The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-08-13
A BOOTLECCER'S
EMBARRASSMENT
Mixed Baggage at Butte
and Idaho Girl F Finds
Her Grip Full

ACA Nip l I'LL
/ Mrs. J. H. Maddox is visitin,
with her uncle and aunt, Mr.. ant
Mrs. Byrd Trego. at Blackfoot, ant
tells booze story that is littlt
different. She was on a train run
ming into Butte the other day, ant
sat in the observation car, her travel
ing bag in a corner. Among thu
passengers she noticed a young mar
dressed somewhat loud, who seemed
uneasy and bored, and was restless
all the way.
At Butte there was the usual pusE
to get off, and she was not in sc
much Of hurry. When she stopped
to pick up her travelling bag she no.
ticed a slight difference in appear
ance and saw at once that 1t was
not hers, tho at a casual glance one
would say it was the same. She re.
ported to the porter, and he and the
conductor looked around trying to
locate somebody with a bag like it
She suggested that they open the bag
and look for something by which to
identify the owner, and presto! They
did. There were seven quarts oi
Canadian whiskey said to be worth
upwards Of twenty dollars per.
The conductor was interested and
the porter was excited. Mrs. Mad
dock threw up her hands and ex-
claimed, II shall never see my travel
ing bag again. The owner of all this
will not have the nerve to come back
and claim it," The porter declared
that he knew now who owned the
bag. He was backing away with it
in his hand and acted like he was
afraid somebody would take it away
from him. He even held out one
hand between it and the nearest per-
sons as if to shoe them back, and
all the time he was declaring that
it would be all right and that he
knew whose it was and that he
would effect an exchange and get the
lady's property all back untouched.
It might be passed on thru several
hands in short time, but the man
having the right to open it and take
out the contents would not accept a
lady's grip and contents in place of
Canadian whiskey. And he went on
raving, "No sab, I knows whose it
is, and I'll get it all fixed up lady.
I'll get yoh grip; doan you mind;
I'll get it an it wone be long"
Mrs. Maddox handed the conduc-
tor her card and the name of the
hotel where she would stay over
night, and went on minus pajamas
etcetera. As she reflected on what
a thirsty man would do when he was
about to take drink of perfectly
good whiskey and found it was
merely some light clothing and
articles usually found on a lady's
dresser, it all resolved itself into a
question of whether the trainmen
and especially the porter were wise
to the system, and if they were,
somebody could come hurrying back
into their presence and compare
notes.
When Mrs. Maddox went down
to breakfast in the morning she was
greeted with smiles and very fine
travelling bag that looked exactly
like hers. The clerk and several
gentlemen she had seen before we're
merry. They asked why she had not
been thoughtful for her friends and
just let her personal effects go glim-
mering and let them empty her grip
in some secluded place. Seven
quarts would measure out so much
of satisfaction and joy Was she
always so slow Of thought? Might
not one Of them carry even this grip
to her room? Would she trust it to
the bell-hop? Wasn't there chance
that there might be yet another mis-
take? It was awfully interesting to
be so close and yet so far from any
thing so rare as Canadian whiskey
The porter in his excitement had
described the young man wearing
the loud clothes, but nobody seemed
to want to disturb him, tho couple
of the travellers ioked about staying
over to wait till he came in on his
next trip and giving him a big scare
big enough to separate him from
Just one grip.
f-