SHORT STORIES.

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 40, 13 March 1930, Page 3

SHORT STORIES.

(By Account Sales)

THE STUDENT'S DECLENSION. Amo, a'mas. I love a lass.

And she is young arid slender,

Sweet Cowslips, grace her,

(Nominative case) and she's

:,Of the feminine gender,

And so on

PRACTICE NIGHT.

Tuesday night 6m' orchestra has its. weekly practice, and entrancing harmonics are sometimes wafted. on the even stillness. Our leader is habituated to 'the deft wielding of paint' and paste brush during business hpuTS. He is getting en in years now £nd his hearing is bad and getting worse, and his temper is not.mild. =' Tom Carson, who also plays first fiddle, hints sometimes, wihen vtho old' fellow is worse than usual, of 'heart-break in "youthful daya back home in the Fatherland,; and we pretend,- "to -be busy with out musicstands.- When you are behind a loaded music-stand not much can be seen of the ihuman (physiognomy,. you of course know, , Things will .blow' over after a bit andTthe old man will paw about, under his.! seat in his short-sight-ed way for the score he wants to start

us with

./'Weeping Willow Lane,"; say* he, and glares round to where I am 'haTd at it trying<to get my "D" string to .something like' it. ' Some delay while the- 'ceViq who has mislaid his part returns from atrip over the room to the pianiste's pile of stuff, waving the wanted piece. ■'..'• .

V "A11 ready? Now, mind, you second fiddles, three bars rest at the end of. the"/first set/* 'One two!/ .. and we swing away into the old waltz, with the 'cello grunting 'One, two, thr/es' to himself and my mate getting- in .eomo good work.on the flute.. „

After an hour's playing we 2iave. a smoke and the yarns begin to circulate. Tom Carson asked us one night if. he had ever told us about Albert Longun. We all knew him as he was vi the band since coming to live he*re after his marriage and wo! were anxious to know more about 'him, as he was sn eh a decent sort of a chap and a good musician. It appeared that Tom knew Aibejt• Longun,before he was married, But here is the yarn as Tom. told it,

"Albert Longuri was a stockily built middle-aged man^ with . the ' red face and fishy blue; eyes natuTal to .a past grandmaster of the ancient order of beer connoisseurs, when. I knew Mm first,' 7 said Tom. He used to wear an old tweed cap and his amply-fitting Mug serge suit 'was' according to Mrs Levtorf, 'a goot vun for dhirty shillin's and gonsiderin' \yhat vas the price of one new. But there, Levtorf was a ninny.arid would gif the coat pff his back, to the first to ask for it.'

1 'Albert's was si well-known figure a.bout ,-tJae markets. He seemed to earn his board and beer .money by trucking the fruit and produce from the lorries to its allotted,place in the big market building. He was also given to catching the eye of good-natured lorryxnen, and, in a hoarse Vhi&P?r with his thaHd to his mouth;, of asking for the lend of a 'boVras he wanted his breakfast. According to; him ho had got ..up" late, and eoine away without it. He used target his breakfast at the 'Royal Ensign/ The bar-tender used to hand it to him in glasses every mo*ning. ..-•,

"Well, between bopsing, sleeping out nights and cadging. Albert got. to a pre^tyvmean speenrien of a man. He didn't improve as the yearerw.ent by but rather seemed to get worse, if anything. • ■ • ; . "Thus Albert for several years, until one night he happened ~to be down' by the street corner attracted there lry\f!e Salvation Army. With the band giving a few bars of a tune now. and '.tigain and a little rapid-fire, oratory, "Albert got quite interested and stood, puffing his pipe and listenening till tie.collection plate came along. A rather frded, ! but still pretty, fair-haired li.ttlewoman •with a sweet face and brave trusting eyes stopped in front of^ Albert .and said, 'Would you caTO to help the collection; sir?' He was taken someVhat •unawaresj and started to fumble. about in- Ws pockets for a stray tray-bit, found notlhing £nd remembered he siad passed his last solitary coiti over the counter at the 'Ensign' a couple of houTs back. . ' "Seeing his fix, the little Army lass sai4, 'Don't worry, now. Perhaps when you get a job you will be aisle to help

