[Illustration: Cover art] [Frontispiece: "Take a satchel and the ice-tongs and haul it away!"--Page 19.] DOWN THE LINE WITH JOHN HENRY BY HUGH McHUGH AUTHOR OF "JOHN HENRY" ILLUSTRATIONS BY McKEE BARCLAY. G. W. DILLINGHAM CO. PUBLISHERS NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY G. W. DILLINGHAM Co. _All rights reserved_ Any infringement of copyright will be strictly dealt with according to law. _DOWN THE LINE WITH JOHN HENRY_ _To_:-- _Pete and the Little Man, two of the best ever--believe me!_ _John Henry._ CONTENTS. John Henry at the Races John Henry and the Drummers John Henry in Bohemia John Henry and the Hotel Clerk John Henry and the Benzine Buggy John Henry at the Musicale John Henry Plays Golf LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. "Take a Satchel and the Ice-Tongs and Haul It Away." "A Bunch of Brisk Boys--Believe Me!" "When Clara Jane Arose, She Was a Mass of Icicles!" [Missing from source book] "We Get It Good and Plenty Every Day!" said Steve. "For a Chaser She Wore One of those Feather Boas." "He Gathered the Gourd Up Under His Chin." [Missing from source book] "Jake Invited Her to Join the Hunting Party." JOHN HENRY AT THE RACES. I was anxious to make Clara Jane think that she was all the money, so I boiled out a few plunks, trotted over to the trolley, and rushed her to the race track. I'm a dub on the dope, but it was my play to be a Wise Boy among the skates on this particular occasion, and I went the whole distance. In the presence of my lady love I knew every horse that ever pulled a harrow. Isn't it cruel how a slob will cut the guy-ropes and go up in the air just because his Baby is by his side? Me--to the mountain tops! Before the car got started I was telling her how Pittsburg Phil and I win $18,000 last summer on a fried fish they called "Benzine." Then I confided to her the fact that I doped a turtle named "Pink Toes" to win the next day, but he went over the fence after a loose bunch of grass and I lose $23,680. She wanted to know what I meant by dope, and I told her it generally meant a sour dream, but she didn't seem to grab. When we got to the track they were bunching the bones for the first race, so I told Clara Jane I thought I'd crawl down to the ring and plaster two or three thousand around among the needy. Two or three thousand, and me with nothing but a five-spot in my jeans and the return ticket money in that! "Are you really going to bet?" she asked. "Sure!" I said; "I've got a pipe!" "Well, I hope you won't smoke it near me. I hate pipes!" she said. "All right; I'll take my pipe down to the betting ring and smoke it there!" I said, and we parted good friends. In front of the grand stand I met Nash Martinetti. He was holding a bunch of poppies and he picked out one in the first race and handed it to me. "A skinch!" said Nash. "Go as far as you like."