Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-09
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An Illustration of the luckiness of the
alleged unucky number thirteen" was re-
lated by a local Spanish war veteran the
other day The fall races at Benning were
drawing to close and the veteran, whose
name might be Queen. but it isn't was
bemoaning his luck in not having enough
money to go out to the track and take a
final throw at the bookies. 1t was also
near the end of the month and Queen S
pile of cash was very low. Suddenly,
while he was i'm n reverie. brother veteran
tapped him the shoulder and asked him
II he was going out to Benning.
Haven't got any money" sighed Queen.
twenty-five cents is the extent of my
pile"
II have a straight tip" said the friend
'and 1t isn't one of those back-acting pro-
fessional tips either; it's a good one and
am going to play it for all I'm worth. Now,
I will be your Santa Claus for the time
and lend YOU ten spot If you care to
go out and play my tip
Queen was oveTjoyed at the prospect and
gladly accepted the offer. He went to his
home and told Mrs. Queen of his good for
tune. She advanced him S1.75 of her saw
ings and his aunt let him have another
dollar. This made his total on hand even
SIS
He proceeded to Benning to play the horse
Fleecelet. This nag was not favorite
by any means, but Queen felt away down
In his heart that she would be winner.
He bought ticket from bookie and. to
his surprise, found that the pasteboard he
had purchased with the S13 was numbered
313, and that II would read thirteen either
way from the middle. He bought printed
event card and found that his horse, Golden
Fieecelet. was number thirteen on the list
of racers. The young man mentioned this
to the program seller.
"Oh, that amt nothin'." replied the pro-
gram seller. yer kin add TO yer list of
thirteens that this is de thirteenth day of
CO races"
Queen said he came near having a col
lapse at the entanglement of thirteens he
had gotten entangled in. But his money
was up and by that time the ponies were
off few minutes later Golden Fleece
let was I'm ahead of the bunch and he went
down stairs to cash in.
Hereafter said Queen, talking of the
occurrence. thirteen will be my mascot
number, and if there is ever race on Fri
day. the thirteenth day of any old month,
I will go broke playing my pile on 1t
* = = =
There is just a little bit of history that
did not come out in the Mcriwcther court
martial" said a man who was IN Annapolis
during the trial and who talked 1t over with
Star reporter. You know all the tes-
timony that related to the falls during the
fight mentioned that the men We're remark
ably slow in breaking away and getting up
after the third fall There was no explana-
tion offered for this. at least the witnesses
volunteered none. and the court seemed to
pass IL over as of little moment. SO It
was, as far as the trial went, but it threw
an interesting light on the knock down
and drag out methods of the fights and on
Meriwether's ability to keep his mouth
shut.
1T happens they teach jiu-Dtsu among
the other brands of physical training in
the gymnasium. Most of the midshipmen
know a good deal of its mysteries, so far
as they are mysteries. But In fact they
are largely practical points in anatomy
that teach a man what bones and muscles
are most vital and most exposed to at
tack In a scrap The fights at the Academy
are under the Marquis of Queens berry
rules but apparently the midshipmen have
TO objection to injecting a little additional
ginger into them If occasion offers.
Now, in the third fall when the men
clinched. Branch had taken jiu-jitsu hold
on Meriwethers shoulder. 1t was one of
those paraiyzing muscle holds that the Japs
can use at will. When the two fighters
went down. Branch hit his head but did
not relax his grip. and Meriwether was
half paralzed for the time. In fact It
was testified to that his right arm and
shoulder were almost useless for the next
two rounds. Whether there is anything
against injecting jiu-jitsu into Marquis of
Queensberry fight may be left to experts
TO determine. But that was the explanation
OF the long down in the fight. The incident
was not brought out in the testimony for
some reason or other. But then there were
several things that were not brought out
in the testimony"
x x x X
On one Of the country roads leading from
this city to the seat of a Maryland county
there lives an aged woman who earns a
livelihood by raising poultry and garden
produce. In her employ not long ago was
a young man who had been trusted with
thousands Of dollars worth Of her property
from time 70 time. few days ago she
sent him to the city with two crates of
eggs and some produce and told him he
should return as soon as he could. When
lie had disposed Of his stock and started
home he met a friend who had a sure
thing" on the horses
Il was told TO hurry home,' he said to
his friend. but If there is a chance to
win several hundred dollars I'll make the
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