Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1906-07-04
HOW JOHNNY
GOT A JOB
By H. BARRETT SMITH
(Copyfight, By Joseph B. BOwles.)

begun to pour into the shopping dis
trict. In a big show window, now
fairy grotto all frost and silver and
green, Santa Claus greeted the carry
corners. He knew his business, too,
this Santa Claus. He was not in the
show window for his health He
looked a trifle weary-he had been
working overtlme-but he nodded and
smiled and smirked and winked at the
boys and girls outside the window.
Johnny stood near the foot of the
elevated station, not far from Santa
Claus. There was a cutting wind
lowering sky, and Johnny's jacket was
ragged, so were the knee pants" that
reached to his ankles; but Johnny
shuffled his feet and whistled "Sunnv
Africa" to keep warm. The passer-by
who happened to catch Johnnys eye
turned to look at him again. True,
Johnny had wonderful pair of orbs;
big, brown. wide open and touching,
they were dumbly eloquent; but
Johnny's appeal was entirely uncoH-
scious, nor was it his desire to at
tract attention. He whistled, jiggeG
end looked innocent-there was
game of craps under the elevated
stairs, and Johnny was "layin' fer the
cop"
Johnny felt he should not linger at
che corner this morning, but if his
"fren'" should win out" the order
would be coffee and rolls for two.
Johnny had to live. So he waited for
his breakfast, while his breakfast
waited on luck-not an unusual stu
alton for Johnny.
Come crap-come seven," a throw
OF the dice, a cry of victory, an oath
OF defeat, and Johnnys whistle and jig
came to dead stop together. Johnny's
"fren" went broke.
! Johnnys eyes grew wide and sol
emn. He looked at his ''fren'." No
man cpuld tell what Johnny was think
ing Johnny said
Yer chump!'
Its tough said his "fren,"
t"Dis bein' a sport on couple O.
Cents!' said johnny in fine disdain.
81 tolt cher not t do it on an empty
stomick If yer got t gamble We;
oughtn't never t do it if yer amt
first got yer roll-an' cup O. coffee on
the side"
At this the curbstone winner and
loser Joined forces and sent up howl
lof derision, hurting at Johnny the
choicest bits of their picturesque vo-
teabulary.
m 'G'wan, youse!" retorted Johnny.
Nhen, adhering to his policy of ''havin'
siyler say an quittin'," he suddenly re-
Misunderstanding always remem.
:hered in the nick of time-that he had
Urgent business with Santa Claus.
& Now the big show window and the
yGrotto therein had no attraction for
tJohnny-Jo had an artistic tenn
perament, an Imagination. The dis
3suise of this Santa Claus was too
Tain He was not the Kris Kringle
VI Johnny's dream. Johnny thought
there must be something queer" with
the crowd that allowed itself to be
taken in by dat wise old guy"
I Johnny expected no Christmas gift;
but his spirit was not disconsolate.
neither was there rebellion in his
Heart. Johnny's crying want came
from his stomach; he had to live.
80 he turned his attention to the crowd
going into the store. For few mo-
ments he was lost in moving mass,
then he emerged on the inside of the
great swinging doors. How dead
easy" Johnny thought. The warm
air took him in its fond embrace-how
nice it was. But suddenly he sQuirmed
and almost doubled himself. He felt
a hand grab his jacket at the back Of
his neck.
What are you doing here?"
Johnny shot look over his Shout
der and thought he saw giant stand
ing over him. 1t was only floor
walker.
Tim lookin' fer job. Don't cher
want no more cash boys?"
The spoken. word would have failed,
but Johnny's eyes got in their fine
work.
"How old are you, anyhow"
Johnny looked small for ten. He
might be a0year or two older; but
Johnny had to live, and with as much
gertrude as II he had his birth GER
Gi0cate to back him up, he answered:
Fourteen"
The giant looked Quizzically at the
midget,
WELL" he said, this is the last day
Of the rush, but they are taking every
body on. You might go up and see
the superintendent His. Office is at
the head Of the stairs there"
Johnny made for the stairs. Seem
Gngly he lost no time as he zlgzagged
through the crowd Of shoppers, but
in that short passage Johnny saw
"heaped counters Of riches" he saw
''pocketbooks in every hand" and out
Of the pocketbooks flowed :'streams 81
money" When Johnny reached the
Top of the stairs, he paused and looked
back, then darted across the hall. Not ,
4iEe minutes later an employee whis-
pered to the house detective:
4SThere's trouble up there, a woman