Show THEY BOTHERED HIM SOME Canadians Were Afraid That the Drummers Drum-mers Dill Was a Coimteifcit I was in a pretty good sized Canadian town not very far from the border said the drummer and I was going away on the train Saturday night As 1 sat in the hotel about train time it occurred tome to-me that all the money L had with me was 20 and that was one of those yellow yel-low backed United States gold certificates certifi-cates Now I thought the chances are the landlord has never seen one of these and Ill probably have trouble However when the bus driver called out the train I went over to the counter put my overcoat over-coat on whistling softly to give myself I an air of innocence and then I took out the bill and handed it to the landlord l Hey says he nothing smaller than t thisI stopped whistling long enough to I say nope He looked at it while 1 sought my valise 1 spose its good enough he said Wish I hada hundred of em1 said L The landlord took a roll of bills from his pocket in a hesitating way laid clown a ten and a five turned partly around and pretended to bu looking for some ones and twos although I saw that ho had plenty of them No use he said I cant make the change H Well what can I do saidi Ho didnt make any suggestion s Ive only six cents 1 said aside from that bill and there Isnt time to get it changed anywhere else tonight I Oh wellpay me when you comeback come-back said he preferring to risk losing the thirtyfive cents thats the price of a supper over there rather than take the billTil Ill give it to the bus driver at the depot I said and Twent out followed by the silent looks of the assembled company com-pany who undoubtedly congratulated the landlord as soon as the door was shut on escaping with so small a loss as thirtyfive cents I was exasperated and I was afraid I the experience would be repeated at the station and what Id do then I didnt f know I wasnlt acquainted with a soul in town and even if i had been I I couldnt have got the matter fixed to get away that night Ticket for Detroit 1 said and laid down tho bill while the bus driver stood behind me waiting C Smallest youve gotr says the ticket seller lookingat the bill on both sides i I Only thing I can give you said L i He laid it down and studied it care folly S many o these darned things I are counterfeit he said while I stood I I there boiling mad but keeping a placid I face It seems to be all right though he said at last and then he gave me the ticket and change I handed the driver his money laughed with him about the landlord being be-ing afraid to change the bill and then I went out and walked up and down tho 1 platform feeling bully i Some one touched me on tho shout der It was the ticket seller Tm alee a-lee tie afraid Q that bill said he in a I half apologetic tone Come into the offiQe I said and Ill try and fur it up and as I was rummag ing around for a card I happened tora jijnember that 1 had a check in my pocket I for about 440 isiiici a customer in an LJi i other town had given me to send to the I firm 1 showed that to the agent Ha was puzzled to know whatt do t 4 I believe he said at last Fd rather have this than the bilL Theres so many of those bills counterfeited 1 dont like the looks of it Then he gave me back I the twenty and twenty more and took the check You can imagine what I thought of that man There was a check that he knew nothing about drawn to the order of a firm he knew nothing abont indorsed in-dorsed by a man he knew nothing about and yet he took it rather than take a bill for half the amount guaranteed by the United States government Lordt when I got through being mad 1 was struck with the ridiculousness of the thing and laughed all the way to Detroit De-troit and I laughed again the nest day when 1 banded the bill to the clerk at the Russell house and I told him about it I Well said another drummer they are anything but flyover the line and thats a fact Perhaps so said tho first man but the Russell house wouldnt take the bill and the bank wouldnt take it today und dura it 1 guess it is a counterfeit after aUDetroit Free Press |