The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1921-04-21
Spud Me- Clone
s 54$s.
b. CLARENCE I. CULLEN
lcopyright.l

ter race meeting at New Orleans, he
wore a certain sooty and cindery ap-
paarance that didn't seem to denote
a ride on the vanished cars.
Does q job at the gasWorks. back
In this dump, look good to me?" he
observed gloomily, replying to nobody's
question.
"Does IT? Ask Smudge S~haugnessy
If he ever had q ven for beef stew!
Southern race tracks, eh? Say, I'd
rather be q moldy ear in q C0ney Isl
land hot-corn boiler than a red barn
full of feed and hay down there In
the cockroach Dixie belt, and let that
60 with the main bet
there's no getting away from the
ring Pinks down there.
'aThe first day out down there I
slanted a thing that looked like beam
p0rridge-h0t to me-. I took him ~ the
left fin as he mooned around the ring
marking a program and trying to look
wise.
"'Sh-shl' says I as / tried to lead
him under n Of the stairways.
'Sh-sh! / would fain uncurl n gold
en- word OF two unto YOU
"'Hey7 What's that?' he bawled like
q fsh-peddler yelling shad on q side
street and. trying to shake OFF the
clutch ! had on him.
Not 50 voicy, major said !, hang
ing on to him.
Hey, look-a-here, what's all this?'
he shouted, not with any effort, get me,
but just talking in his natural voice.
What dye want?'
"'Sh-sh! Try whispering, general
says | to him, lamping around to see
II any Of the ring Pinks were on the
Job. All that / desire to do is to send
you away from here lopsided with cur.
rency.'
For about half a minute he studied
me with that haryest-moon wick.
VIVA do you want to do that for?'
he shouted. What is it to you whether
l win or not?'
The soft pedal and low bridge,
please, judge / begged the smudge.
lis 1t q horsef' he yelled at me.
That loud stuff is great In q knock
about turn.but here it's liable to crab
a perfectly good sketch. Now, will
you gamble that hundred on one that's
a Rocky Ford wrapped in kissue-paper
and tinfoil and served iM a Tiffany
dish2.
is it some horse that's going to
run in this first race that you want me
to play?' he howled.
Say, general, won't you try to Inn
agine that you're at q wake and pull
the mufaing snares down on that drum
Of yoursY'
Yes, it's n In the first race.
"'Its Is to 1 now, and it'll street
home like a cat that's been chucked
into a creek with a stone around its
neck,
We'll, the mark yelped then like a
barker with a double-h0rn megaphone
: on a rubberneck wagon: How do you
know that this horse will win, hey?'
"Just then the ring Pink that I'd
piped the minute before breezed up
behind me with the stir foreflnger for
the middle of my kidneys.
"sNone o. that buzz stuff here,
Bright Eyes says he to me, or over
the fence for you,' and then l had to
me away from there and join the
elboWers in the main aisle.
Two days later i snagged, coming
down from the grand stand, where he'd
salted his wife, one that looked to me ,
like d full basket Of quarts.
"'Guv,,' says I,Sas he got to the bot
tom Of the steps, dye know the name
OF it4'
The name Of what?' he asked me
in the tone Of the skipper Of a canal
boat. hollering at a mule-whacker a
hundred yards up the towpath. Did
you ask me what time it was? Why,
it's hall past three, pulling out a SOUP
or thu asessof q hand-painted porcelain
III emit got an idea ia the world
what horse Jon mean and, Of course,
you're 4atranger to me.-he was hol-
ierings louder and louder with every
chirp15sbut ! lost fifty dollars on the
first race-by this time he was orat-
ing like the ringmaster Of q circus
and IL there's any chance to get that
money back, why, Of course, I'd like to
obtain the name Of the winner.
You look as if you might know,
even II, as ! say, YOU are q stranger
to me; and of course if the one you
named really did win I'd be willing t
.-er-do the right thing toward you
for your kindness, and
Did | have that one hooked? Why,
say, 1t was out OF the water and
swinging toward the grass when
Say, Louie SAYS the same Pink
that had given me the kidney poke be-
fore, coming up behind me again, L
thought 4 told you that tell-'em thing
was all on and done away with around
these works. hey?
u . Now, You lepme pipe You again
hepDing 4 lob 70 one d your bo,gtuses,
and Won won't have any heels left al
your kicks to beat It with, And 90
there 4 was. hashed again right On the
pin-pOint OF getting a live one on I