The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1908-12-24
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By o. HENRY.

~ OMEWHERE In the depths of
the big city. where the unquiet
. dregs are forever being shaken
together. young Murray and the
captain had met and become friends.
Both were at the lowest ebb possible
to their fortunes. both had fallen from
at least an intermediate heaven of re-
and Importance. and both
were typical products of the mon
strous and peculiar social curriculum
Of their overweening and bumptious
civic alma mater.
The captain was no longer captain
One of those sudden moral cataclyslns
that sometimes sweep the city had
hurled him from q high and profitable
position in the police department. rip
ping off his badge and buttons and
washing into the hands of his lawyers
the solid pieces of real estate that his
frugality had enabled him to accumu.
late The passing of the food left him
low and dry.
One month after his disqualification
Ealoon keeper plucked him by the neck
from his free lunch counter as tabby
plucks strange kitten from her nest
land cast him asphaltward. This seems
low enough. But after that he ac.
quired pair Of cloth top. button con-
gress CATERS and wrote complaining
letters to the newspapers. And then
he fought the attendant ut the mu-
nicipal lodging house who tried to
give him a bath When Murray first
saw him he was holding the hand Of
an Italian woman who sold apples and
garlic on Essex street and quoting the
words of a song book ballad.
Murray's fall had been more Luci
ferian if less spectacular All the
pretty. tiny little kickshaws of Gotham
had once been his. The megaphone
man roars out at you to observe the
house of his uncle on grand ano
revered avenue. but there had been AZ
awful row about something ind the
prince had been escorted to the door b!
the butler. which in said avenue Is
equivalent to the impact of the avun
cular shoe \ weak Prince Hal. with
out Inheritance or sword. be drifted
downward to met his hunorless Fal
staff and to pick the crusts Of the
streets with him.
One evening they sat on bench In
little downtown park. The great
bulk of the captain. which starvation
seemed to increase. drawing irony In
stead of pity to his petitions for all
was heaped against the arm Of the
bench in a shapeless mass His red
face. spotted by tufts of vermilion
week old whiskers and topped by a
sagging white straw hat. looked In the
gloom like one of those structures that
| you may observe in a dark Third ave
nue. window, challenging your imagi
nation to say whether 1t be some
thing recent in the way Of ladies' hati
or a stra wberry shortcake. A tight
drawn belt, last relic Of his oficia
spruceness, made deep furrow in hil
circumference. The captains shoes
were buttonless. In a smothered bas,
he cursed his star of Ill luck.
Murray. at his side, was shrunk int
his dingy and ragged suit OF blu
serge. His hat was pulled low. HI
sat quiet and little indistinct, lik
some ghost that had been dispos
sessed
"T'm hungry" growled the captain
"By the top sirloin Of the bull of Ba
shan, I'm starving to death! Righ
now l could eat Bowery restauran
clear through to the stovepipe in tn
alley. Can't you think Of nothing
Murray? You sit there with you
shoulders scrunched up, giving an In
itation of Reginald Vanderbilt drivin
his coach. What good are them air
doing you now? Think of some plac
we can get something to chew"
I "You forget. my dear captain" sal
I: Murray without moving. THAT our Ia.
attempt Mt dining was at my sugge'
J ton"
"You bet 1t was!'' groaned the cal
tain "You bet your life it was! Hay
You got any more like that to make
hay?'
81 admit we failed" sighed Murra
II was sure Malone would he good f,
! one more free lunch after the way
talked baseball with me the last tin
| spent nickel in his establishment
II had this hansl," said the capital
extending the unfortunate member
81 had this hand on the druInstick
turkey and two sartline sandwich
when them walters grabbed us"
+, II was within two inches Of Il
olives said Murray. stuffed olive
Il haven't tasted one in year.
"What'll we 7dof'' grumbled the ca
tain. 1--WE can't starve."
i Can't we?' said Murray quietl
I'm glad to hear that. was afra
we could
"You wait here" said the capital
) rising heavily and puffily to his fe'
I'm going to try to make one me
turn. You stay here till come bae
Murray. won't be over half an hot
If turn the trick I'll come ba
:. flush.
He made some elephantine attemI
x. at smartening his appearance. He ga
his fiery lnustache heavenward twi
:. he dragged into sight pair Of bla
] edged cuffs. deepeneI The crease in
: middle by tightening his belt anotf
Z hole and set of. jaunty us 4 zoo (
noceros, across the south end Of
E. park
7 When he was out of sight MUIR
{ also left the park. hurrying swif
( eastward He stopped at buildi
: whose steps We're ianked by two gre
) lights
) "A police captain named Marone