Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-11-17
Continued from Yesterdays star.)
~ = AwKINS," said John Bruce
- huskily, IT think you're
bigger man than you've
- Il INV idea YOU are"

I
Il any idea you are"
"D'ye mean that?" Hawkins spoke
| eagerly-only to shake his head mis-
erably the next instant. You DON'T
| understand" he said. II as good as
killed her mother with drink. She
! died when Claire was born. l brought
Claire here, and Paul Veniza and his
! wife took her in. And Paul Veniza
was right about 1t. He made me
promise she wasn't TO know / was
her father until-until she would
! have a man and not q drunken sot to
look after her. That's twenty years
ago. I've tried. God knows I've tried.
! but IT'S beaten me ever since. Paurs
wife died when Claire was sixteen,
/ and Clafre's run the house for Paul
I and-and I'm Hawkins-5ust Haw-
kins--the old cab driver that's drop
ping In the harness. Just HAWKINS
| that shutters the travelling pawnshop
now that Paurs quit the regular shop.
That's what / am-just old Hawkins,
j who's always swearing to Coo mes
| going to leave the booze alone.
| John Bruce did not speak for mo-
ment. He returned to his chair and
! sat down. Somehow he wanted 20
/ think: somehow he felt that he had
not quite grasped the full significance
Of What he had just nsa rad s snnR ineo
a chair by the table. and his face was
buried In his hands.
| And then John Bruce smiled.
Look here, Hawkins" ne said
else for minute. Tell me about Paul
! Veni1a and his travelling pawnshop
| IT'S a bit out of the ordinary, to say
| the least"
thoughts for the moment diverted
| into other channels. his face bright
| ened and he scratched the scanty
fringe Of hair behind n, his ear: ..
interest. I'm kind of proud Of It..
| too. cause guess mabbe, when alfs
/ said and done. 1t was my idea; You
see, when Paul's wife died Paul went
all to pieces. He amt Wen now; tor
/, that matter--nowhere near as wen as
he looks. I'm kind Of scared OF Paul.
| He keeps getting sick turns ONCE
every SO often. But when the wife
died he was just clean broke up.
start in his business here. and
| dunno-it just seemed to affect him
that way. He didn't want 10 go on
1 any more without her. And as far as
| money was concerned. he didn't have
to- Paul amt rich. but he's mighty
comfortably off. Anyway. he took the
/ three balls down from over the door.
and he took the signs off the windows,
and In comes the carpenters to change
| things around here. and there ain
,.any more pawnshop.
Hawkins for the first time smiled
| broadly.
kins. "Paurs got a bigger business
| and a more profitable one today than
he ever had before in his life. You
| see. he had been at It good many
| years. and he had what you might call
L.. al q nm n a
! avenue, mostly ladies. but gents. too,
! who needed money sometimes with
out having 1t printed in the papers,
j and they wouldn't let Paul alone.
I Paul amt got q hair in his head that
amt honest and fair and square and
| Northumberland they were the ones
that knew 1t better than anybody else.
See?"
"Yes," said John Bruce. Go on,
Hawkins" he prompted.
WELL" said Hawkins. Il used TO
drive an old hanson cab in those days.
and used to drive Paul out on those
private calls to the swell houses. And
then when Mrs. Paul died and Paul
drew himself into his shell all around
and mostly he wouldn't go out any
more. though the swells kept teie.
phoning and telephoning to him. He,d
n only go to just few people that he'd
I done business with since almost the
beginning. He said he didn't want to
go around ringing peoples doorbells.
and being ushered into boudoirs or
down to shun everybody and every
thing. 1t wasn't good for Paul. And
] then q sort Of crazy notion struck me.
! and I chewed IL over and over in my
mind, and finally I put 1t up to Paul.
In the mood he was in, 1t just caught
| his fancy; and so I bought a second
! hand closed car, and fitted it up like
i you saw, and learned to drive it-and
that's how there came to be the
| travelling pawnshop. ,......-
! After that there wasn't anything
1 to it. 1t caught everybody else's fancy
as well as Paurs. and il began to get
him out of himself. The old bus, as
! you called 1t, vas running all the
didn't want to pawn anything took q
! ride and did a bit of business Just for
| the sake OF the experience, and the
| regular customers just, went nutty
! over 1t, they were that pleased.
| land then some one who stood in
with that swell gambling joint where
we picked you up must have tipped
I the manager off about 1t. and he saw
where he could do good stroke OF
business-make it a kind of adver-
tisement. you know. besides doing
| away with any lending by the house
| itself, and he put up proposition to
Paul where Paul was to get all the
business at regular rates. and bit
of salary besides on account of the
all-night hours he'd have to Keep
sometimes. Paul said he'd do 1t. and
turned the salary over to me; and
tthey doped out that password abou,
trip to Persia to make 1t sound
mysterious and help out the adver-
Using end, and-well, 1 guess that's
ALL"
John Bruce was twirling the tassel
of his dressing gown again alb.
stractedly; but now he stopped as
Hawkins rose abruptly and came to.
| ward him.
Mot amt ALL" said Hawkins, g
| cnrioua nOfe almoaf Of ~,