Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-03-14

\ -
N&xA announced that It was twenty min
So utes past one O'Clock. AZ this II the
time Of tho afternoon when all good
followers Of the races begin to stir
about and calculate their afternoons
betting. Mr.. Feeny replaced the uncouth tmepece In
his clothes, doubled q pink newspaper containing
Past Performances" under his arm. and made all
haste to Herald Square. at the same time bestowing
glance Of harsh mirthfulness hts shoulder In the
direction Of the house he had juSt left.
Mr. Feeny had the soul Of a Bowery bouncer or
he could never have laughed at what was going on
behind that portal Behind that commonplace New
York clearinghouse door was commonplace. sad,
bad New York boarding-hous Or. rather. It had
been, up to ten days ago. when Mr.. Feeny had hrst
arrived. It had been boarding-house such as any
: Of US could have described. smell for smell and
prune for prune. Kind-hearted Mrs. Lane. the
widow. moving in from very small Pennsylvania
town, had started 1t out career like that Of
any other Manhattan boarding house: Aroma Of NUT
ton stew Of cabbage all over the place: pitch
dark starways where no gas shines because the tips
the gas Jets have been thrifty removed; break
fasts of soggy cereals. watery fruits and thereisno
reason Coffee lunches Of cold. clammy. leftover
things; dinners Of canned astronomical atrocities
These and a bad room and villainous bed kind.
heartad Widow Lane supplied quite Justly for six
dollars and half week. And the pale, spiritless
boarders had moved from bed to table. to Job. to
table, to bed again. quite in the ordained fashion,
like sick ghosts conversing monotonously. Joking
monotonously. snoring and brushing their teeth
monotonously rss
Until MI. Feeny came,
"'Taint got nothing to do with thuh hips." Mrs.
Lou Williams the colored lady who cooked for Mrs.
Lane, saying to Mrs. Eczema Johnston. another
lady Of similar color and occupation who had drop
ped into Mrs Lanes basement for the purpose Of
seeing whut twas all about" Nothing to do with
thuh hips. tall Hits all done with thuh eyes. He
just looks at you that away"-here Mrs. Williams.
who faithfully resembled hippopotamus In every
respect of color. physique and mental characteristic
plugged out" her eyes theoretically so that tho Of
feet was even more alarmingly hippopotamussy-
"an-uh you has to do whatever he thinks bout"
"Uh-Lawd." remarked Mrs. Eczema Johnston.
gravey. "he might git to studyin' bout maxim you
all work all day"
Eyes, ma'am. An that's the reason leaves this
hyeah Job. He might hyp'tize me in thuh mawnin
while I'm cooking breakfas' an keep me uheooking
breakfas until midnight. That's the reason I'm
leaving. No hyp-tists for me. I'm going to take
nah things and percolate."
At this moment Mr.. Feeny. in the back end Of
saloon, was scratching his head over the cryptic
gram: 3d. 6 furlongs. Arabella 81. ..3-l....
Even" His glittering black eyes seemed absorbed
by the mystery and the percolation of Mrs Lou
Williams as far from his thoughts 90 the rest
of Mrs. Lanes boarding house.
And yet, on the first floor above Mrs. Lanes
tuning basement Id tho dark and curtained parlor,
key the parrot so named by the irreverent Mr..
Chappy Hicks because of it's beak. seemed to have
caught the epidemic fever Of discomfort:
"Hypnotist! Hypnotist! Haw! Haw!" announced
key. adroity. "You can't hypnotic me! Rats! Pay
your board bill" Then key burst into song just as
kind-hearted Mrs. Lane waddled by. jngling her
keys:
"Bee-yoo-tiful eyes,
He had such beeyoo-tiful eyes
Raggedyraggedy-caw-ca
Chuck cluck!
Took Ill my rings
And other things
But he had such bee-yoo-tiful eyes"
On the second door. by the faucet Of running
water at the end Of the hail. stood kind-hearted
Mrs. Lane herself dumpyshaped querulous, mid.
dleaged lady. who exhibited the bleak. absentmind-
ed appearance OF one who walks in her sleep. Mrs.
Lane was pretty far gone. Almost anything, It
seemed was now able to- start her or" Anything
bright and moving, such running water. YVES sure
to do the trick She now gazed at the faucet as If
fascinated and murmured in firm tone Of voice.
{"Mr. Feeney is gentleman and always pays his
board week In advance"
When this phenomenon had first occurred the
other boarders could not believe it. They refused
to admit that Mrs Lane had sunk to such childish
level But their incredulity farther shaken
when Mr.. Chappy Hicks told them OF an experience
Of his. It seems that Mr.. Hicks had borrowed q
quarter from the landlady one warm evening under,
certain Uncontrolled thirst impulses of his own; and
when he came to repay 1t, he had presented her
with brand-new coin. Mr.. Hicks was long legged
and happy individual who might have been own
brother to Dickens Mr. Jingle. and, as he passed
over the money with debonair flip and bit OF his
usual horse play, he admits he astounded to
observe Mrs Lane fix her gaze upon the coin and
start OF" Immediately. He noticed that she NUT