Bridgeton pioneer., 1906-08-02
Il FLAT
FAILURE
By Cecilia A. Loizeaux
Copyright, 1906, By NJ. NJ. Cunningham
By Cecilia A. Loizeaux

AoAo lat LII Lle SdulG SIUIJ dIIeCLIy
across the hall there came crash, fol-
lowed by the shiver of broken glass.
An old gentleman stepped out into the
hall and waited. In a moment sec
ond old gentleman appeared at the
open door of his fat, evidently intend
ing to slam it shut with all the power
that lay in his strong right arm. But
he, too, stopped as he saw his neigh
Dor and then gave shamefaced laugh.
Broke a window pane trying to
keep out the noise. That girls dancing
polka on her piano and she's been at
it four mortal hours It's a shame,
and I won't stand it any longer.
There's going to be change here!'
''If change is what you want, come
over to my side. There you can hear
singing. The young wretch down there
aspires to be a tenor. He has been
stop now I'd be lonesome, / guess"
The piano player stopped long enough
to get new piece of music, and in
the interval of comparative quiet there
fioated through the Railways the walls
of stringy tenor voice reiterating
with long drawn out sadness:
"Oh-h-h, I ha-ave sighed to re-est me?'
"Now, just listen to that, will your.
said one disgustedly.
Soon the strains of '1My Old Ken
lucky Home" embellished with I'm
heard Of variations, drowned out the
walls of the tenor.
'Yes, I'll listen. Don't see how J
can help myself" said the other
''Come in here, Adams" and he led the
way into his rooms and out to the
piazza at the back. 1t was the least
noisy place he could think of.
''Now, what are we going to do
about this thing? We've signed leases
for two years for these flats, and we'd
only had four months before this
chunk of Signor Squalls conservatory
of music came out here to stir up this
peaceful neighborhood. I've question
ed the parents of 'em, and they've
signed for year. Now, what'll we
do?''
81 don't know" said Adams as he
offered his neighbor cigar and bit
the tip from his own. 81 went through
more or less noige during the war, but
this-I'ye got so I can't tell when they
stop and when they begin now, the
stuff rings in my ears so. My wife
says | was urging 'em to run a race
in my sleep the other night and put
ting all sorts of money on the tenor"
"If he'd use all that energy doing
something he'd be rich some dayv'
| growled Mr.. Bolton, between puffs.
"Work? oh, nor blazed Mr.. Adams
suddenly.
There was a few moments silence
while they listened to the tenor, who
was holding his own.
ooh, have si-ighed to re-est NEE
Deep in the si-ilent grave!''
Huh" groaned Adams. ''I'd like to
dig it for him. l think it would be
deep. I'm not so sure about the silent.
But, see here, we're not getting on
any. What are we going to do?'
II thought of a plan last night" said
Adams slowly, eff we could only put
it through. You know the girl isn't
much stuck on the tenor just now, and
he doesn't seem to banker much after
her society. Musicians are such a
jealous seti You see, that girl has only
her mother, and he has only his-or
these fats would be too small. Now
and he brought his feet down from
the railing and chewed his cigar fierce
in h Ox-ait t<y,x
shouldn't we fix things to get those
two married? 1t would be shame to
spoil two families with 'em!"
"And as it is they're breaking up our
happy homes" agreed the other
''Why, Bolton" said Adams earnest
ly, 81 haven't had a decent nights
sleep or days rest in months. I can't
stand it. l went to see the rascally
agent who turned 'em loose on us, and
he was sympathetic enough, but he
said they paid the rent, and he didn't
feel to blame because he couldn't see
it on 'em when they signed"
He chewed the end from another ci
gar. Bolton was chuckling. Adams
went on:
You see, there amt any law about
these things. though there ought to be,
and all we can do is to fix up some
thing ourselves and bear the conse-
quences. My wife and have done
everything we could think of. We've
been down to call, one on one side, the
other on the other side, at the same
time, thinking that while we were there
they'd stop at any rate"
81 could have told you better than
that" grinned Bolton. 'Tried it myself.
Both old women deaf too. Don't won
der either. They've stood this for some
years now, they tell me. Stuck US out
in that beastly middle room and pulled
the curtains. No doors even. Went at
it like Sam Hill and let us screech at
the old women
swell, let's get 'em married. insisted
Adams. ''Why not? Then they can
fight it out in piece or in pieces. They'll
have to move, because this place won't
hold both of the old women and them
too. Just so they get out of this neigh
borhood don't care where they 60"