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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1903)
Dobbins, the Subway Delver By William Hamilton Oshorne fsTn (Copyright, '3, by William Hamilton Osborne.) T WAS late In the evening. Dob- Wn, a man In working clothes, emerged from tho bowels of the earth and hailed a car. This par ticular portli.n of thn nubway wu being rushed to completion, and Dubbins holp.d to rush It. lie was grime from head to foot. Hut he didn't care for that, for within his one Hound pocket there whs good irninnjr lying money that meant food for many days. "Thin business," he laughed softly to hlniBelf, "puys Just A bit better than the other." Tho car he took wan empty almost. Not quite, either. Jt held Just three people be lilde himself IHin of l):ee three Hat upon one Hldo of the cir and tho other two acrops the way. lie looked firHt at the two across the way. They were men. And be cause they were. st.-ning at the third paa HtT.i el-, he uImu looked that way. Then he Ftc cd up fr"!t k ;i ,rU In tiio corner of the car. lie :ik tired, and ha Wat) about ready ti close lii i cc., tut he didn't. HuiToplltlously and untiollced by anyone he glanced ut thn third passenger. She waH a girl, one of the working el u.B. She was dressed as simply an any girl could he dressed, and i ho iirr:ej 11 small worn Halchi I. Dobbins had :iecn many working Klrls, but never nr.e l!ke thin. It Wuhii'I altogether her face that took his fancy, nor her manner, nor any one thing about her. It was thn girl herself. The two men oppoHlte not only seemed Ottr.icled, hut they were ilcTTWinstratl ve as Jewelry and their neckties and high Bilk hats were the real thing. Dobbins Hiniied aa i! gium-ed ut them, but lie did not Hnnl'i long, for ho saw that they were an noying tho life out of the girl. They didn't do it very neatly, but their efforts to moke an Impression were nevertheless indefati gable. They did not contlne themselves to looks. They resorted to the expediency of words. Their attempts had apparently no effect upon the fclrl. She loaked calmly pant them out of the window into tho street beyond. Iter face was Hushed and she was plainly ungry and stsrlled a bit perhups but Hhe gave no other sign. Hut though without effect upon the girl, these demonstrations were not lost upon tho r.ubway man, who huddled, apparently exhausted, In a corner of the car. Dobbins had both seen and heard, and once or twice, when the girl instinctively looked his way, , he attempted. In his honest way, by the merest glance, to Indicate that he under stood and that he would soe her through. However, as the cur proceeded north, the girl seemed to become more and more agi tated. Dobbins realized the trouble. She was Hearing her destination, and she was afraid for once of tho dark, end tho two men. Suddenly she signalled the conductor and tho car came to a stop. Four people lighted at that crossing. One of them was the girl. Two of them were the two men. Thn fourth man was Dobbins, the subway man. Dobbins made for the dark Bide of the street and slunk along In the shadow, lie taw the two men follow close upon the track of tho girl. Then suddenly ho hoard the sound of their voices,. and, for the first time, the Hound of a woman's voice. The gill had Hpokcn. He listened for an Innlant to lie sure that ho wan right, and then ho Strode aerosH tho street. "I bug pardon," lie said to the girl, "can 1 assist you?" The girt breathed a sigh of relief. She was almost on the verge of tours. Dohhtnc looked from her to the two men. The two man looked at Dobbins. Dobbins' clothes did not exactly show Mm up to Rteut ad vantage. Tho men looked at him contemp tuously. "Say, young fellow." they said to him, "clear out! Understand?" Incidentally they jostled up againxt him and trod upon his toes. Dobbins never no ticed It he once more looked at the girl. "Can I assist you?" he repented. The girl half bowed. "You you can," she replied uncertainly. No sooner had she said It then Dobbins raised his voice. "Vou fellows." he e clalmed In a determined tone, repealing what they had wild to him, "yoi follows