Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-25

Stories were thrown back and forth.
Tales Of adventures and mishaps in all
parts of the country were told with
wealth of color and in a matter Of fact
manner that stamped the speakers as be-
ing conscious Of telling nothing out of
the ordinary-riding the brake beams
and the rods. freezing on the top of
Pullman. or whirling through the night
on the blind baggage" the virtues and
faults Of this and that jail or workhouse,
the easy marks they had met on their
journeys their experiences in this and
that part of the country-they lived them
all over again in the rear room Of that
dingy little saloon, but never word of
home
The home they knew back in those dis
tant years. when all the world was young
and perhaps a kindly faced mother lis
tened to their boyish cares and troubles.
face and barren of soul, but who can
tell? Perhaps some fitting memory of
those other days scared a heart or two
with vain regrets. but the cold eyes and
hardened features gave expression to no
such tender sentiment.
Spuds looked up from a small amount
of change in his hand with a sigh.
|. II got enough for one more drink. fell
lows he said. You know l got to hold
out enough for me and the kid to sleep on
I'm going to hit the hay"
The round was ordered and drunk. An
other derelict drifted in. and nothing
would do but another. Two more fol-
lowed this, and then we rose from the
table. On the way out the bartender
handed us a post card apiece, with the
picture of a beautiful little cupid on it,
and wished us merry Christmas.
eral OF the boys announced their deter
mination of going down the Avenue and
keeping loo'-out for DRINKS" Two
others made off to do a little panhandling
on 18th street. while Spuds and trooped
around to where the mission lay in the
shadows.
Up one flight of dingy steps and we
entered the large room that served as
both Office and sitting room. A thin
wooden partition divided the one from
the other, and behind this partition the
clerk was busily engaged in attending to
the wants Of long line of ragged-look
ing men who stood on the other side of
the partition. Each handed over 10 cents
and in return the clerk handed him a
card that entitled him to a cot In the
upper regions for one night AS soon as
a man received his ticket he would sham
BILE over to the other part of the room
ana SILK neav1ly down on Dencn where
others of his kind were gathered.
Spuds got in line. and when he reached
the desk he handed over 70 cents and
received his numbered cards. Being thus
assured of place to rest our heads, we
went over to the far end of the room and
sat down. The room was crowded. Scat
tered around on benches and chairs was a
collection of humanity that perfectly
typifed the world Of box cars and back
doors They were all there, from the
gray-haired veteran of thousand freight
cars to the youngster just entering upon
a life of misery and shame
Hello. fellows. when did you get in?"
The question came from a STRIPPING who
paused in front of us and looked down
at Spuds with a superior air. The
youngster had not yet lost the freshness
that comes from clean living. A glance
at his clear-cut, boyish features tended
to show that he had not been one of the
outcasts long enough to forget certain