The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-30
A TRAGEDY OF
 THE TENEMENTS
BY EDWIN BJoRKMAN.

(Copyrtght. 1905, Dy Joseph D. oo" .os'. : The first time saw him ne was playing with smaller sister between the trestles on which their father coffin rested. buried the father' ana never got paid for 1t.
 The family occupied two small rooms under the roof of rear tenement. There was the mother, and Mug' her oldest. and three more children. Mug WAS undoubtedly the poorest equipped child. so far as appearance went that | ever put eyes on.
 | Tnat was why everybody called him Mug. He was so ugly that think peo- l pie took fancy to him because or It. Mig fought, .sswore and smoked, and sa oarohied-eyen when he could not | afford to. One morning he sneakea humbiy into my shop with his leap m his hand instead of on the back or ms skulI and no papers under his arm l "I--I--I--lost a quawter,' he stam- r,.raa ruiltily, ''Mudder knows l had if an'-mudder might lick me an wouldn't care 6 bft--but she aint go'
 nuthin' left at all, an kin get nc papes." ..,, ,,,
 Lost howT' I wondered. stiil m inc air. He gasped a little. and then l sIsnced in at me with the funniest mien you ever saw as he shot out tns
 single word:
 Craps" If was all I could do not to smile | "And now you want me to make gooo your gambling losses?"
 There was long pause, during
 which Mug tried hard to bore one oi his heels through the flooring. At last he muttered:
 "I ius want ter borrow--sure. mis- ter, dat's all l want ..-..,,, suppose I give you quarter VII YOU pledge your word never to gam ble again?" vi, ua,,, | back in week" "Although you can get 1t outright? | I was more surprised than ever' ho" | that?' . |, ,c,ause-" he hesitated. Cause ii vouse gimme't I dassent ax anuodei time aEin-an'-an kent promise never ter dot no more"
 The end of 1t was that gave nm the quarter. telling him that ne mus surely return it as he had agreed to do. ,.n Ia,
 "so strike me dead if I doesn't nc
 eried his face shi' rg with relief when he paid me. four or five days later. he wheeled around. and came
 back to my desk.
 "say. Burns" he grinned. looking
 his ugiiest. "Youse ain't no ornarS body snatcher."
 But all this happened long after Mug first began to sell newspapers Whlci must have been about Iour months ai lar h,s fathers death. Early one morn ing he flung open my door and sang out in reply to my inquing glance: "Don't youse know mean youse de man wot buried me father?" had to ask him for his name before I could place" him.
 "Me mudder's got another" was tho next piece of information he offered. Then came the announcement or the
 real object of his visit. The added ,,outh had increased the needs of the SauoiIv and decreased the earning ca. nacity of the mother. To even up mat tsrs MuK would have to work. Mur now became the head and only aunnort of the family So hc took to selling papers at night about the theatres and restaurants. This meant that he had to carry on his trade right under the noses of his natural enemies tbe agents of the Children's society Many were the hairbreath escapes out | of their clutches. Never could ne rec safa least of all at home. Often he liv-
 sd on the streets for days and nights in Succession. returning home only to hand +ha roeaeer results of his toll to the
 mother. Hunger and fatigue and wor-
 rv nut their marks on his face and
 wade if still uglier Black rings form ed about his eyes. His glances became furtive and searching. like those ot a beast of prey. His talk grew bitter and despairing. One subject In partic- uIar seemed to have morbid fascina- tion to him.
 "Wonder if 1t hoits reel bad ter be runned over?" he asked one day
 His tone more than the question it.
 self startled me. Mug went on without
 waiting for an answer:
 Peoples funny, ain't dey? Jes 'cause a feller ain't got as much body as udders dey go clean buggy bout him an nobody else ain't got no show al all. Dere's a beggar up at de station
 wot's got no legs Jiminie, ain't he got A soft snap o't, de way he rakes 'em in,
 Youse ought ter see when dem swell ladies comes long an ev'ry one stops an chucks nickels an dimes at him
 an even--" here Mugs voice was low cred reverently-"eYen bills"
 Well. he's not to be envied, just
 the same without any legs at all
 poor man"
 Poor man." pouted Mug. seornfully.
 He aint half as poor as wot youse