The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-10-27

overt" A big 1nilitary-1ooking man In
evening clothes sprang forward. of
fered prayer for him and held my
breath. He rushed to the Gasowashine,
seized it with his mighty arms, and
gave a shove.
.sM-m-m- mister" quavered Hawkins,
wriggling frem under one Of the Ia
bles, don't DO that! The g-g-g-gaso-
lene tank."
But it was done With a dull crash,
the only perfect machine for washing
and drying dishes fell to its side, The
big man smiled at it.
And then-Well, then sheet OF
fame seemed to envelope the unfortu-
nate. A heavy boom shook the apart
ment, the big glass door splintered
unsteady and fell inward, the lights IN
that end of the room were exun-
guished.
Then followed the screams Of the
terrified guests, the patter of number
less fragments of croekery and count
less drops Of filthy dishwater as they
reached the floor And then the big
man picked himself up some 20 feet
from the spot where he had dared the
wrath of the Gasowashine.
| And Hawkins standing majestically
| in the wreck of table, with one foot
in a salad bowl and the other oozing
nesse1rode pudding, while an unbroken
| stream Of mayonnaise dressing mean
dered down the back of his coat-Haw-
kins, standing thus, shook his fist at
the big man and, above the turmoil
! shouted at him:
ST told you so!''
Such was the fate Of the first, last
and only Gasowashine.
Bellboys, clerks and walters pelted
with hand grenades its smcldering re-
mains and squirted chemical fire eX-
tinguishers upun it; but the Gasowash-
ines day was done. It's turbulent spirit
had passed to another sphere.
Later, when some measure of order
had been restored to the dining room,
when the door had been boarded up
/ and the inquisitive police satisfied and
the street crowd dispersed; when a
sympathetic waiter had partially
cleansed Hawkins, and that gentleman
! had suggested that we might as we'll
depart, he received q peremptory 1nvi-
tation to call upon the proprietor in his
private Office.
The proprietor was a calm, cold
man. He viewed Hawkins with an IN
serutable stare for some time before he
spoke.
81 hardly know, Mr.. Hawkins he
said at last, whom to blame for
| this
| aWell, / know! That hulking lum-
mox who knocked over my"
AT any rate, the machine was yours
| I fear you will have to pay for the
damage
4 81 will, eh?" clustered Hawkins
We'll, told your man Macdougal tha'
il one dish was broken Id pay for It
Here's the dollar for the dish! Come
Griggs."
.sUm-um. So you refuse to settler
smiled the proprietor.
! absolutely and positively" de.
: clared Hawkins.
well, / think that, pending a sui
for damages, can have you held on
charge of disorderly conduct, nlusee
the calm man. ssMr. Macdougal, vii
you kindly call an offcer?
Hawkins wilted at that. His check
book came forth, and the string OF fig
ures he was compelled to write mad'
my Eeart bleed.
When he had exchanged the slip fol
a receipt, Hawkins and / made for tn
side door and SUNK out into the Light
The Gasowashine, presumed, o
such combustible fragments as re
NAMED, found an inglorious Hrav'
next day in the ranges of the sam
kitchen which had witnessed the star
t of its short little life.