The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1906-05-17
MuggSy and Mary Ann.
BY W, H. Auburn.

lhs eXuberance of spirit that had at.
tended his liberation and his subss.
quent return to the city had subsidized
He stumped along the dirty bacl,
street in a drizzly autumn rain. his
hands deep in his empty pockets and
his eyes fixed blankly on the pave
ment before him, shining in the glirl-
mer OF the struggling gas lamps.
He had left the PEN" with a very
presentable suit of clothes, and even
with a little money that had been
held in trust for him since that dis
mai day, two years before, when Nc
Clusky, No. 247 on the Force" had
found him in house that was not his
nome, and heartless Judge had sent
MIN over the road for housebreaking
and larceny. But when he returned
TO his old haunts and found some of
the gang playing poker in coy
corner beside the bar in the WAN
derers' Home all his money had gone
10 express his joy at the reunion.
Soon afterward his good clothes had
given rlace to historic outfit in the
last stages of dissolution.
1t made no difference to Muggsy.
Nothing did. Only, Just now he was
blue, and unwashed, and hungry, and
a weeks growth of black beard bris-
tied on his stolid face almost as the
bristles of the brushes at "The
Works. And he knew 1t, for he had
MADE many brushes. And that, too,
made no difference; except that, as he
paused beside lamp post and strokod
his rasping chin, he thought:
"Wots de use o. fren's. anyhow.
wen yer hungry, an can't even borry
a chew o terbacca? Mebbe | kin git
free lunch in Billy Donovan's."
The burglarious philosopher turned
into back door, sided up along the
par, and reached a grimy hand toward
"a basket of pretzels, with a watchful
eye on Billy, who was drawing beer.
His courage grew with the first SALTY
MUNICH, and out went the other hand
toward plate of cheese. The fingers
closed hungrily, and half the contents
OF the plate moved cautiously toward
Muggsy'S capacious pocket.
Git out NV it. we bum!" roared a
voice, and the cheese dropped. Nov,
git Quit" The full-stomached bar
tender advanced angrily, while his
patrons wiped the foam from their
lips and grinned
wy, Billy, don't yez reco'nize an
old fren'? I'm Muggsy," faltered the
culprit.
Yes, knows yez all right, an |
! knows yez owes me seven dollars fer
| drinks that I'll never git, an two dol
lars that lent yez oncet, an yez Amt
| spent nickel acrost this yere bar
fer more In two years. an yez amt
got a red in yer jeans now. Git out
or I'll call the cop!"
All this and more Billy said. and
| Muggsy realized that it was all true
So he got out, saying sadly as he
| peered back through the folding
doors
I'm disappointed in yez Billy. Yez
amt got no heart. I'd never go back
on a fren' that way"
And that also was true.
A long time Muggsy sat on the from
step of the saloon. He was not think.
ing. Persons in such circumstances
don't think And it never occurred tc
him to jump into the river Suicide
requires a stage of intellectual devel
opment that Muggsy had not attained
At last he summed up the whole sit
uation in one apt phrase.
Damn the luck" he calculated.
1t was a happy thought. He re-
peated the remark with ineffable rel
ish. Then he felt better and spat Wig
orously, and arose and stretched hii
cramped limbs and sauntered down the
street.
With good humor comes good for
tune. Thus it happened that a!
Muggsys eye scanned the pavemen
in front of his toes he saw something
bright. He picked it up; it was {
nickel 1t gave him more pleasur,
than if he had pocketed the contents
of safe. With hungry grin he hur
ried through an alley and brought VI
at the door of a three-cent res
taurant.
There were many people there, SOM
perched on stools in front of tn
lunch counter. and others more arts
tocratically seated at bare table
around the room. Muggsy modesto
selected a table in one corner an,
beckoned to waitress lowering on tn
outskirts of the feeding flock.
"Wot's the most | kin git fer f
cents?" he asked. He had often solve
the problem before, but just how h
felt in need OF assistance.
The little waitress looked down a
Muggsy sympathetically. She was al
most good-looking-beside Muggsl
True. her hair was carroty, her fac
freckIed. her nose turned-up and rudy
And she had little greenish-yello'
eyes set close together under inyisibl
eyebrows, and her features were yer
carelessly jumbled together. But sh
looked good-natured and kindly, an
her voice was soft and low-not hars
and infiexible like that of many wal
resses gifted with features, And tn
l.