Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-19
PROVED A BOOMERANG

The man with the peeling nose and the
sun Drowned hands was leaning against
wire tree-box, little way down the street
from his home, few evenings ago He
was biting his nails and twisting his mus
tache and muttering to himself. when one
of his male neighbors drifted along.
why hello there, said the neighbor.
"Rehearsing a speech? When je get back
from the beach?'
IS evening" replied the man with the
peeling nose, gloomily.
Don't look as If you had such merry
time. at that" said the neighbor.
'Oh, had good enough time. all rlght,
replied the sun-peeled. man. But 1t was
the getting back that CURED me up IN
never going to get real funny again, so 1
amt" he added, irrelevantly.
We'll. take long inhale, and blow 1t out
Of your SYSTEM" said the neighbor. Let
have It."
Happened this way said the man just
back from the seas verge. You know.
went down to the beach with Ted Ireao-
soft. while his wife and my wife went down
to a country place in Maryland that they
took a fancy to last year. and that they
preferred to revisit this year rather than
to accompany us to the beach.
Ted and I had pretty fair sort OF a
line of its down on the boardwalk, but we
didn't stretch the limit any, and guess
there wasn't a night we weren't IN pea
at our hotel by midnight. anyhow. Las,
week the game began to pail US some anu
so we decided to come home today. our
wives had already arrived home from the
Maryland country place.
while we were packing up last night l
thought I saw a chance to do real gioay
thing at Teds expense He's played Who ne
lot of funny ones on me In the course Oh
the past ten or fifteen years, ana Ia neen
waiting for a chance to get hunk. ms
one that I had it in mind to pun OH On
him looked pretty good to me.
I'm a corner Of one of the bureau draw
ers in the room of my hotel l had found
when 1 first put up there, pretty nifty
looking pair Of red silk stockings. Wnlie
packing up last night l made up my mlnu
that those red silk stockings really ought
to form a part of Ted's luggage.
ut looked like the chance Of my NE 10
get square with Ted for the numerous tight
places he mischievously got me into SINCE
we'd been pals. So I went into TED
room. which adjoined mine, and asked him
II he wouldn't nike downstairs to get
time table or something. -
He knocked off his packing and went
downstairs and then l slipped that pair OF
red silk stockings into his trunk-put 'em
away down at the bottom of the trunk 80 s
he'd be sure not to find them during his
packing. Then I spent about an hour hug
ging myself over the thought of the look
that d cross Ted's good natured chart
when his wife unpacked the trunk and
held up to his view that pair of frivolous
hose.
Several times before we took the train
from the beach this morning. I felt so COM
passionate for Ted, knowing as I did his
wife's violent jealousy Of him. that l was
on the point of telling him about that pair
of red silk stockings I'd put in his trunk.
Even when Ted shook hands with me at
the station when we got into Washington
and told me what a bully time he d had
with me. and all that. I came near mel
lowing up to the point of saving him the
trouble I'd fixed up for him. But he hoped
an uptown car suddenly that didn't get
a chance to.
"Oh, WE'LL" sighed the sun-peeled man.
mournfully, cts happened now. but the
next time I feel disposition to become
humorous 1 want somebody to come along
with barrel stave and
why" put in the neighbor, sis 1T as bad
as all that? Couldn't Ted explain to his
wife how it was that the article came"
well, maybe Ted could have replied
the gloomy man. leaning his other side
against the wire tree-box. But l couldn't
About an hour ago my wife started to I'M
pack my trunk, while I stood by and
thought out the amusing letter of expla-
nation I intended to write Ted's wife in
the morning, when my wife, with pallid
anger-agitated countenance, held up that
pair of red silk stockings and demanded
me to explain and explain quick.
Tied had made little switch in the ar
rangement unbeknownst to me when he'd
found the stockings in packing-that's ALL
oh / got mine all right. I'm waiting
for my wife to go to bed now. and then
I'll sneak through the basement way
don't want to break any more blood ves-
sells explaining, and my explanations don't
seem to go, anyhow