Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-30

1t exceedingly nice for little tommy oHeN-
lin.
Tommy did other similar things to the
Chicago bookmakers during the balance of
that and all of the ensuing season. lie mac
remarkably fine idea of the psychoios,cal
moment when to unbelt Also, be had a
bunch of intuition amounting almost TO
genius as to the exact moment when not
to. This, by the way, Is feature OF the
game that is quite generally overlooked
The fellows who hang on to what they man
age to get on race tracks for the longest
periods of time more often than not the
chaps who know just when not to- LOOK
this up.
I lost sight of little Tommy Shevlin after
those first couple of brightsome seasons OF
his. He was a likable youngster, though,
and It was pleasant thing to know. after
losing track of him, that he had got the
money. and to hope that he'd hung on TO
at least sizable chunk of it.
Well, 1 was poking along outside the
main ring aisle at the new track in New
Orleans last winter, some time in Decem-
ber when l heard a voice that had sort
of vague, eerie, unplacable significance IN
my memory. The voice was saying:
Hey, come On. now, pals. an bite their
heads off vile they're hot LOOK at EN-
sizzle. This way FIR y'r hot dogs, feilers-
look 'em over an pick EN- out.
Somehow or another, even before turned
around to take look, that voice had in my
memory tablets a sort of underlined bark
back to "wuxtry" crying voice that had
known in the Chicago days.
And the mental tablets were right. sure
it was little Tommy Shevln. wearing a
most mserably straggly reddish mustache.
Tommy was purveyng to such as cared to
dig up the necessary, dime those hot saus
sage things poked between a couple or
slabs of roll-bread. He was working very
hard calling out his wares and turning the
dogs" over on the griddle at the same
time. And so I walked over there.
mo dog today. Tommy said l: but II
you've got the wuXtry Chicago Daily Amer
lea with the dope in it. why
Little Tommy Shevlin. looking up keeny
at that recognized me as an old paper
buying patron. grinned with the delight OF
being remembered as the Shevlin who had
made the Chicago bcokies morose in his
glad day. and held out the mitt which he
most deliberately wiped with his apron.
playing 'em nowadays, Tommy? L ask
ed him after bit
1t was then that Mr. Shevlin became earn
est. He Strengthened up, looked at me
squarely out of his Keen steely gray eye
"Playin' 'em? Who? Me? Playin' 'em.
after TIL bum they made O me? Playin'
EN-. after they got me down on tn levee,
carryin' a can me regular tool an drain
| in kags into it? Playin 'em. after they
got me in TIL bug wards wit tn jimmes
| bout nine times before I gifts hep an cuts
tn booze out? Playin' EN-, when they
made deck-hand on lake boats out o me?
| Fergit it. I'm troo I got mine. They
| put me away good an plenty. Now I'm
! selln' hot poodles t fat-conks that think
| they can beat 'em. 1 git 10 cents throw
| FIR me dogs an clean up bout cents ev'ry
| time l han one out That's bad, l guess?
| It's 8 cents DO. that 1 don't have t steam
| or sweat over-w'en it's passed over 1t goes
| into tn nankeens. an there's no twenty
minnits FIR new book on that chink. TIL
| all-cinch life FIR mine. 1 amt bet a dollar
| on a skate since l had bot me legs broke
| tryin' t swipe a ride on a trolley away
| from tn track after I'd gone broke an
| didn't have tn price of a stand-up on tn
| car. Wen l landed in tn hospital that
| time. I gifts me teet' down. an, says | t
m'self. 'Pally, flag it. Duck And I've
| ducked ever since. Play EN-. hey? Say. II
| you was t offer me one million t. one
| ag'in tn best horse on this lot. carryin
| nottin' but little girl weighin' 30 pounds
| in a match agin one O tn harrow
| haulin work-h horses carrytn' a ton O coal
an two members O. TIL Fat Mems Bowlin
| Club. dye know what I'd do? Why. I'd
| jes han you sausage, oil pal an tell you
! t run away quick or you'd lose y'r mar
| bles. That's how I'm playin 'em!'' 80
Perhaps / took the lesson of little Tommy
| Shevlin's emphatic disclaimer lightly enough
| at the time it was delivered. but-er-before
| leaving New Orleans. somehow or another
l had become thoroughly convinced that he
was right.