us,' and she waljced away leaving- Albert thinking deeply. Yet, it would be great to have the little woman witll the trusting kind eyes and sweet, voice to welcome, a man home of a "night. You see, Albert and his brother Ted live,d in a little.old -house together, and to come home and to be greeted yy the' drunken snores of his brother used to Jet Albert's spirits flop still fnriher into despondency. ■""

i* Three or ~£ our days passed af tor the j night of his meeting the little Army lass and Albert was putting >Ms coat' on, as his trucking w.as finished for the morning, when, a doeed-in' express. •?irawn by.an ancient" horse, stopped I outside- the markets and a couple of I Army lassies, came briskly up the steps. The smaller of the two was asking, the •bead storetnan if there were any spare vegetables, for the Home,, When Albert caught sight of hex and recognised her for his friend of the coHeetion-plate. She smiled and seemed, glad to have met thim again, Albert 'thought, with, a strange lift at his heart. .They talked together for a few? minutes, and Al•bert did riot notice the smijes of the storemen at this sudden change in one w*hom everybody thought was beyond redemption, mor did he carej for, those kind trusting,eyes seemed to 'understand him in some way, and he felt happier speaking^ toT her. : They met often .*tfter that, and it was noticed that Albert had taken to coming to work clean shaven and in a soft collar and tie of 3 morning and with his hair neatjy I brushed*. ,! ' • '

. " .'.No,' said he, one day, when one of the drivers offered ih.nn the price of a Couple of drinks, 'I'm off the beer now.- Tryin' to get a bit decent for the littie woman's sake,' and every body wondered how long he could stick it. "■'■.•■'.. -'•'■ ' .."

"Wejl, it appears that, he "cau, foT they are married" now. The little woman with the kind trusting eyes has left the Army now, and has taken on the job of keeping Albert gmart and clean-looking,- ancl she seems to have, brought out in him some latent qualities of manliness an,d self-respect .which were" never in evidence before, Anyway, BTinton, the auctioneer at t3ie markets, told me that Albert is' one of the best -store-men there- now. Funny, isn't it, the way a woman can turn a man inside -out' almost some-

-times:''

Aid old Tom reached for his fiddle and tuned up again.

KILKESTG HIM. .* There was an old woman of Napier Whose tongue was as sharp as a rapier. Her -hubby said one day, As he listened in dismay, . ' "Silence! or you will soon wear crepe,"1

Dear!"

OFF THE BRIBGiE,

George Towers, Our book-seller, often spends long evenings alone wading the shingley-bed of the small fiver whiclx runs through the town-ship.

One evening i.c had worked up-stream and was making a few casts undor the suspension bridge. The night was moon less so far, and overTcast and fhe bridge loomed up big-and vast-looking in thlb uncertain light-r—like some great giant bestriding the stream, .

' George, being to, his mind in a likely' spot, near the still water : under the bank, Jiad swung back for another east. The line was swishing over his.shoulder when something that appeared to his startled gaze to look like a eoupJe of ( cwt. of rock, whizzed past his ear and ihit the x water with a lpud splash, while footsteps sounded going down from the bridge and' lie heard the sound, of'a match being struck, ■.. '■. \. \

George lost- no time in Trading asjiprc. .The occurence had upset (his equanimity, for „he knew ; of no one in tSie town, likely, to harbour a grudge against; him and likely to\ take, such Srastic means of settling the scorcv 'A; worrying business and an end of fiVbing, for that evening.

The moon catne out from'behind t&e cloud-bank as he reached I>le shore, arid.he saw a few yards away, bobbing tinder the willows* a black-looking object slowly floating down stream.

George Towers threw .it, on tKe-feank, untied the string, ana took .a hal-f----drowned and ancient eat oat of the bag. The mystery ■ --raS solved, but George iad had enough, for one night, and went home'to get a drink for Ms ruffled nerves and to add anQther to his fv.ih. stories. ' '" '.' v" ■