Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-02-04
B;,1lco And
The Begga,

~. By0K0 W66 u V0Iy un0 uOo' =.
a.vesy fine home in very fine city
That Il. some parts Of the city were
ano, but other portions OF It neio
poverty ana misery. Binko had never
6ean IN the .slums and knew only the
hanny side Of 1ife-the side of plenty.
Hink6e mistress was wealthy lady.
whose knowledge Of much OF the world
'fthe '.under world, so to speak was
as limited as was Binko's. And that
Il why she learned some things
through Binko, her dog.
IN the same city that gave Btnko q
home there lived q little beggar boy.
But his place OF resid ence was long
way on from the almost palatial home
IA which Binko lived In fact, the
little beggar boy, whose name was mug
slept about In ce1larways. deep door-
ways, old outhouses and in packing
boxes, so that he had no fixed place
Of abode. And during the day he beg
ged in the streets for enough money
10 keep him from starving.
In that part OF the town where Mug
lived (and BY the way, his name had
been bestowed upon him by queer
Ola beRearman) he was called the
svaif' "a. the ''tramp-kid," for none
had ever known him to have parent,
sister q brother. nor had he living
feia$fve that anyone knew OF. And
Mug himself could not remember q
mother or q father. All that he knew
~ thet when be was very very Young
m Old beggsrman had him IN me
shauty teaching him how to beg. W
was 4 mercy that tho old fellow had
not >anght him how to steal.)
Mug Was nine years old at the time
OF this story. For year his aged
comrade tho beggarman-had been
dad. And from that event Mug be-
esn Me ION, his own hook, as the PEG.
nio az his world said. His own hook, "
however. consisted Of living pretty
much as the old man had taught him
% Lively begging from generous.
looo1ng persons on the street. And
che shauty that the old beggerman had
paad Z small rent for, and which stood
m thA very verge Of the river embank-
ment down near the docks, was no
LONGER his, for he found 1t impossible
l-poor child Ito get sufficient money,
In the shape OF pennies. to pay the
price Of living in it So he had shifted
about from one hidden corner to an
other where he might steal q nights
sleep.
One morning Mug awoke in his eel
Iar.bedroom to find himself numb from
the cold. A blizzard had blown dur
Ing the night. and the cellar Mug had
found at nightfall was beneath an I'M
occupied building; therefore, had no
artificial warmth Of any kind. And to
make matters worse, the door to the
cellar was 80 broken that it would not
close, and was hanging by one hinge,
into the cellar the storm had poured
ut It's own will, and Mug had shivered
In the corner best protected from the
wind. But when he awoke IN the morn
Ing he found his limbs stiff. and his
hands and feet numb.
'T'll have to get some coffee this
morning" he unused as he rubbed his
thin hands together, coaxing the blood
to them. 'I'll 90 down to the corner OF
the fashionable avenue and maybe
some rich person will give me nickel.
It takes so long to get together five
pennies-for when the weather is cold
people won't stop to give begar any
thing"
Ten minutes later Mug was standing
at the crossing Of very fashionable
avenue and a fine street OF shops and
offices. The throng Of vehicles passed
him by, their fur-wrapped occupants
never giving a second thought to the
little begar who stood in the snow
holding out his shivering hand. The
blizzard had subsidized and now only in
tense, quiet, sunshiny cold prevailed
But It bit to the bone.
And while Mug stood there waiting
for some rich person to hand him the
price of cup of restaurant coffee
which might warm his little body a
hit. another scene was being enacted