The Washington herald., 1911-01-15
STORIES OF THE TOWN.
By FRED C.. KELLY.

would come back with the statistics and
arguments that would make any man
who delayed taking out insurance feel
as cheap a grounding on q clear day.
There wasn't more than one way out
at the most. Simmison tried that one
way.
I've always envied those chaps that
are able to carry a bunch of life insur
ance." he remarked. as he blew a ring
of smoke clear up over the top of his
desk and in among the arms Of the
chandelier 1T must be big satisfac-
ton to a man to know that his familys
all provided for in case anything was
to happen to him..
He looked the insurance man squarely
in the eye with the melancholy air of
man who has met trouble in more forms
than one, as the added. but then when
a mans got one lung about half gone.
no insurance company's going to fool
with him, even If he does look toleraDly
healthy My other lungil go. too, some
day, l suppose. Pretty tough for man
to be in my fix and not know what may
become of his wife and children after
| he's gone
"Why don't you go out West and get
fixed up?" asked the insurance man in a
! tone of deep sympathy.
Il was going to do that replied the
| victim. but the doctor told that with
my weak heart, il were to get into
high altitude I wouldn't last longer
than low pair bucking stacked
/ deck Yes" sadly. Its rough. old man.
! That's what it is.
moment later Simmison saw his
visitor reach for his hat and steal away.
Then he smiled and returned to his
! work.
| CHEEKY Talk for Might Clerk.
! sometimes the night clerks job has
its drawbacks" remarked the tall thin
man behind the desk at the hotel These
weird tales that guests will tell in the
! still night" he went on. they're one
thing that makes a fellow wish there
were more people around.
| "One night, about o'clock. guest
came up to the desk and spent an hour
| telling me earnestly about the black
cat that had been sitting on the foot
OF his bed AS he talked. | noticed the
fellow had a queer look in his eye. A
somehow a fellow doesn't want to hear
much about EN- in the middle of the
night from a nervous man with a queer
look in his eye. This man said that the
cat came in when the waiter brought
his dinner up to the room Then the
! cat took chair at the table opposite
him. he said. and tucked a napkin under
it, chin. i asked it if it didn't want
something to eat, the man told me. but
it said it didn't. Poltest cat l ever saw
| Great line of talk. wasn't it.?
Then he started in to direct a lot OF
mon building a skyscraper there in the
lobby couldn't see the skyscraper
but he did He had a force of about
400 men hoisting stone and steel. and
he posscd the job.
BY and by he went back to his room
and tried TO sleep, but inside of hall
an hour he came down again to tel
me about the man out IN the back yard
who was changing hens into horses and
rubbing black cats in his hands until
they turned into pink goats.
-Four days after that / heard that my
Visitor had been taken over to the hos
pital with bad case of d. t's. and
had passed on. He was calm enough
when he was telling me about the things
he was seeing. but it wasn't a cheer,
line of talk to listen to. OF course those
things don't happen often around
hotel. but when anybody does see things
robin eggs. Blue buffaloes. purple gi
raffes. or anything-the night clerks tn;
man that has to hear all about en-