The herald., 1914-10-15
PANHANDLE Pete TALKS
BY CLARENCE l. CULLEN.
(Copyright.)


In the darkness that seemed dark
or after turning from Broadway into
an uptown side street, l heard a IA
miliar husky voice, the owner OF which,
springing from nowhere. was shut.
ding alongside me.
Cap" said the voice, "'scuse me
f'r 'dressin' youse; but. on de dead, II
youse could stake me L de price OF q
cup O. cawfee an a boiler O. beef stew,
I'd"
Why go back to the old coffee
comedy, Pete?" l asked him, stopping,
and in the fare OF a street lamp he
recognized me. Didn't you tell me
only few nights ago that the coffee
request was frayed at the edges, and
that they were more likely to produce
II pronged for the price OF dram?"
"Oh, good evenin'. guv," said Pan
handle Pete. not in the least discom-
fited because l had caught him In an
inconsistency. Il didn't make youse
at first. | guess me lamps needs trim
min. l find I'm goin' bad wit de
glims, anyhow. l slanted youse f'r a
coffee-tap wen l might ha' knowed by
de swing o. youse dat you was booze
touch. An il I'd piped who you was
wouldn't ha' tried { spin youss at
all, because youse has come troo
enough. I'm macin' all skeegy 'nough,
but l never tries Z sting d mark,
specially II he's good gun like youse.
moren oncet, or twicet at de out
side. When a zob is righto hate t
wheedle him more'n twicet f'r de two
bits"
But how" l asked. him. slipping
him something so as not to appear to
be wasting his valuable professional
time, do you think you can at a
glance In the dark distinguish be-
tween a coffee-tap and booze touch?
What's the difference in the looks Of
them?"
We'll, dat's de inside ball O. pan
handlin'. judge" was his reply. It's
de hunch ting, an without de hunch
no macer's got a chancet t. nudge into
de change in dis mans boig. ] mem
Der tellin' youse de odder night dat
de coffeetap's gettin' L be dead one.
an SO it is. But on some nights, wen
de airs kim O. nippy an penetratin'
an de- zob / pick out looks like he
might be comm from a lodge meetin'
O. de Sons o. Jonadab or some ag'in'-
de-redeye outfit de like O. dat, / figger
dot hn' foll oil % To
an SO slips him wot call de Mocha
mace. What meant de odder night
was dat it don't connec' SO often as
1t useter.
Il find right long now dat I'm git
tin In Heine wit de Mocha mace. 1t
on'y lan's 'casionally. But a macer' 8
gotta gamble same as de rest. It's a
case Of takin' a chancet.
But, bo, de games goin' bad.
| speakin' general, at dat. Dere's too
many panhandlers workin' de stun
dat woiks de hurry-up touch on DER
mateys.
Many q puffeckly good sludge, dat
would be meat f'r macers dat woik de
game because. like me, dat's deir graft
many a good tap would come acrost
rr de macer IL he wasn't gittin' maced
80 of'n by zobs dat he knows, dressed
up rummies, dat sink de pick into
him ev'ry time he goes out I take
de air.
DE odder night a good gun dat
eased me de two bits stopped. fr a
chirp, jes' like youse Is doin', an, he
tor me dat he'd bin pronged fr seven
bones durin' de day by guys dat he
knew. He toP me dat he was jes'
takiu' q stroll fr hisself, an dat dey
all staked him Z de stick-up at din'rent
points along de line O. march. an
passed him de moan about de room.
rent ting an de set-out-de-laundry
gag an dey needed de shave { snas
de jot mex Tuesday. an de smalles
dat he slipped any O. desc runs, he
toll me, was de ace. Some o EN-
sezzee, come at him fr de finiph. an
den grajooly drops down Z de two
specker wen dey seen dat he wouldn't
toppel fr de five-souge.
| All o Oils SUN puts ue maciu gag
e de fritz. A good zig gifts de pounce
by ginks dat've been kind O. buddies
o. his'n as he trudges troo de hotels
an by de time he makes de street an
starts f'r home he's so shy O. gum an
cigarette change dat wen a macel
dat's workin' his beat tosses him de
spear he's bellerin' murder inside o
him because he's been SO soft on dc
perduce wit his fr'en's, an de best
de macer gifts is de coyote music outs
de zobs pipes an a invitation t dc
q Durando down de pike or stan II
a pinch.
"Youse don't mind runnin' along
now, do youse? see COOK swingin
along dat looks like de till wide open
an de boss gone out o. de store!"