Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-02

|
last. There was reason. bit of baby
two-year-old. queerly named Barberloot.
was carded to go in the second race,
Barber 'loot''-here were the component
elements of ''hunch," and tonsorial ar
| lists are VIGOROUSLY susceptible to
| lunches" And so. on Monday afternoon.
! these BARRIERS all but broke their own and
| other mems arms in pushing in their s.
| bills on Barberloot. Barberioot ran in
| shockingly inconsequential manner. and
| finished next to last.
| All of which-execept as to the finish
| points back to the story of another barber
| 'hunch" that occurred during racing sea-
son here years ago. The narration of the
| progress of a ''hunch' is better unCoiled in
J its relation to an individual than In its
| application to a cass-which is why the
narrator hereof shall unreel the story in
| that form.
| One forenoon. during the spring racing at
| Benning a number of years ago, young
mulatto wearing much purple ana fine linen
| and several large straw diamonds, stroIcd
| into an exclusively Ethiopian barber shop
| far up on 18th street northwest. He pumped
! himself grandly into one of the rear chairs
| and said 10 the barber presiding over the
chair:
Close tub NAH haid, I.afe."
Lafe, the barber, got out his clippers and
| set to work on the mulatto's tight kinks.
| "Yo' all right uh-playin' them clippuhs,
remarked the muIatto. with a grin of APP
| probation, after the work had been in prog
| reSS for a while.
But they amt nuthin' in it," replied the
| extremely black barber. sulkily. Aid
suah LAX tub play sumthin that had SOM
| thin in tt
| The right ear Of the dead game mulatto
In the chair seemed to prick forward like
| that of d fox terrier that sees another of
| his species down the block.
| ''Yo' would?' he said. Well, theys nh
l 1,1I1. dow hN n
| Lily uh damon haht an uh foulahd dress
eff yo all goes down tn line on him
| way I'm heah, man." contemptuously
| calculated the extremely black barber.
| Don't yo all gimme no mo- o them no.
| count skates. All dun put 81 on that las
| one yo' all handed me an All didn't have
airy smoke TO uh week"
| The muIatto in the chair didn't make
| any reply for a while. Then he twisted his
| half-cropped head about and gazed up at
| LATE, with grin.
| 'Th' name o this heah speed ball Whut
| goln' tub jes' nachully swim In in tn fust
| race is Clippuh.' he said. An yo' all suah
know how tub play tn clippuhs Lafe'' he
| added.
back into position, but he didn't say any
"Ciippuh," went on the customer IN the
| chair. lis tn ham whut am He all uh
! Westuhn boss. an he'll jes' breeze in. Saw
| him wuk lax uh Black Dfmon' express befo'
| daylight yistiddy mohnin"
LATE, the barber. joggled his customers
| head this way and that: but kept MS peace.
| There was considerable pause.
| "Clippuh" said the mulatto, at length
breaking the silence, will be uh hundred
| tub one babe
| ed his clipping Job and deliberately anOinted
| the mulatto There was dreamy look in
| his eye as he pulled off the apron. me
mulatto primped himself before the glass
| and was lust starting out when the eX-
! Ok. h9T-
| Indifferent manner that was obviously
| feigned. c,,,-.,.,,
| uh-gofn' tub be any hundred tub one shot,
nigguh?'' he inquired, throwing lot OF
| suspicion into his tone.
..Nevuh yo min replied the yellow man.
picking up his cane and Star5lhg i TO s'roli
| out 'Ah'm alradey spendtn de com
| After the yellow man had gone the par
Der looked over his razors, and, picking out
| one of them, began putting an edge on II
| on a stone covered with lather. Every
| once in a while he would stop passing the
| razor back and forth the stone and
| gaze vacantly at the ceiling, and at such
! times his lips would move, seeming to
| form the words "Cnppuh-huhhereo tuI
The boss barber. another very black man.
| was busying himself in the front of the
shop when LATE addressed him i'm. o, -.
| Boss" said Lafe, how bout NAH gilt
| tin off fO' de aftuhnoon?'
| The boss barber wheeled upon his en-
ploye with extreme establishment depicted
| upon his coal black features.
| s.NigeuII he said when he was able
| to speak at all. lis yo all got anothuh
quaint O. gin hid eroun' heah, or is 20 Jes'
| bughouse? Git off on uh Saturday aftuh-
| noon? An leave me heah alone tub TEX
| caiuh o. bout uh hunnered cOOns haids an
| faces?'
| Lafe didn't say anything more just then,
| but went adding to the edge of his
razor. But his lips still moved in unison
| with the strokes. and they still seemed to
| be forming the -"Clippuh-hunnered
| tub one"
When he lad finished with the razor he
put it away, and then started to arrange
| the periodicals lying around on the chairs
and tables. The first paper that he picked
up was an old copy of the Clipper that hau
| been left in the shop by a member of a
negro show that had visited Washington
When the barber saw the word Clipper
| in big letters at the top of the nrst page
| he gave a gasp. He held the paper out be
| fore him. and then studied the ceiling for
a long time. Then he walked over TO the
boss barber. who was standing at the
| front door, leaning against the Jamb. 49,,
Boss" said Lafe, "Ah suah wants tuh
git this aftuhnoon off-Ah got important
bizness TO uh fac"
"Ah amt got no time tub talk wifi crazy
coons" snorted the boss barber. 1o
CANT git off an that's all they is tub 1t.
The extremely black barber walked back
to his chair He opened the drawer in
which he kept his razor and scissors and
pack them away in piece of paper with
great deliberation. The boss barber OBJ
served him doing this
'Whut yo' adj gwine tuh do, man. asked
the boss barber glOweringly.
who, me?" said his employee. "Ah' m uh-
cwine tub TEX this aftuhnoon off. All jes'
nachully am"
Then yo' alFs out o a job, Lafe,' said
the boss barber threateningly.
'They's othuh jobs replied the barber
determinedly Gimme nah time
'tGive yo' nuthin, said the boss barber
fiercely, seeing that his threat hadn't work.
ed mo babbuhs ah-goin' tub leave me
this heah way on Saturday aftuhnoon an
git no time FUN me-"
The barber took one of his raZoFs out OF
his package opened it carefully and got
the conventional grip on it that Is en-
ployed when the wielder means to enforce
a demand. Then he suddenly sprang al the
boss barber who was standing in cor
ner of the shop. and. pinning him against
the wall with his left forearm, held the
edge of the razor at the boss BARRIERS
throat
''Yo gimme nah eight dolluhs, man." he
said hoarsely to his employer. Gimme
nah eight dolluhs, or Ah'll cut yo' lax
uh hawg."