The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-06-08
HOW JOHNNY
Gotta JOB
~ r,SEr r-.7,*..
By H. BARRETT SMITH
Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.)


The hour was early, the store doors
scarcely open, but crowds had already
begun to pour into the shopping dis
trict. In a big show window, now
a fairy grotto all frost ard silver and
green, Santa Claus greeted the early
corners. He knew his business, too,
this Santa Claus. He was not in the
show window for his health. He
looked a trifle weary-he had been
working overtime-but he nodded and
smiled and smirked and winked at the
boys and girls outside the window.
Johnny stood near the foot of the
elevated station, not far from Santa
Claus. There was a cutting wind, a
lowering sky, and Johnny's jacket Was
ragged, so were the knee pants" that
reached to his ankles; but Johnny
shuffled his feet and whistled "Sunnv
Africa" to keep warm. The passer-by
who happened to catch Johnny's eye
turned to look at him again. True,
Johnny had a wonderful pair of orbs;
big, brown, wide open and touching,
they were dumbly eloquent; bu,
Johnny's appeal was entirely unco1.-
scious, nor was it his desire to at
tract attention. He whistled, jiggec
and looked innocent-tkere was
game of craps under the elevated
stairs, and Johnny was "layin' fer the
cop
Johnny felt he should not linger at
the corner this morning, but if his
-'fren'" should win out" the order
would be coffee and rolls for two.
Johnny had to live. So he waited for
his breakfast, while his breakfast
waited on luck-not an unusual situ-
alton for Johnny.
Come crap-cOme SEVEN" throw
of the dice, cry of victory, an oath
of defeat, and Johnnys whistle and jig
came to a dead stop together. Johnny's
~fren'" went broke.
Johnnys eyes grew wide and SOL
emn. He looked at his "fren'" NJ
man could tell what Johnny was think
Ing. Johnny said:
Yer chump!"
Its tough, said his '.'fren'."
Dis bein' a sport on couple O.
cents!" said Johnny, in fine disdain.
Il tOlt cher not t do it on an empty
stomick. If yer got t. gamble ye:
oughtn't never t. do it if yer amt
first got yer roll-an' cup O. coffee on
the side."
At this the curbstone winner and
loser joined forces and sent up a howl
of derision, hurting at Johnny the
choicest bits Of their picturesque vo-
cabulary.
'Gwan, youse!" retorted Johnny.
Then, adhering to his policy of "havin
yer say an qYittin',' ne suddenly re-
MISUNDERSTANDING always remem.
bered in the nick of time-that he had
argent business with Santa Claus.
Now the big show window and tie
grotto therein had no attraction for
permanent, an Imagination. The dis
;guise of this Santa Claus was too
thin.' He was not the Kris Kringle
of JOhnny's dream. Johnny thought
there must be something queer" with
the crowd that allowed itself to be
taken in by dat wise old guy."'~'
Johnny expected no Christmas gift;
but his spirit was not disconsolate,
neither was there rebellion in his
heart. Johnny's crying want came
from his stomach; he had to live,
so he turned his attention to the crowd
going into the store. For a few mo-
ments he was lost in a moving mass,
then he emerged on the inside of the
great swinging doors. How dead
easy" Johnny thought The warm
air took him in it's fond embrace-how
nice it was. But suddenly he squirmed
and almost doubled himself He felt
a hand grab his jacket at the back of
his neck.
What are you doing here?"
Johnny shot a look over his shoul-
der and thought he saw giant stand
ing over hi1n. 1t was only floor
walker.
lin lookin' fer job. Don't cher
want no more cash boys?''
The spoken word would have failed,
but Johnny eyes got in their fine
work
How old are you, anyhow"
Johnny looked small for ten. He
might be year or two older: but
Johnny had to live, and with as much
gertrude as if he had his birth GER
tificate to back him up, he answered:
Fourteen"
The giant looked quizzically at the
midget.
WELL" he said, this is the last day
of the rush, but they are taking every
body On. You might go up and see
the superintendent. His Office is at
the head of the stairs there"
Johnny made for the stairs. Seem
dngly he lost no time as he zigzagged
through the crowd of shoppers, but
in that short passage Johnny saw
"heaped counters OF riches" he saw
'pocketbooks in every hand" and out
of the pocketbooks flowed streams of
money" When Johnny reached the
top of the stairs, he paused and looked