The Washington herald., 1916-07-30

Brewster was very sure the Boss would
never discover his age If he could man
age to improve his gait.
In every other way he concealed the
fact that he was approa ching the dead
line of usefulness. Even when h" re-
ported at A NJ, his spry but painful
shuttle threatened to betray what 4 care
full shave and a violently starched apron
tried to disguise. BY half past two, when
the tables were freshencd up after the
luncheon rush and he had time to steal
a smoke at the alley door, the shuttle
dragged. If the Boss had stepped over
to the other place" II esen fell into an
irregular limp.
No amount Of corn plasters or scakin'
in alum water or drug store preparations
seemed ever to give him relief. Arch
suppOrts-a gift OF his married daughter
big shoes or light clippers never seemed
to rest his feet. Always when pain
carved lines through his friendly EXPIRES
sion he felt that the Boss was think
ing:
Brewster must be pretty old. He gets
slower every day"
Sometimes he studied himself in the
grease filmed mirrors on the walls and
was reassured by what he saw there. II
he lost his battle with the years it would
not be because Of his ape aranCe.
The waiter was entirely too modest to
suspect that he was the restaurant s
best asset. Ii was a dark and minute
place on Sixth avenue, tucked in be
tween drug store and a tailor shop, so
narrow that II a patron could ever az
ford TO eat all he wished TO eat they
would have been forced to tear down
the front before he could squeeze out.
dirty sort OF white paint tried to light
en- the interior. which was perpctualy
dusky because the front window was
shaded by elevated railroad tracks. Be
fore he came, the patrons had been
hack drivers and, later Chauffeurs, bar
tenders members Of several neighbor-
hood gangs, or shyster lawyers, profes-
sional bOndsmen or friends and defend
ants from the Jefferson Market court,
just across the way. They still came
They gave the place 'etmOsphere." But
even the proprietor could see that Green
wich villagers no longer entirely scorned
the place And, il they took It up and
, made it Bohemian. you know" he felt
his fortune would be made.
Brewster had a way OF leaning down
until his hands rested on his knees while
he asked. in a fatherly tone, If YOU would
have sliced orange this morning. II was
so comforting, in a city Of millions o;
strangers, TO have some one remember
that you preferred oranges TO grape.
fruit, or TO manifest genuine distress il
your eggs were not properly "jelled." He
. could not offer spotless linen because
. every serviette and cover in the place
was rusted and stained and torn. But
unlike other Sixth avenue table attend
I ants, he made sure that the cottor
| squares at your disposal were fresh from
/ the laundry.
| Breakfast in the Washington Squar,
district is a problem for those who hav,
no cooking utensils and who cannot af
ford fifty cents for a morning meal
. Gradually the Greenwich villagers cam,
/ to seek the Hole-in-the-Wau lunchroom
where eggs, coffee lin thick mugs to b,
suce) and fruit could be obtained TO
thirty cents. Came a lawyer or twt
! from bachelor flats. Came reformer
and shUrthaired girls and even painters
and poets and schoolteachers. Usual!
/ the first visits were ones forced upoI
! the patrons by a rainy day. But afte
that they came because Of the reassur
| ing presence Of other village character
and finally they stuck fast in Brewster
| subtle barney like flies on sticky pape
sprinkled with sugar.
! No testimonials of appreciatio evel
came TO the old waiter-excort in the
form OF nickel tips He busted the tur.
9 key and strawberry shortcake ant
Oranges in the window every morning
! ihumored the Boss and maintained diplo,
matte relations with the kitchen. AnC
/ in his spare moments he read all The
beauty hints in the one-cent papers writ,
ten for women who want to keep theil
husbands love.
One hot. damp. smothering July mornin,
the Boss missed Brewster. and summoned