"We cast twinty-wan hundherd votes f'r Duggan, an' they was on'y five
hundherd votes in th' precinct. We'd cast more, but th' tickets give
out. They was tin votes in th' box f'r Schwartzmeister whin we counted
up; an' I felt that mortified I near died, me bein' precinct captain,
an' res-sponsible. 'What 'll we do with thim? Out th' window,' says I.
Just thin Dorsey's nanny-goat that died next year put her head through
th' dure. 'Monica,' says Dorsey (he had pretty names for all his
goats), 'Monica, are ye hungry,' he says, 'ye poor dear?' Th' goat
give him a pleadin' look out iv her big brown eyes. 'Can't I make ye
up a nice supper?' says Dorsey. 'Do ye like paper?' he says. 'Would ye
like to help desthroy a Dutchman,' he says, 'an' perform a sarvice f'r
ye'er counthry?' he says. Thin he wint out in th' next room, an' come
back with a bottle iv catsup; an' he poured it on th' Schwartzmeister
ballots, an' Monica et thim without winkin'.
"Well, sir, we ilicted Duggan; an' what come iv it? Th' week before
iliction he was in me house ivry night, an' 'twas 'Misther Dooley,
this,' an' 'Mr. Dooley, that,' an' 'What 'll ye have, boys?' an'
'Niver mind about th' change.' I niver see hide nor hair iv him f'r a
week afther iliction. Thin he come with a plug hat on, an' says he:
'Dooley,' he says, 'give me a shell iv beer,' he says: 'give me a
shell iv beer,' he says, layin' down a nickel. 'I suppose ye're on th'
sub-scription,' he says. 'What for?' says I. 'F'r to buy me a goold
star,' says he. With that I eyes him, an' says I: 'Duggan,' I says,
'I knowed ye whin ye didn't have a coat to ye'er back,' I says, 'an' I
'll buy no star f'r ye,' I says. 'But I'll tell ye what I'll buy f'r
ye,' I says. 'I'll buy rayqueem masses f'r th' raypose iv ye'er sowl,
if ye don't duck out iv this in a minyit,' Whin I seen him last, he
was back dhrivin' a dhray an' atin' his dinner out iv a tin can."
THE SKIRTS OF CHANCE.
The people of Bridgeport are not solicitous of modern improvements,
and Mr. Dooley views with distaste the new and garish. But he
consented to install a nickel-in-the-slot machine in his tavern last
week, and it was standing on a table when Mr. McKenna came in. It was
a machine that looked like a house; and, when you put a nickel in at
the top of it, either the door opened and released three other nickels
or it did not. Mostly it did not.
Mr. Dooley saluted Mr. McKenna with unusual cordiality, and Mr.
McKenna inspected the nickel-in-the-slot machine with affectation of
much curiosity.
"What's this you have here, at all?" said Mr. McKenna.
"'Tis an aisy way iv gettin' rich," said Mr. Dooley. "All ye have to
do is to dhrop a nickel in th' slot, an' three other nickels come out
at th' dure. Ye can play it all afthernoon, an' take a fortune fr'm it
if ye'er nickels hould out."
"And where do th' nickels come fr'm?" asked Mr. McKenna.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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