Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-02
A HUNCH ON CLIPPER
THAT WON OUT,

| statement to his position he walked out.
| leaving Lily in a state bordering upon
| stupefactiOn.
| The barber got into standing room po-
sition on the rear end of Benning bound
New York avenue car. His condition of
| high mental exaltation was still manifested
| by the occasional movement OF his lips, as.
| upon reaching the country he gazed upon
| the grassy slopes and woodland spaces on
| either side of the car tracks. proficient
/ IN the system of Hp-reading for mutes
might have caught these words from the
silent conversation the extremely black
barber was carrying on with himself:
/ 'Cltppuh-hunnered tub one"
| Midway of the journey from the car
| barn to the track he caught sight of sub
| urbanIte engaging In clipping the grass OF
| his front lawn with lawn mower. He
| must have traced the analogy between the
J lawn mower. the tool OF his own trade and
| the mission upon which he was bound. for
| he slapped his thigh and chucRled delight
! edly, to the surprise of the others stand
| ing on the rear platform.
! Still further on he overheard a sguin-
| cant "hunch"-feedug remark made by a
! bUllet-headed race-;ollower also standing
/ on the rear platform of the car
Il had my Zazas pushed In with the clip
pers TINS morning, remarked the bullet
! headed individual to his companion and
I'm catchin cold fast | can feel the
! icebergs rolin' around me conk
! This alluSion to the clippers on the part
! of the man with the close-Cropped head so
| delighted the barber that he moved
! to pull the pint flask OF gin from one of
his rear pockets and partake of a long
| drawn-out swig Of it before he again re-
! gained his pose of hot-sport calm.
| The car was still about a mile from the
! track, and in the middle of A breezy plain.
| when the BARRIERS hat was blown Off. He
yelled to the conductor but the conductor
| was busy far forward in the car. and the
yell went unheeded. He couldn't reach the
| bell rope.
| The ffve-dollar bill with which LATE had
| intended TO lnfiict "A cruel blow upon some
| unsuspecting bookmaker through the medi-
| UNI of the horse Clipper in the first race
! was curled beneath the sweat band OF the
| lost hat So the barber took the only
| chance to regain it that he saw; he hoped
| over the rear dashboard of the car.
! He came down in a huddle and tore both
| knees out of his trousers as neatly as IL
the torn pieces had been scissOred out by
| a repairing tailor. Incidentally, he lost a
| lot of Cuticle from various portions of his
| anatomy, but he didn't stop to reflect upon
| that end of it,
| He was too busily engaged IN picking
| himself up and watching The swiftly-ap-
| preaching car bearing down al full speed
upon his lost hat which nestled close to
| one of the rails. He shuddcred miserably
| as he the car. with unslackcned speed.
| run square over his soft tile. and then he
| took after the crushed top-piece at lope.
| When he reached it and picked il up he
| poked it into some semblance OF it's former
! shape with his fist, removed the five-dolar
| bill from beneath the sweat band. and stuck
| il away in his vest pocket. Clapped the hat
| upon his head, and waited for the next
J car.
| The next car didn't stop. Neither did
| the one after that. nor yet the one follow
| ing. The crowds on board the flying cars
| jeercd at the spectacle of the black man
| with the funny-looktng crushed hat and
| the kneeless trousers tapping his arms as
! a signal for the mOtOTmau to stop.
| The barber waited for the fourth trolley
car, and when he saw it approaching at top
speed he took up a position with arms
| extended as If he meant to board IL on
] a To 10
| tude looked dangerous that the motor
| man reluctantly slackened the speed of the
! car. and the extremely black barber crawled
| on board, painting.
! 1t was twenty-three minutes past two
! hen the car reached the boardwalk to the
rack gate. AS the ebon-hued barber
! printed for the entrance down the dusty
! road ignoring the walk, duclIed into the
/ crowd again and to a window to get
! badge, and finally got past the turnstile.
| he ran into the mulatto who had passed
| him the Clipper tip that caused him to
| throw up his job that morning.
| ''Nuthin' dom, Lafe," called the mulatto
after the speeding barber An heahs that
| Clippuh amt radey tuhday-he all II git
de coin tn mex time out
| The barber didn't hear the yellow mans
| comment. He getting over the ground
| toward the betting ring at a gallOp. He
gained the stool of the bookmaker nearest
| the gate just the crowd began to rush
out of the ring to see the race. He didn't
! stop to examine the prices on the book
| makers slate.
! .'Clippuh!" he shouted TO the bookmaker
| thrusting his s. note under the layers nose.
| Straight" inquired the boollmaker, COM
| PLEASANTLY.
Yes. sub. strate," replied the extremely
| black barber, pantingly.
| -Four hundred to five, Clipper" hastily
| called off the bookmaker to his sheetwr,er
| his price being 50 to land then the layer
| jumped off his stool and went out 10 look
| at the race.
The barber didn't go out to the lawn to
| IL, ~
| and weary. He leaned against stanchion
| of the betting ring and famed himself with
! his flattened hat. wearing that understandable
| air of rectitude which bettors on the horses
assume when, in the face of every tempta-
| ton, they stay with" their tips or picks"
The great shout that presently arose from
| the crowd didn't arouse him, until he heard
the tremendous root, Come on, you Clip
peri
Then he grinned, stopped tanning himself.
and listened. The boOkmakerS and sheet
writer's began to return to the ring
only a walk for Clipper" they said,
joyously for the race had been a fine
break" for them, with the rank outsider
only nibbled at by a scattering of bar
bers-first past the wire, and the favorite
back in the ruCk.
About s o'clock that night Lafe, the ex-
tremeIy black barber, sauntered into the
tonsorlal establishment in which he had
been employed up to that morning, dropped
into the chair of his recent boss, and re-
marked with a broad grin, as he eXhlb-
tied a roll about as big round as an alarm
clock:
BOSS, All wants nah haiuh singed, an
uh egg shampoo, an ef yo' all kin fin a
couple o. common nigguhs come in heah
an fan me vile yo' alIs uh-wukkn, git
emf
The ex-barber tipped his recent boss a
two-dollar note when he left the chair
and later on in the evening he bought the
mulatto's expensive rain coat for 81. The
mulatto had neglected to play his own per-
sonaIly -conducted tip on Clipper.