Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-21
Why Intoxicated Man Left
Jewelry in the Pawnshop.
PREPARING FOR SPREE
WANTED TO GUARD AGAINST LOSS
OF VALUABLEs.
Made but Little on Trans
action, but Stood a Long Chance
to Win Pile.

"A rev evenings dSu, hloHS lohaiu DUSK, u
solid-looking. exceedingly well-groomed
man. in possession of jag as to which
there could be no possible mistake. wan
dered into a Washington pawnshop. Brac-
ing himself against the counter he laid his
cane thereon and laboriously pulled off his
gloves. Then he began to remove jewelry
from his person.
First he slipped from the third finger Of
his left hand heavy Roman gold band ring
| set with three fine stones. a big pigeon S
| blood ruby In the middle and a large blue
white diamond on either side of the ruby.
1t was ring worth probably 500 or more.
| Then the well-greomed IL jagged man tug
| ged at the pin in his white Ascot scarf, and
after considerable difficulty removed 1t and
| placed 1t on the counter alongside the ring.
| The pin had a superbly cut fiat sapphire in
| the middle and was surrounded by blue dIa-
mopds 1t was very Misunderstanding piece
of jewelry.
Then the solid-looking man yanked two
| Watches exact twins. from his upper waist
| coat pockets and detached them from their
| tiny single chain of gold and platinum
| They were hunting-case, split-second
watches with a monogram of stable dia-
monds on the back OF each.
| The man pulled the chain through the
waistcoat buttonhole and showed the chain
| into one of the vest pockets. In doing this
his hand struck something in the vest
| pocket. He pulled the something out. 1t
was a wad of bills, mostly yellow currency,
| of about the proportions of robust cucum-
| Der. He spread the bills out and placed
| them in the large black wallet that he car
| ried in the breast pocket of his cutaway
! coat. Then he smiled benignly upon the
| paw nbroker and waited.
How much?'' inquired the pawnbroker,
| picking up the ring and gazing admiringly
! at the color of the pigeons blood ruby.
! "Oh, l guessh bout five'll detain me for a
| brief spayshe." replied the man with the
| shipped sea, regarding the pawnbroker with
| a NEST amiable and oily smile.
Five what?" asked the pawnbroker
Bones or hundreds of emf"
"Bonesh," replied the solid-looking man.
| Five bonesh."
For the bunch?" inquired the pawn
| broker.
'Thash ri'-fr tn hull bunsh," answered
the man who appeared to have dined over
| well.
We'll you'd better take couple OF dol
! lars on each article" said the pawnbroker
| ''That'H make. four two-dollar tickets, and
| it'll enable to keep our books straighter
| that way $50
GOO boy, Fine! Alwaysh keep booksh
shtrai,. an you'll win out. Keepin' poor
| booksh or crooked ones don't get you any
! thint.~ Let 'er go at that, said the man
with the jewelry to pledge, smiling benev-
| oIently and leaning comfortably against
| the counter.
The pawnbroker scrubbed the four two
| dollar tickets, one for the ring, one for the
! pin. and one each for the twin watches,
and handed the tickets over to the cheer
| full individual, who deposited them in his
wallet pulled on his gloves, picked up his
| cane and Sauntered unSteadily out, with
murmured "S'1ong-f you can't behave, be
| careful.
Explanation of Transaction.
''Odd-looking transaction. that, said a
4 man who had watched the incident to the
pawnbroker whats the answer. Who
gets the better of 1t, you or the man with
| the uckets?
"Oh it's about an even break all around -
| replied the pawnbroker. Hes playing for
safety. whereas I'm playing the million-to-
| one shot that he'll never come back. Sort
| of dead-heat and split the-purse arrange
| ment.
| ''Y see," went on the pawnbroker that
| man has got lot of wisdom under his hat,
for all of the high ones that he has clearly
| hurled into his frame. With him 1t is I'M
! questionably the wisdom of experience. At
| some time or other. 1t Is almost a cinch,
| that man has been rolled or stuck up for
1 his rocks as the saying goes, when in a
| condition of incompetency and incapacity
| from continuous performance bouts with
| the twistful fiagon.
| There isn't doubt in life that on some
previous occasion, when he was engaged
| with frivoling with himself, he awakened
| on one sad morning and discovered that his
| Sleafny BauQS naQ departed from MIN ana
| gone to an Understandable elsewhere. And
! the departed stuff may have been just as
| good stuff as this which he has just put ir to
my keeping, which is saying a lot.
WELL that previous occasion was an in
| structive if not pleasing lesson to him,
| beyond a doubt. He's probably been rid
| ing on the water cart for some time, and
| has only today dropped his whip, necessi-
| tating his climbing down. Maybe he's in
Washington attending some convention or
| other. Anyhow, he sees that he's getting
| In bad. He's corning up rapidly, and he is
| entirely cognizant of the fact The wisdom
| which he has no doubt derived from expert
| ence informs him that to go rocke.iug
| around with all of his attra ctive- looking
| sinners on would be foolish thing for him
| to do. He perceives ahead OF him moist,
| jocund time-jocund while it's Transporting
| that is to say, but. oh. the difference later.
Knows What to Expect
HE knows that he's liable to go under
| and fallinto Midtown or Sumberville at
| any moment Therefore, he very sageIy
| fetches his gewgaws to an institution where
he knows they'll be taken care of until he
| energies into the gray. dismal light of
| Realtyville, with that penitential. it's-all-
| oyer-now feeling heavy upon him.
''Then conforming to the age-old and
! inevitable custom upon such occasions he
Will hop out of. bed. aching head and ALL
| and perform that hurried and worried
probably will, find that all of his bank roll
| is absent, either spent swiped. but there
| in all human probability, will be the tick
cts for his Kimberleys.
| If the tickets are not there. having been
| deftTy removed, by some cheerful worker, he
| will vaguely remember having slid his bau-
| bles over to me before the game became
| utterly unintelligible and indistinct and
| blurred. and then he will know full well
| that I'll never hand the rocks over to any
| body but himself. matter by whom the
| tickets are presented to me-
| Then, after the hot bath and the am
| monia cocktails and the futile and fruitless
| mutterings to himself anent the four-ply
| burro he has made of himself and the
| dreary attempt to square things with the
wife-then he'll come down to me, owlishly
| solemn and depressed. and with the grin
clean gone from his map, and redeem his
gear.
| Whether he's got the tickets or not, I'll
| hand the stuff over to him, for, of course,
| I'll remember him. II he has lost the tick
| cts all he has got to do. to protect me. is
| to make affidavit to that effect. and It's all
right. If he hasn't got the tickets, and
4 IL. yff&f Tor