The San Francisco call., 1905-08-26
BY /AMES c. CRA WORD

BY JAMES {. CRA UFORD
Ere she discovered the real author of
her woodpile's abnormal shrinkage, Mrs.
Templeton was treating with the coldness
born of suspicion some Of her lady
neighbors on Tehama street, for to no
other cause than nocturnal pilfering by
them could she attribute the diminution
Of her fuel SO she was In g. very unhappy
state of mind until her discovery Of Will
liam Toy as the culprit impelled her to
renew the entente cordiale with the erst-
while suspects.
William Toy, 1T may not be amiss to
explain at this point, was not of the So
cial set in which Mrs. Templeton circu-
lates. He is a ne'er-do-weel, enslaved by
opium and utilized as a horrible example
for the youth of Tehama street to profit
by. Parents and guardians have appre-
ciated his value in that respect, and to
their contributions Of food and raiment
and occasionally small coins he has owed
his ability to live-if existence such as
his could properly be designated living.
And he it was who diminished Mrs. Tenn
pleton's woodpile. Whether he burned the
plunder or sold it for the wherewith to
purchase dope" was not disclosed at his
trial before Police Judge Mogan. who
pronounced him guilty of vagrancy and
reserved sentence until to-day
Prior to entering the Templeton wood
shed night before last Mr.. Toy apparent
ly inhaled more opium smoke than was
his wonted dose, for stupefaction sudden
ly overcame him while he was picking
choice chunks from the pile, and he fell
upon his back and snored. The nasal
solo was SO loud as to awaken Mrs. Tenn
pleton from her first sleep, and after
tracing it to its source she summoned
PatrolInan H. Clancy, who did the rest.
If her wood had not been stolen, or II
she had not suspected some of her oldest
Acquaintance of having perpetrated the
raids, Mrs Templeton might not have al
lowed her wrath to incarcerate William
Toy and thus deprive Tehama street OF
living picture that was not devoid Of edu-
cational worth.
Alexander Schuss was picture OF mind
ease as he strutted Kearny street. He
had Just enriched himself pecuniarily,
but not in prudence, by q mercantile
transaction. and as he walked along he
filtered gold and silver coins between the
fingers of the hand that was Immersed in
a pantaloons pocket. The jingling sound
aroused the cupidity of a juvenile passer-
by, one Harry Cannon, and he requested
Mr. Schuss to lend him dime
"A dinner" quoth Mr.. Schuss pleasantly.
"Tuti 'Tis but a paltry sum. Why don't
you ask for a dollar?" And he drew from
his cash pocket silver disk Of the latter
denomination.
Master Gannon's eyes popped as ne
gazed at the tempting exhibit.
.'Or why" Mr.. Schuss pursued, with
augmented pleasantly, don't you beg for
this?''
1t was a $40 piece that he held lightly
between his fingers Master Cannon
gasped-then grabbed the douoie-eagie
and sprinted. Mr.. Schuss gasped-and
pursued.
Patrolman Jack Steiner captured
the boy and recovered the money after an
exciting chase Judge Conlan has the
case under consideration Mr.. Schuss no
longer struts. nor does his pocket emit
metallic tinkle as he modestiy walks
Mrs. Sarah Keefe. of rubicund coun-
tenance and unsavory record, was con-
versing with a man at 8 o'clock a. m
on a Third street sidewalk when the
noliceman arrested her as vagrant.
Ibid YOU ever hear the likes? sne
asked his Honor Mogan, and her tone
was that of severity.
"Why, the gentleman was lrlend OF
mine and / was requesting him to es-
cort me to a Sutter-street car wnen
this policeman came along.
"Sutter street cars don't run All
night. the Judge remarked.
"Don't they? Well. II I were in the
habit Of staying-out. all night might
know that. / hope you'll make allow
ance for my Ignorance. Please forgive
me for not knowing as much about tho
night cars as some other people know.
Really. it must have been quite fooiisn
of me to spend my nights at home IN
stead of sitting up to f1nd out what
time the cars stopped running.
Where Is your homer
my home is,s at Folsom and Russ
streets" ~
"And the sutter street cars don't run
within mile of that point. I'll SEN
tence you tomorrow.
"oh. thank you very much" was Mrs.
Keefe's final sarcasm.
John L. Canty denied that he haunted
the Palace Hotel with intent to accost
strangers for aims.
.Im afraid this officer has got him
self into a bad scrape by arresting
me-" he added, addressing Judge Mo
gan and alluding to Patrolman Gallo
way HE seems to be both vigilant
and conscientious, but before humiliat-
ing me as he did he should have as
certained why I stopped gentlemen
and conversed with: them. BY simply
inquiring he would havessiearned that
1 was endeavoring to enlist capital to
develop my three gold claims In Ne
yada, ana tnat met py dppOiAeHeHs
the men to whom 1 talked Begging.
indeed? Could anything be more alb
surd? Why. twentieth interest in one
of my claims is worth more money
than this unfortunate policeman could
earn in a lifetime"
AS the record showed that Mr.. Canty
was a chronic "hophead'' and had oft
been convicted of vagrancy he was re-
| manded for sentence.
|
st want a transfer, said Mrs. Kate