Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-02
At THtPAWNBROKER'S
Some Breezy Doings in a
Washington clock Shop"
SCRAPPY HUSBAND AND WIFE
He Redeemed the Jewels, but Didn't
Get to Touch Them.
THE TIMD LADY CUSTOMER
Could Not Part With Diamonds to
Aid Husbands speculating-Ths
Phony sunburst.
THE TIMD LADY CUSTOMER

trying to figure out just why 1t il that un-
usual occurrences in a pawnshop always
happen In e cluster. For a week or 80, in
the average pawnshop, everything moves
along on the creased skids of routine, and
nothing the least bit out OF the ordinary
turns up to relieve the monotony. Then
the unusual incidents happen along all In
bunch.
Yesterday, for example, there were more
different kinds of zephyrs sweeping through
this place than any thermometer could
register, although until yesterday nothing
at all out Of the common had occurred
for nearly a month.
The plant began to make noise like
unusual business soon after opening-up
time yesterday morning. We hadn't much
more than got the books out Of the safe
before q man came in with his wife. 1
was bit surprised to see this mans wife
with him, for only q short time ago saw
1t stated IN the local papers that she had
entered suit for divorce against him. The
man Is we'll do. When they came in to-
gether there was only one conclusion to
arrive at-that they had made up and that
that his wife had left in our keeping after
separating from him.
LAS soon as they lined up at the counter
noticed that his eye was q bit furtive and
that her lips were set pretty hard greeted
them and waited.
That emerald ring and those solitaire
earrings the man said to me, choppily.
Certainly said I. The ticketsr
"The man nodded in his wife's direction
She has the tickets he said.
1T struck me that it was q pretty sus-
then. and her lips were still tightly COM
pressed. She moved about ten feet away
from his side, opened her gold chatelaine
bag, took out her pocketbook, and, after
rnrft 70
that her husband had maintained the dis
lance that she had put between them, she
produced the tickets for the diamond
taire diamond earrings.
Eight hundred and forty-nine,' I said,
after computing the interest.
Counted Out the Money.
''The man got out his wallet and counted
out the $40. I went to the safe and dug
out tho ring and earrings. was cutting
the strings from the little packets as 1
walked back to the counter with them.
Let me have a look at EN- said the
man to me in quiet tone which he didn't
mean his wife to overhear, reaching out q
hand. But she did overhear him. all the
Don't you do it, she exclaimed, almost
In scream. He means to take the things
away from me. can see that that's what
he means to do. suspected 1t when he
came sneaking around to me and offered to
redeem the things for me, and now I am
certain of it, and she stretched out her
hand for the gems. The mans face grew
almost purple with the crouch that was
boiling within him as he leaned over the
counter, still holding out his hand for the
jewelry.
"I want you to hand those things to
me- he said. addressing me In a mighty
peremptory tone. Whose money Is getting
them out? Who is redeeming Them I'd like
to know?
NOW, I don't like to have folks get
quite so gay with me as all that came to-
his peremptoriness, I mean-and, anyhow,
I've sort Of inclination to take the wom-
ans end of it in these matters.
You are redeeming the stuff-thats
plain enough said to the man. But it's
your wife's stuff, for all that. She pledged
the things with me. and she brought the
tickets to redeem them. 1t doesn't make
any difference to me whose money redeems
them,' and I motioned her to the upper end
Of the counter. where handed her the Jew
elry. She tucked the things into her bag
and closed the clasp with a snap.
Now, you look a-here,' growled the
man. leaning over the counter and doing
that fnger-shaking thing at me, Eye mean
to say that you are going to deliberately
chisel me out of $40 in this fashion,
I'm not in the chiseling business told
him. am here to return redeemed pledges
to the persons to whom they belong, or the
holders Of the tickets. and l am not here to
act as a tribunal Of domestic arbitration
She Had to Rub It In.
"'Oh, just felt 1t in my bones that you
were trying some sneaky scheme to get
hold Of my things the mans wife broke
in then. You're fooled, aren't you? Not
SO smart as you thought you were. are you?
And you paid your good money to get them
out for me- didn't you, and I've got them
good and safe, haven't I?
"She just stood there and derided the
man with about as wickedly triumphant an
expression as ever I saw on woman's
face. For about a minute. at that, thought
that he was going to Jump at her and try
to take the stuff away from her. However,
he only cracked a wan and CHASTITY grin as
he made for the door.
"'But I'll square things up with you,
old GIRL he said, If it takes every dollar
I've got in the world and every hour I've
got left to ive,' and then he went out.
She waited for little while and then she
went, too, positively bubbling over with
the happiness of having turned the tables
on her man.
well, this was a pretty fair starter. But
it wasn't more than half an hour before
more lfveliness began around here. A young
ish, showily dressed man bounded in. max
ing a somewhat too elaborate effort to get
by with the hurry-up stunt.
{" Look here he began, pulling me over
the counter by the lapel of my coat and
names Dash. My wife's got diamond
sunburst in here for thousand. Mem
Der? Well. she's starting to visit her folks
down south today and I want to get the
sunburst out for her as surprise, see?
She's got the ticket, y'understand-and, of |