The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-12-07
He GUARDS A CROSSING.
GVGrG

:. Il wa-ant fr 10 ta-alk to ye,v sait
Policeman Flynn.
Take that out Of there or III breal
it," exclaimed the contractor.
"Yen br-reak tn shpoke iv ye-el
wheel IL ye-er hor-rse moves" retort'
ed Policeman Flynn. An / wa-ani
fr to give ye warnin' that tn mkt
time ye go scootin' over tn 'crossin'
may damage me club. but ye-er bug
gy'll go to the ~ray-pair shop, Now
g'wan an don't be blockin' up tn
r-road.'
That settled the contractor, and
thereafter Policeman Flynn was the
autocrat of his crossing. But he had
other troubles. and his methods were
not always those that would be ap-
proved at headquarters. The advice
that he gave on various occasions,
while undoubtedly good, was too sharp
and pointed. A man from the coun-
try secured his attention one day and
told him he had been asked to cash a
check for a stranger who had to catch
a train to go to a sick wife.
Twas tn oil gag iv the confidence
ma-an," said Policeman Flynn in tell
ing about It. "but tn felly from tn
country was sorry FIR him, an he says
to me, bein' In a bit iy doubt from all
he'd hear-rd iv city ways: If you
was me- he says, what w'u'd We dor
An says 10 him: If | was you,' /
says, I'd ha-ave a guardeen appointed
an thin hire a guide An he whit
AWAY ma-ad.
But It's tn women gives me tn
most throuble. Ohoi tn women,
Nine out " livery tin iy thin is lack
in ner-rYe or Use sinse. Wan Nv thin
shteps ont a fut or two an thin r.runs
back. Thin she thrles II wanst more,
an It's up to me fr to iscoort her
acrost. Tn mkt war ducks her head
an goes like a chicken crossin' a
r-road. / caught wan Nv that kind
yisterda-ay whin she was r-runnin'
Fright under a pair iv prancin'
horses, Dye think ye're a bir-rd?'
says /, that We can shpread ye-er
wings and ma-ake a straight liner
An instid " thankin' me she whit
AWAY ma-ad, too"
OF course. in time the fame of Po-
liceman Flynn's methods and com
ments reached headquarters, owing to
some complaints hat were made, and
he was given a quiet reprimand.
Above all things you must be cour-
teous,' he was told, and, with his GUS
tomary desire to master completely
anything that he undertook, he went
out to buy a book on etiquette. This
was his undoing, for it Is indeed a wise
who knows how to utilize the in
formation in such a volume. He fol.
lowed the instructions implicitly, and
many a woman wondered at the elab-
o~rateness Of his bow and the tactful
nature OF his reply when he was asked
to do some absurd thing entirely out
OF the line of his duty; for women are
occasionally unreasonable in their re-
quests Of the guardians Of the law.
He even kept his temper and acted
with creditable discretion when he was
asked to run back a block or two and
see II he could find the lap-dog a wom-
had dropped out Of her victoria.
But the etiquette book was responsible
for his Waterloo. nevertheless, and
the night he was sent back to patrol
duty he threw it in the fire before even
explaining the matter to his wife.
Twas all along " thryin' to be po-
lite an t~ac'ful," he finally explained.
What's polite an complimentary to
an akel is praysum'tion to a soopeer-
yer. Ye see, twas this wa-ay; a
gir-rl-oh, a f1ne-lukin' girl Nv 10 or
2O-got mixed up bechune two teams.
was like to be run down whin
saw her. Twas no time to think Nv tn
wa-ay to get her out. Amy wa-ay all
was a good wa-ay, an | gr-rabbed her
r-round tn waist an carried her to
wan side. oh, SIR she says whln she
got her breath back. how can | liver
tha-ank We? Ma'am,' says /, liftin'
me helmet an thlnkin' Nv tn book on
manners, TIL pleasure I says, Is all
mine Sir she says, givin' me a hity-
tity LUX an shpeakin' cold, 4 will see
that We are ray-warded.' Ma'am,' SAYS
|, til mim'ry Nv TIL hayward I've al
ready had will go with me to the
grave"
What hayward had We had, Bar
ney?' inquired Mrs. Flynn.
~ |