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Show fHfc WUONtj COFN IN IHt SLOT. Troolile it Washington Ton til Had In OU-tWiiliig: OU-tWiiliig: an Opera AttMi he.l to the bnek of every alternnts pir piet cii.iirln so'ne of the theatres hern isa little iM-caliarHhapeil lit l.el plated bo-:, put. there for thu lienefit of thu oeetipai'H of the sent "rxdiiu 1 the eluitr to which thi is ttttaeheil. Inscribed npoii the laix is llm information that by plai in a dime in tin) slot and turning the t Imnilwi-ew to tho riiiht a wir of opera glasses can lie h.id for iisj daring the peitormanee. Une of theso lit l lu boxes ill one of the uptown theatres was the o'iier eveniin; tha innocent catiso of considerable ii!im.-,emctit and the dis-coiuMtitre dis-coiuMtitre ut a very fresh yotinu American who essayed to play a sharp trick on tins opera glass scheme and its schemer. "Ah! I intended to engage a pair of fdasx'S outside, don't ye know, but. I'll jusl try a pair of these in tho box; they say they ate very good excellent, don't yo know," said he, loud enough to lie heard a good distance uround him. The piny had just begun, and he was in it hmry. lie stood up to take off his overcoat, to tha annoyance of a do.eu or so behind him, instead in-stead of having done so in the lobby. When taking his seat he found it necessary neces-sary to si 'led up again to search in his trousers potUtt for tho ncce.vary dime, lie found what he warned, and placing a left-over piece carefully back in his pocket sat down and diopiH'd the one ho had in hand in the slot. lie turned the screw nceording to directions, direc-tions, but the box failed to keep its part of the mint nut. Ho tugged this way and ; that, until he Hiiceecded ill getting the ' wraps all on the Hour, and the attention ot . those around him called to the dilemma j into which ho whs Kitting himself, lie , worked and aquiivncd and twisted until ! his face grew red and large lieads of perspiration per-spiration gathered on his plastic brow and ! trickled down hia burning cheeks, jet nn ! opera glasses, llo next bent over and ' peeped up under the box to ascertain if 1 there wan not a catch or hook or button which needed attention as m part of the opening process, but neither catch, hook, ! nor button wera there to need attention. : lie ejaculated fuimething about a "con-! "con-! founded nuisance," and vigorously turned the screw backward and forw ard and shook the box until it rait led like an old bicycle lamp, and all without avail. Then he sat down mid gave the short balance ot the first Rot a rest, which wax more than his friend did for him. She made a niini-Iht niini-Iht of serio-comic remarks about the ingenuity in-genuity of slots and the ogieu generosity of some wealthy people who gave away vast, sums of money for charitable pur-poses pur-poses without the least exia'ctation of reward re-ward In this world. Hilling the intermission he tackled the box again aud picked at the slot with a blade of his penknife with a view of com-polling com-polling the box to do what it ought to wit h that dime, and let him have t he use of hia glasses. Finally, after resorting to many unsuccessful attempts to get it open, ho liegan tapping the box sharply with the head of his umbrella, hoping to jar the dime into its proper place, but it. was not the dime that got jarred. The Occupant of the chair to which the box was attached, a Kent h inan wit h straight, strange looking hair and a fierce mustache, turned and asked the young mau why he did not "send for a number of government contractors and get estimates on having the box removed, re-moved, and save that dime from total loss." Thin sully had the effect of producing a general snickering lu that locality, in which the lady ho was escorting joined, and just as tho bell rang tip the curtain on the second act he drew the other piece of money from his pocket, slipped it into the slot, gave the screw a twist and got the glasses without further trouble. The next morning there were found in the box a dime and a three cent piece. It was the liitle, Insignificant looking but proud and provoking three center which caused all the trouble mid aiinnsement by refusing to perforin the sendees of a common every day dime. Washington Star. |