Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-06-25
The Judge and the Washers

same. If you don't give me the twenty
five dollars instantly / snail scream and
faint and you will be arrested.
Invariably the men thus swooped upon
By this petite doll dug into the nankeens
and produced the twenty-five dollars ike
little men. In so doing they were per-
fecty sensible. A grown-up man knows
when he is In bad, and the men thus lit
upon by this and other cute harpies OF
her species were perfectly well aware
that they were corralled and corralled
proper. They just produced and let IL
go at that They didn't even go TO the
bother of pursuing the squad. They
couldn't afford to be mingled up with
stuff of that sort. 1t was a nice little
trade for this one and several others.
They fattened on 1t. But Big BIZ. he
put 'em away.
/ myself was maced once by this lovely
little black-eyed person. 1t was after the
dinner hour at the Waldorf and / was
emerging therefrom with consciousness
of gastronomic duty well performed with
an over-auriferous western relative 10
settle the score The snappy eyed nudge
looked me over carefully as / swung
toward 9TH avenue. and. quite naturally
] grant. concluded that / was the living
image of the fall guy. So she eased
little collection of stck-up verbs. How
ever, l was acquainted with the stuff.
though I'd never had anybody try to
uncoil 1t on me.
Twenty fve?" said I. Sure. But the
smallest I've got is fifty that being
no Munchausenism. for / did have
four-bit piece in the change pocket ana
Just that. ''Wait'll / go into the Waldorf
and get the fifty changed and III come
back and"
mo YOU don't" she cut in. in the
placidest tone you ever heard. the smile
never once leaving her face. Don't try
to slip me any OF that getaway stun.
You'll nudge me the whole flfty, right
now, or stand for a pinch
Then the miracle which does sometimes
pop to protect fat folks-but only some
times-did pop. The house detective or
the Waldorf appeared in the doorway or
the 34th street side for the purpose OF
saving something to the carriage door
opener. / knew him not only m1ddling
well. but chummilv so. SO | gave him a
little whistle that he and other mouse oe-
tectiyes of hotels understand, ana ne
cooked his ears and looked my way. The
doll thereupon picked up her dear little
tootsies and beat 1t as fast as they'd
carry her to the steps of 9th avenue bus,
which luckily for her happened TO be
halted Just then at the curb. SO l got
out of the mess with a whole skin But
/ had a demonstration OF how perfectly
simple and effective the scheme was In
ordinary circumstances without the In
PREVENTION of any such miracle as inc
timely appearance of a house detective
in a doorway.
AS to this stick-up scheme. by the way.
there was another plan operated here
with great success some years ago by u
btg, handsome. overopulently neshed
blond woman who also made 9TH avenue
her stamping ground Her hold-up game
consisted of the same preitminaries az
those described, except that she would
tell her victim that she was going 10
have him pinched for being her runaway
husband unless he came over with the
price, which she usually fixed at anything
from $40 to so. according TO the looks OF
her man She'd frankly tell him that
she knew perfectly well that he WASH
her runaway husband. but that she could
always say. after having him arrested.
that she'd made a mistake owing 10 MS
wondrously close resemblance to her
recreant spouse: that her word was ana
would be as good as his in police couri
that she had a drag in the police courts
anyhow. and so on.
This. too, was a winner virtually
every time The stuck-up male could
see himself logged off TO the calaboose
by an unsympathetic cop and halea
before a gloomy-eyed magistrate. anu
then he would pretigure how IL wouid
he remorseIy ,p to him 70 square him.
self and to prove that he was not any
SIGH thing as the accusing plonae
renegade mate. Also he could piclufs
himself even after being discharged
from custody. getting the long. low
rakish haw, haw from his buddies ana
acquaintances, not to say the stinelns
susnicious eve of the really and truly
wife il so be as he happened TO be
united in the holy bonds of wedlock:
and so on each and every occasion the
man thus pinned TO the stanchlon py
the blowsy blonde drove his loose
,nitt into the kale pocket and produced
without an audible wheeZe. She. too,
Big Bits Child" as the crooks say:
that is. Big Bill drove her out OF
town and she made for Chicago
CLARENCE l.. CULLEN.