Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-23
BEATING TIE RACES

One Of the local horse bugs. anyhow, will
be missing when the bugle summons the
horses to the post for the first race at Ben
ming on Monday afternoon next. He side
stepped the meeting yesterday afternoon.
He had three hundred and fifty large.
round pieces of silver deposited in the saw
ings bank. When he went out for lunch at
noon yesterday he caught sight, in the
quick lunch room. Of dope sheet Of the
evening before. giving the results at New
Orleans and Hot Springs. Whereupon he
fell to musing.
And they'll be here next Monday" was
the gravamen Of his muse, "and I'll be one
OF the Patsies groveling outside the breast
works when It's all over. as usual. They'll
snag me all right. s'pose. Same old gag
OF going out with $40 or SIS every day, as
long as last, and slipping the chalk peo-
pie the bundle without ever getting a
tratpse for the change. Just handing 1t to
'em every day. I'd save time by giving 1t
70 EN- IN lump before the meeting be-
gins-time and strain; for it sure is plenty
Of work and strain to be tossed and ei-
bowed and nudged around the old ring
every day for three weeks or so, never
getting anything. even on the to shots
that kind always get left at the post for
me-and as busy as four bird dogs all the
time, for just nothing, or worse than moth
ing;
60" orse than nothing. because get clean
ed, and cleaned good, at every meeting
Spring meeting cleans me SOS it puts me
10 II TO get out Of town for a little while
with the wife, for summer vacation Au-
tumn meeting frisks me right before the
nohdays, so that 1 have to send 'em all
Chr!stmas cards, at one centime the throw,
Tor Yuletide gifts. instead of the junk I've
Deen nguring on sending them, Humph.
FINE. And here l deny myself all kinds of
tnlngs, and go slow on the smokes, and
Ind 10
my wife to scowl when she suggests any
little old kind of buy, so that l can stick
the little extra f1ves and tens into the saw
lngs bank when they drift along; and then,
kale out Of the vault and carry it out in
tWenties and twenty-fives to the track, and
dish 1t out In f1ve-ace Jumps to lot of
sneering fat-heads of chalkers, and then"
bug suddenly brought his jaws together
with snap
Well, may be a hick and hanky-
pank' ne said to himself almost aloud,
out guess l weigh enough to tin all that
how"
And so he paid for his frugal lunch and
strolled out, his jaws still boxed. and that
ing in his face.
He went to the savings bank. wrote a
check for $3.50 Of the $3.50 he had slowed
there. and then telephoned for his wife to
come down down town. He met her at the car
about three-quarters Of an hour later
Us for little spring bijouterie and
scenery" he greeted her. Might as well
get 1t now as any other old time. Got any
thing IN mind as to the kind Of a dress and
She had some things of that kind in mind
right enough, and she led him to the mil
inery plant. She picked out a couple of
brain-wetghts for herself and he paid spot
cash for them and ordered them sent up.
Then she led him to a dress goods counter,
and he sat by while She picked out the ma
terals for couple. Then she stocked up
on toilet articles and the like, after which
she fell for some bargains in stockings.
gloves and such trimmings
That let's you out for little while," the
morse bug said to his wife when they left
the last department store. Now, come on
and help me pick out couple of spring
suits"
They went to his tailor's and a couple of
neat ne d suits were ordered and mostly paid for
Then. with his wife acting as counsellor.
he made a raid ON the haberdasheries, He
needed about everything, she told him He
went down the haberdashery line-shirts.
socks. cravats, spring underwear, collars,
pa5amas, the complete works of the empo-
rum. Then he went elsewhere and bought
hlmself a couple of pairs of shoes, after
which he went elsewhither and annexed
unto himself several hats. each appropriate
to the season.
Then he was all In. or pretty nigh all in,
as to the $3.50 he had drawn from the saw
ings bank. It wasn't until this stage Of It
was reached that he told his spouse the
wherefore of 1t all.
"The races begin here next week. Won
know he began. but that didn't enlighten
her any.
"Well?" she inquired. mystihedly.
Well he explained, II thought I'd beat
'em to 1t, for once. and get something in
advance Of their arrival. q
Still she couldn't quite grasp 1t. It SEEM
ed incredible to her, after her long years Of
knowledge of him, that he would really and
ticles for her and for himself, when, only
a few days later, he might use that same
saved-up coin to bet on the ponies. He
couldn't help but notice her mystifcation.
against this give-it-to-them thing, that's
all" he went ahead explaining You
know how it's been all these years-work-
Ing like glassblower to get hold Of few
grisly boys with the pencils who spend their
winters on the Nile and along the Riviera,
or making motor car tours of southern
California. Just got sore on 1t, that's all.
might as well have a few things before
they got here When see all of the rest
Of the bugs fumbling the dope sheets next
Monday forenoon, I know perfectly well
bunch to- run for the Benn1ng trolley and
slide out there with the crowd Well, If
I yield to that bunch this time-as s'pose
I will-they won't get 1t all. I guess maybe
I'm as foolish as fox herein. AS a mat
ter Of fact I'm stalking myself to quite
number of self-congraulatory wallops on
the back"
The horse bugs wife was overpowered,
stunned, with the revealed manifestation
of her husbands newborn wisdom
But" she said. after quite a pause,
you've still got hundred dollars left In
the bank, haven't your
Yes" he replied. THAT, s'pose, I'll
hand to the
But why?" she asked him. why hand
any Of 1t to them, as you call it,"
Something in that, too" said he, re-
fectively.
with the remaining hundred" she in
simulated, I'VE could complete the Job of
beating them to it,. as you term it, and
have some of our vacation now. You re-
member what a struggle 1t was to get away
last summer, after the spring races had
crippled you SO? Well, Easter Sunday on
the Boardwalk isn't so bad is it?"
He slapped his thigh and glanced at his
watch. 1t was six minutes before three.
He had time to make the savings bank.
He made it and drew out his remaining
500.
Easter on the Boardwalk for ours" he
said to her. you've got the correct end
of 1t. A job might as well be done right II
It's to be done at all. guess we can have
as much fun with this hundred as those
price markers who curl their Ina at the