Milford chronicle., 1925-05-22
THIRTEENTH INsTALLMENT

Among them passed the water-boy
who was free boy, and drew fift
cents a day from the City Treasury
Not only did he quench the thirst 0
bis patrons; he furnished diversion a
well and chance to loaf right unde
the eyes of the straW-bOss. "Gimm,
Watah, ILL bOyl" would begin like
chant and swing into a song while the
dipper was passed among the swelterinG
men, moving bronze statues on pedes.
tails of gray stone. A big bony fellow
with a criminal face would start q
dOuble-shutfle, in spite of his leg-irons
and down the line his song would go;
You Jack O. dye-munS, you Jack O.
dye-muns,
You rob my pahkets Of siIDah an
gold. ."
The Workhouse Quarry was regarded
IS conservative, even twenty years ago
when the pneumatic-strildng jackham-
Eler drill was less perfect than it is
today and quarrymasters hadn' t learned
70 saw through stone like so much
cheese. At the worl1house they drilled
by hand, just as they do today. 1t was
leisurely process, giving petty Of
Hnders much time to contemplate their
wrongs; and that, we take it, is the
H1d and aim of Public Correction.
Respectable union masons were hired
by the day to do the fine work such a
firing the blasts or dressing dimension
stone and paving blocks. From
his humble work beside the hand-car
Admah would glance up sometimes and
Imagine that he saw his father, malIet
IN one hand, chisel in the other, philo-
UOphically chipping his queer life away.
-,
They had served sixteen of tlolr
Ehirty days; Admah leaned a while on
his shovel before he said, Look here,
Elmer, you've been to lot of places |
and seen lot. What do you reckon 1 !
ought to do about Map"
Write her a letter and tell her a |
fairy story" ROLLED Elmer without |
hesitation.
But she can't read"
"Thats different again." Elmer con-
ddered the point. Il guess you got a
Sew neighbors that can. How bout
your brOther?"
'He can" 1Ac suggestion made
Admah uncomfortable.
'Well, then, he can read it to her,
can't he? Just write 'er fairy story.
Wait about week, then say you got a
fine job as candy butcher on the river
boat, and that you amt got time to see
her for few days, but that you'll blow .
back to the old home pretty soon with
a big wad O. dough. Then the dav
you're loose from the jug just wal
on her and say that the guy who L. !
the candy concession on the boat
gypped you for your last nickel. She'll ,
bite. never saw a lady yet who F.,
fall for hard luck story"
You don't know my ma, I reckon"
'aid Admah wistfully.
Nope. And you dor t know mine"
Where's she?" L
"She's dead. She was a ldnl1er."
That was bad; Elmer needed a
bother. A cheerful liar, a complacent
1mbler, something of q rogue and
omething of a cOxcOmb, he never failed v
o strike fire on Admah' s Imagination. t
'aradoxically, too, Admah trusted him. u
trusted him in spite of the i'll luck that b
ad so swiftly followed their meeting on l
he wharf. With an instinct for 4
hances which served Admah Holtz 81
7eu in later years, he chose for his Il
young man whose mother n
ad been a professional contortionist; b
nd on the homeopathic principle that b
Ike cures like he had full faith in Ii
liners leading him out of the trouble
Q had helped him to. ST