The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-05-17
7 a n g led Up With Mir m

sasual like. as if he'd only come in
cause he found the door open. That
should have put me leery; but it didn't.
] gives him the hail and tells him he's
-lookin' like a pink just of the ice.
shorty" says he. how are you on
charity"
I'm a einch," says l. Every pan
handler that's north of Madison square
knows he can work me for a beer
check any time he can run me down"
Then you'll be glad to execise your
talents in aid of "A worthy cause" says
he.
1T don't follow" says l. ''The de-
sei'vin' poor l passes up. There's too
much done for 'em as it is. It's the un-
worthy kind that wins my coin. They
enjoys ii more. and has a harder time
gettin it,
Your logic is good Shorty" says
he, land l think / agree with your SEN
timents But this is a case where
charity is only an excuse. The ladies
out at Rockywold are getting up an af-
fair for the benefit OF something or
other. no one seems to know just what,
and they've put you down for a little
bag punching and club swinging"
Then wire 'em 10 scratch the en-
try" says l. Il don't make any 'or-
chestra circle plays that / can dodge, /
and when it comes to fightin' the leath-
er before a bunch of peacock millinery
krenigs every time. I'll put on Swiftly
Joe as sub, if you've got to have some
one"
Pinckney shook his head al that.
No" says he. IN tell Sadie she must
leave you off the program
Hold on" says !. WAS Il Sadie
billed me for this stunt?"
He said il was.
Then I'm on the job" says l. "Oh.
YOU can grin your ears off; ! don't
care"
Well that was what fetched me out
To ROckywOld on a Friday night. when
! had a right TO be watchin the anna
teur try-Outs at the Marlborough club
instead. The show wasn't until Satur
day evenin'. but Pinckney said I ought
TO be there for the dress rehearsal
There's only about a dozen guests
there now; so you needn't get skittish,"
4ays he.
' And a dozen don't go far towards I'LL
in up place like ROckywOld. Say if
! had the price, I'd like a shack where
! could take care of more or less COM
p'ny without settin' up cot beds. but
I'll be blistered if I can see the fun in
runnin' a free hotel like that.
AhNnC AitAAANul SklONc eAAN APT " NC
pretty punk; but I could see that. bar
rim myself, there was a fair aggrega- |
ton OF talent on hand. The star was 4
a googoo-eyed girl who did a barefoot 4
speciality. recitin' PONIES TO music, and !
accompanying herself with a kind or \
uarlor hoochee- coOchee that would have /
drawn capacity houses at COney. Then /
there was a pretty boy who could do
things to the piano, a funeral-faced |
duPE that gnfId tell funny stories and ]
"a bunch OF six or eight likely-loOkm 1
ladies and gents who'd laid themselves /
out TO prance through what they called |
a minuet. Lastly there was me an |
Miriam.
She was one of these limp. shingle- I
chested girls. Miriam was. She didn't 1
hsye much to say, so l didn't take any
psrticular notice of her. But at the re- /
hearsal got next TO the fact that she /
could tease music out of violin in /
great style. 1t was all right if you /
shut your eyes, for Miriam wasn't what /
you'd call q pastel. She was built a |
good deal on the lines of an L-road /
pillar, but that didn't bar her from |
wearin' one Ga these short-sleeved. I
square-necked girly-girly dresses that 4
didn't leave you much in doubt as TO 1
her framework.
Yes. Miriam could have stood a few /
well-placed pads. She'd lived long
enough to have found that out, too but |
they was missin I should guess that |
Miriam had begun exhibitin' her collar
bones 10 society about the time poor
old John l.. fought the battle of New
Orleans. Yet wnen she snuggled the
butt end Of that violin down under her
chin and squinted at you across the
bridge, she had all the motions of a
seigh-schoOl girl.
Course, / didn't dope all this out to
myself at the time; for. as l was say
In, didn't size her up special. But il
all came to me afterwards-yes, yes!
The excitement broke loose along
about the middle of the first night. I'd |
turned in about an hour before. and 1
was poundin' my ear like a circus hand
on Sunday lay-Over, when hears the
trouble cry. First off l wasn't goin' to
do any more than turn over and get
fresh hold on the mattress, for l amt |
much on routin' out for fires unless l |
feel the headboard gettin' hot. But /
then l wakes up enough to remember /
that Rockywold is long ways outside
the metropolitan fire district, and be-
gins TO throw clothes onto myeself,
Inside of two minutes I was outdoors
lOokin' for chance TO win a Carnegie /
medal. There wasn't any show at all |
though. The fire, what there was of it,
was in the kitchen. in the basement of |
the wing where the help stays. Half |
dozen stablemen had put il out with
the garden hose, and were finishin the
Job by soaNin' one OF the cooks, when
! showed up.
/ watched 'em for a while, and then
started back 10 my room. Somehow I
got twisted up in the shrubbery. and
instead OF goin' back the way l came.
! gets around on the other corner Just
about then a ground-fioor window Is
showed up and a female in white floats
out on a little stone balcony. She
waves her arms and began to call for
help.
You're late" says I. TITS all over"
That didn't satisfy her at ali, though. /
Some smoke and steam was still COM /
in from the far side OF the buildin'. |
and il was BLOWN in through another /
window.
Help. help" she soueals. Help, be- |
fore ! jump"
Il wouldn't" says I. They've gone |
home with the life net"
The smoke, the smokei" says she |
"Oh ] must jump"
We'll, if you've got the jumpin' fit"