ry other day, and, outside of
grinnin' and playin' the mouth organ, all I ever noticed specially
brilliant about him was the way he used cigarettes as a substitute for
food. Long's he had a bag of fact'ry sweepin's and a book of rice
papers he didn't mind how many meals he missed, and them long fingers
of his was so well trained they could roll dope sticks while he slept.

Well, it had been a year or so since I'd run across him last, and if
I'd thought about him at all, which I didn't, it would have been to
guess what fin'lly finished him; when this affair out on Long Island
was pulled off. The swells that owns country places along the south
shore has a horse show about this time every year. As a rule they gets
along without me bein' there to superintend; but last week I happens to
be down that way, payin' a little call on Mr. Jarvis, an old reg'lar of
mine, and in the afternoon he wants to know if I don't want to climb up
on the coach with the rest of the gang and drive over to see the sport.

Now I ain't so much stuck on this four-in-hand business. It's jolty
kind of ridin', anyway, and if the thing upsets you've got a long ways
to fall; but I always likes takin' a look at a lot of good horses, so I
plants myself up behind, alongside the gent that does the tara-tara-ta
act on the copper funnel, and off we goes.

It ain't any of these common fair grounds horse shows, such as anyone
can buy a badge to. This is held on the private trottin' track at
Windymere--you know, that big estate that's been leased by the
Twombley-Cranes since they started makin' their splurge.

And say, they know how to do things in shape, them folks. There's a
big green and white striped tent set up for the judges at the home
plate, and banked around that on either side was the traps and carts
and bubbles of some of the crispest cracker jacks on Mrs. Astor's list.
Course, there was a lot of people I knew; so as soon as our coach is
backed into position I shins down from the perch and starts in to do
the glad hand walk around.

That's what fetches me onto one of the side paths leadin' up towards
the big house. I was takin' a short cut across the grass, when I sees
a little procession comin' down through the shrubbery. First off it
looks like some one was bein' helped into their coat; but then I
notices that the husky chap behind was actin' more vigorous than
polite. He has the other guy by the collar, and was givin' him the
knee good