Clear out! I'nderstand? If you don't" That was as far as he got. The two men. With a variety of oath, rushed upon him. Somehow, ot the start. Dobbins had seemed thin and shrunken. It was but an optical delusion. Now he fnlt the musclpa of lilt arms swell and hr.rden agelnst the sleeves of his coat, lie hid the smell of battle tn his nostrils. As thn two men came for him he stepped to one side. And then, by some sudden trick which was easier imag ined than described, he leaped upon these two men from behind and twisted their bodies and their arms nnd legs and necks Into all sorts of shapes, nnd at one and the same time dealt them stunning blows. It was not one man flttalnut two. Dobbins was dosen men at once. He was superb ho was sublime. It was soon over. Dobbins, standing upon tits prone and defeated opponents one foot upon each now looked a veritable Her cules. I la drew a sharp breath. The girl "Stepped forward. "I I want to thank you," she said. In a trembling voice. "I never had such, things hupiwn to me bo- DOBBINS WAS A DOZKN MBN AT ONC""" . fore. I In a trembling voice. "I never had such Ihlngs could happen on the cars or on the street. But. oh!" she continued, with a hysterical laugh, "how did you ever do it? It was fine." Dobbins reached Into his Insldn pocket. "You would prefer that I do oot 3ee you home?" he asked.' The girl nodded. "It Is better rot," she said. "I shall get along all right" Dob bins produced a card and handed it to her. Tro lvl looked nt It Upon it appearod thesa words: "F. Vreeland Dobbins, Studio No. K street. Manhattan." Thn girl gasped. "You you are an artist!" she ex claimed. Hu looked down at his clothes. Then he laughed. "What you have seen tonight," ha an swered, pointing to the vanquished two, "what you have just seen I learned In tho Quaitier Iatln cr the I.ailn Quarter, la the city of Furls, Franco." Jle bowed again. Tho girl hold out her hand. "Thanks," she said simply. Then Bho went. On his way homo Dub bins encountered u, policeman. "Say, eld man," ho suggested confidentially, back there in the middlo of the block are a cou ple of drur.ks or dead men. I don't whloh. Perhaps you'd hotter roe to ihem. I haven't time." And then ho went home. Francis Vreeland Dobbins was an artist, although he lived and moved nnd had his being in one room on tho Hoor of a tene ment house. Ho had been devoted to ait. F.ut art had not boen devoted to him. He had tilled canvas after canvas with Ideas that to him scomrd exquisite bt.t there was some difficulty somewhere--they would not sell, t'unvaaca and pfilrts .ot money, cu docs food. Dobbins hud had a limited amount if money, but his capacity for foud rnd paints and canvas lind been un limited. He had moved from ntudio to Dtndlo from room to room nnd one morn ing ho had awakened to the realisation that even tho landlord of a miserable ten ement house Insists constantly upon good hard cash. He had none Into the streets to look fo- work. He bad f. nnd it in the hardest kind nf manual labor down It the bowels of the earth. His soul had e-rand. But tho work kept him warm, fed him with good food. Covered Win with a roof. So he pilud his unsold paintings against Iho wall of his little 'oom, cowied the.in with bits of cloth, a-.d acted In to do his share In tumelir-g a jtrrot metropolis. Dobbins wont homo. It was late, but he f.dt a stranje eUMon. He hud money In his pockets; he lied thrushed a couple of rowdies; ho had eirred the grntitude of a girl. Obeying a 'jjihn linpul.te, ho drew forth his last ennvas nr.d his p.ilnls. AVIth bold dashes tie hastily sketched a head. For three full hours lhat n!j;ht ho worked upon It tho head of a girl tl at hud struifc his fancy. That head gave Mm on Idea, And the mon'y he earned enabled, him to carry it eut. He r-fcriied home with !iim meetal pic tures of the men who wo-ked with Mm on th subway-Italians. Irish. Poles men In their working clothes, wielding picks and shovels, drinking rut of battered palls and smoking superannuated plps. When he had somo of them finished he sat down and admired them. "Thero'j; no harm," ho assured hlmnrlf, "In admiring them, for