Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-01

Iget fair room and board over on 10th
avenue for about $12 a week for the pair
of us, don't you think?"
| Oddly enough, as 1t struck me, she
| didn't appear to take that jolt bit
| hard. In fact. she looked quite a-plenty
easy as she murmured that there was her
Jewelry to be considered.
| But nix on that I said to her. 1.-The
| junk stays out. I'll be turning my but
ton in tomorrow, l guess, and with the
few thousands that I'll snag out Of the
sale of that maybe I'll be able to pick up
something from the ground if 1 get any
kind Of a break Anyhow. that's the pro-
gram. sure hate to auction my button
off, but t-.ere are heap of things that
| a frisked mug hates. Therefore, We
| shall be reaA merry-ha-ha," and staked
her to a sepuichral chortle.
That evening, curiously enough. she
quite declined to talk about the perilous
state of things. The next morning.
| though. after I'd finished reading the
papers. she came into the den where 1
was smoking, dressed for driving, and
said she:
1.-The trap is out front. I have a few
dollars put away. Let's go down and get
that. 1t might tide you over just lit
| tle"
"Stop that said to her, with great
severity. What, your pennies? Not any.
Copper change isn't what need now, and
| if you think I'm going to toss the price
Of couple of bonnets for you after the
hash I've made of things you've got me
doped out all wrong"
However, she insisted upon my accom-
panying her, and SO I jumped into the
outdoor buds and went along. She did the
driving, and she pulled up in front Of a
Broadway safe deposit dump with which
I'd never transacted any business.
Foxy, foxy little one." 1 said to her.
you've put that whole holdout of So in
a place didn't know anything about, just
like that, eh?''
p,,f eha Irb% or >l1
But she went up to the desk and gave
lot of passwords and countersigns and
such like. and then, followed by a uni
formed emp!eye of the plant, and me
trudging after, she went into the little
room where she had tucked her gum
money away-as I figured.
| Well, when she unlocked one big
drawer the come-off reminded me Of one
| of those jack-in-the-bo contraptions. A
rubber banded yellow roll that had been
stuffed in by main force popped out and
fell on the floor with thud. 1t was the
final deposit of about twenty of the same
kind of rubber-banded rolls in the same
drawer.
Maybe what I've got here will help a
teeny-weeny little Bit" she said, with a
kind Of smile that looked phony to me,
for there were tears at the corners of her
eyes. This is my winnings on the sea-
no?"
Take it from me, I never came so close
to falling down while standing up in a
state of health in my life. But there
wasn't a single word in my frame. 1 was
speechless
It should tell you" my wife went on
that all of this" motioning to the money
was in your possession at one time. I
won it all out of your book"
Me still standing there gasping and gap
ing at her like Hi Haytown in front of
the Singer building. Nix a gurgle any
where around my person. / couldn't open
my face.
You know our little newsboy friend?'
she went on. well, all the playing that
he did in your book was for me-
Uh-huh. Not much more of 1t. But
that's how she got square yards with me
for ruling her off the turf, so far as her
grand-stand betting went. Shed got all
of her information from the crackerjack
trainer 1 mentioned, who was frequent
guest at our home and table. and the
newsboy "plunger" that SO much had
been published about was only her COM
missioner.
Every bit of the duff that he'd taken
away from me had belonged to my wife
and for his work she had staked him. so
that he'd strung along with his own on
the trainers information, and had at the
finish become sure-enough plunger on
his own account. Nobody ever found out
how near my bookie's button came to
going on the block
'By the way my wife said to me on