Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-14
WHEN THE HERO LOSES

The new boy in the neighborhoed swung
on the front gate. humming to himself.
He was ii nice-looking boy, with hair
chopped off at the back like Russian
moujiks. and peachy cheeks. and blue
lamps like moss-agates, and pretty man.
ners, and his mother saw to it that he
brushed his teeth and used the nail file
on his finger-nails, and he wore those
cute linen suits with the hoppy hanging
belts. and all like that.
But for all of these things. he looked
like a manly little fellow.
He was finding it pretty hard job to
get acquainted with the other boys in the
neighborhood.
ut Is difficult. for that matter, for any
boy whose mother has his hair cut Rus
sian moujik style to get acquainted with
the other boys in new neighborhood
Think this over.)
The other boys in the neighborhood sort
O. held aioof from him. They were all
bows whose hair was cut quite short, and
those of them that didn't go about all the
time in their base ball suits wore those
suits of playing dungaCees that give
Youngsters chance to move around IN
the dirt nowadays without doing any par
ticular damage when they muss them
selves up. The other boys in the neigh
borhood played ball on the vacant lot
good deal, and duck on the rock. and leap
frog, and so on. They weren't addicted to
the habit Of swinging on their front gates
Several of them could spit through their
teeth. and two or three OF tnetn couia
whistle shriiiy with their fingers In their
mouth. Thus it will be seen how far they
outclassed the new boy in the neighbor-
hood and his lonesome situation Will be the
better appreciated.
Not only did the other boys seem to hold
aloof from the boy in the neighbor-
hood. but two or three of them actually
evinced an inclination to pick on him.
For instance, when they passed by with
their base ball bats and masks and catch
ers miIts. on the way to the vacant lot.
they'd catch sight of the new little boy
in the neighborhood. swinging lonesomciy
on his front gate,Iand they'd stick their
fingers to their noses at him, and the real
rough boys in the crowd would call out
to him: Hey, there. Mag. where's yr
croShayin', hey?" or Pipe TIL cutey wit
his sisters hair" or Say. Ethel. why mt
you git some jacks an play with emf or
address him in terms of similar deroga-
ton.
For several days the new boy in the
neighhorhoCd stood for this. until at length
it began to get him on the raw.
He couldn't help it, as ne argued patheti-
cally to himself, If his mother insisted
against his fathers wish) that his hair
be cut in that fool way, and 1t wasn't his
fault that his mother also made him wear
those white stockinettes that made him
show his sort O. chilly-looking blush legs
to rybody, and it wasn't his fault.
either that he had to wear those linen
suits like the pictures his mother cut out
of the Ladies' Fireside JournaD. with the
f1oppy belt hanging all round. and so on.
None of these things was his fault. he
argued to himself. He was willing to be
like the rest of the boys in the neghbor-
h,,f no ponldn't with it
But, at that (Still arguing to himself) he
wasn't going to stand for the fancy cracks
of these other lads. Deed he wasn't. He
just not. Nom.
He was going to resent that sort OF Ting
the very next time.
and VIXEN, on the following day the
bully boy of the neighborhood swung by.
and made faces at the manly little fellow
who was again swinging on the front gate
and humming to himse t. the new little boy
in the neighbodhood summoned himself TO
meet the situation.
Il don't want you to do that to me-, he
said. just like that. to the bully boy
"Oh. ysdon't. hey?" said the bully boy,
with another grimace. Say. how'd'j' like
to have me give you spank on tn ankle,
hey?''
Il wouldn't let you was the prompt re-
ply of the manly little fellow on the front
gate Indeed l would not" he added, the
sense Of wrong mt surging up within
him.
"G'wan, y reed bird" said the bully boy.
approaching the little fellow on the gate.
''Y' gimme a ache, that's what y do
Don't you come near me. l warn you.
said the new boy In the neighborhood in an
earnest tone. This Is my gate. AMI L We
got right to swing on it all l choose to.
l don't wish to have you bother me-
oh. y'don't. hey?" said the bully boy,
whose hair was cut short and whose face
was freckled and tanned Say, FIR 2 cents
I'd leave a shoe in y'r ear. dye know
that" and he kept approaching the manly
little fellow in menacing way.
Don't you bother I shall fight
YOU" was the out-and-Out challenge that
the little boy uncoiled right then and
there.
Suting the action TO the word. he climbed
down from the gate. stepped outside of the
gate closed the gate with the gesture of
somebody burning his bridges behind him,
and stood waiting for the onslaught of the
bully boy, who. with confident grin on
his freckled face walked up and
Now, here's the place for the pause. Sht
here.
This isn't one Of those comic section
things done in type. If 1t were, it would
show how the new little boy In the neigh
borhood walked into the bully boy and
diffed him a over the sidewalk and rolled
him in the ditch and tossed tar from the
nearby paving gangs pot In his eyes aad
pushed him through a line of sewer pipe
about to be laid and kicked him up and
down the street for a block or two, and
finally landed on top of him. pinning his
shoulders to the ground, and asking nm II
he had enough.
That's the way the comic section would
have it. and that's the way, too. that the
professional funnyists suffering from acute
stgmati5m of the wicks would stick the
account of the incident into cold type.
However this is a plain, unyarnlshed
tale from real life
And it didn't come off that way at all.
Therefore
The new little boy in the neighborhood
with the Russian moujik hemp and things
had no sooner advanced boldly upon the
bully boy of the neighborhoOd than he
caught clip on the starboard side of his
peachy chart that sent him to the tapestry
for the count. and, while he bellered at the
top of his voice and lay and kicked on the
pavement, the bully boy walked up the
street whisting He Walked Right in and
Turned Around and Walked Right Out
Again" and then the new little boys
mother came rushing out Of the house and
picked him up and asked him what 1t was
and who had hit mammals darling on the
nigh jowl. and later in the day she went
over to the homo of the bully boy and
complained to the latters mother. and the
bully boys mother said that she'd see to
it. while she was secretly tickled to death
that she had offspring that could wal
Top any kid the block, and when the
bully boy got home his mother told him
1lNFn rtt In