| and he was duly hiked to the place where
| the scorpions are eight feet high and carry
| a cops baton in each claw.
Great folks, the periodicals, and nearly
| all of 'em bright ones, too. But never
| see one of them about to lose his balance
| don't feel sure enough sorry for him. The
element of comedy In their game is far
more than overbalanced by the tragedy of
| 1t. I'm always roofing for the fellows on
| the water cart. I've been perched up there
| for nearly twenty years now myself, and
know blamed well that there wouldn't be
| any fun In 1t for me OF for anybody con-
nected with me IL l were to fall on. In
sense, however the periodicals have only
themselves to blame If they didn't take
the first one they'd be all right. And.
despite all OF these modern highfalutin'
and all that sort of thing. you'll never be
able to convince me that the man who can
stop drinking for year or six months, or
three months, or even a month. and feel
coy and happy over ii, can't stop for good
and all Let him flag the first swig as he'd
run away from the bubonic plague and
he'll be all right