The sun., 1909-05-02

and broke out q cucumber wad and peeled
me enough to pay the bill and two bones
over. which he nodded TO me to keep.
That wes a lucky break for me. but |
don't often have that kind. Most OF tbs
women who hand me the Souge get away
'It's only onco in great " hile that a hs
proposition gets into taxi with the de-
liberate idea OF stalking shuf to a Kick
In the Stats on the money thing. Most Of
the men folks that hand 1t to us are runs
who really don't mean to beat tho shut
but forgetal about the wagon that they've
left standing ont in front and beat it some
where else on foot.
Il used to gather in a lot OF runs in tha
Tenderloin whom | worked on tho night
shift. and it wasn't any uncommon thing
for them to have me take 'en to hotel II
do the sleep IL of thing. Id never knoy
or u'' not and ND generally Generally the pickles resan, @
being asked questions like that
so I'd sort OF sidle along when thsv
mooched into the hotel and put THAR
names down. and when | saw. EN- make
for the elevator. with bellhop Leading tn"
wey. I'd spring over and stick f ,em for the
on on gh right kind I'd let 'em 60 their
way and merely tell the night clerk how
long I'd had them out in my wagon.
Nearly every time when I'd clatter around
at going on time the next evening to find
out about things I'd learn that the rum
who'd neglected to Pay me had left the
money hadn't been left that way1 always
had an even money chance Of seeing my
runs on the street sooner or Later and
getting the change from them when
stuck EN- up for 1t.
"A month or 90 ago had big breezy
looking glug. a Western man out from
end ! wound him Up - . Turkish path
in the Tenderloin. When ! asked him
to come through after he'd registered
his name he could only hand me the
humble. So I decided to drop around
a few hours later and see 4 couldn't
II snaesed a couple that wanted TO
20 down to Long Island. and ! didn't
get back to the neighborhood OF the
Turkish bath till in the morning. The
clerk OF the Turk bath told me that my
man was still asleep and that he wouldn't
wake him up. ! told tie clerk M tne smouni e .nI
said that he knew my man and that he
was perfectly good for it. -,
so didn't drop around again till
late that evening. Man was stu doing
the slumber stun. the clerk told me
Well. to chop, / dropped around there
Western rum was still pounding his ear
In tho Turkish bath.
-On The third night I just happened
TO skid up when he was coming down
the steps all prinked up and sober "a an
owl, and he'd left the coin, nearly sesen; ;
to me that he didn't remember ever
having been in a taxicab in his life. but
that il I said he'd been in taxi seventeen
dollars worth, why. ! must know more
il than he did. and it was all right.
"AIost Of the he ginks who try to saw
one OF on taxi shuh endeavor to pull II
when they're leaving town. They used
TO get away with that on me, but no more.
DO. no more.
THE gag was to hail taxi and be shot
down to one OF the ferry stations, and
then say to the shut I'm just going to
wheeze in to buy some Pullman tickets
and I'll he right out in minute. 90 Wat M
the ferry station and connect with the
first ferrybo out. and the taxi'd have n
hammer his shoes against the cobble-
stones and wonder what for. and finally
come out Of it and find that he was hold
ing the burlap.
II nibbled on that one quit. few
before I woke up. Now. whenever
take man or woman to ferry sta,
ton and they try to slip me that old
comedy that they're only going IN TO
got some tickets and that they re Roing
TO be right back in a minute, so wait for
EN-. please, why know then and there
that they're meditating giving me kick
in the ear. and drop right Oh the cart and
follow 'em into the ferry house, and ITS
the pickles to Sc, how sour they look whcp
they find me falling in lockstep right
behind 'em.
Il never fail. either. when they dig into
the bundle and hand me what's coming to
me. to SORT O grin in their teeth: just to
let 'em know that I'm Jerry to the elopee
thing they intended TO pull on me. ana
that doesn't make em feel any more like
contributing 10 any home for crippled
chauffeurs. either.
Its the women. though. who do
most of the bilking Of the taxi shuffs.
I'd rather think than not that they i'm
agine it to be funny, as they. imagine
and all ike that Is funny:
but my private opinion is that women
really are more on the do thing than men
and that they're only now beginning TO
get found out"