they certainly will pleuso no one eLe." Then, when Ue soured on his luck a bit, he would bring out tho head of the girl and touch It up here and thete. One night there was a tap at his door or rather a resounding rap. "Oomn in!" he yelled. Somebody walked In a bluff, pros perous looking man of tho world. Ho stood there uncertainly and looked at the artist The artist was ptill lu his working clothes. "Mr. Doblln?" queried the newcomer ho stepped In. The artist nodded. "Dobbins," he cor vected. "My name Is Dobbins. Are yoa looking for me?" "I think I am," returned the other; "you are an artist, and the man I am looking for Is an artist Tour name was men tioned by say. do you know William J. Peterson of the university?" Now Dobbins wns never eo foolish as to deny acquaintance with anyone. He said guardedly that he believed he had met Mr. Peterson. "He told mo about you." tho other man continued, "and when I said I wanted a thing or two to hang up in my Staten Island place I'm building ".ov.-:i there he said ho thought I could get something of you that was respectable and cheap. The question is, what have you got?" F. Vreeland Dobbins jumped almost out of his skin. Here, then, wes the chance that he bad waited for so long. Ho had soiao tine thins that lie had tnV.cn months to do that ho was sure would please the vlultor. Ho ticttod them out. "Here's something rojlly good." he said. " 'Tho Seine lu Moonlight. Here's another. Fishers at Hays End.' And this little sketch is r.o end of a Rein." Thus ho pro ceeded, cracking up his wares In tbo mout businesslike way. His visitor p.lunced at them most doubtfully. "Urn-urn," was nil he said for a long V.'hlle. Final), growing more at home he drew out somo pictures from their resting (dace against the wall with his own hands. "riruAt Scott!" ho finally exclaimed, what's this?" Dobbins laughed. "That" he answered, "why, that's Jimmy Murphy ot the bjI way taking a drink of beer out of an od tin can." "Jimmy Murphy," said the visitor, "and I'll bet it. luoks like Jimmy, loo. (lot sny more of these?" Dobbins bad. He pro duced them. "Of course." he explnlned, "these are not finished pictures like lhat moonlight scene. They're just little things I have dashed off li-.lcly. M hand is kind of out yon an." "Helio," exclaimed the visitor finally, .vhr.t the devil'n this?" Dobbins blushed. "That" ho returned, "Is iho portrait of a a girl." "Pretty fair," returned the visitor, "what will you take for It?" Dobbins hook his bend. "It's my sla ter." ho answered, lying wl'.hout the slight est compunction, "and I can't very well art with I! sort of a family pride, you sec." The visitor rummaged around for awhile and then said be must go. but that he would come again and decide upon something. Ho camp onco or twice more. Ho came Gradually to understand that everything In ilia place was at his service at hid own price excrptirft. of course, the pleluro of Iho girl. Finally his choice nar rowed down to tho "Sti;e ia Moonlight" nnd to four of tho pictures of subway men. "I'll pay you linen hundred for the lot," te aald. "Three hundred," Dobblua gasped; but lie held his own. "Not a cent less than five hundred," he answered. "Give roe five hundred and they're yours." "Throw the girl In." said the man, "and I'll give you five hundred." But Dobbins wouldn't. So they haggled about It. Fi nally they compromised upon four hun dred dollars. Dobbins laughed out loud aa he thought of it of having four hundred dollars in his clothes, and of having good clothes to put them In. , "I'll come around tomorrow with a fellow and take 'em away," said the man. "Shall I bring you a check?" Dobbins coughed. "The tho bills would do Just as well," ho returned somewhat suspiciously. "All right," exclaimed tha other, "I'll see you tomorrow." But he didn't see him on the morrow. For when Dobbins reached his room on tha following day he found that his room had been entered. As it afterward transpired, the Janitor, awed by the prosperous ap pearance of the visitor, had opened the door for him. And tho visitor had carted oft, rot only the picturea in question, but also worso luck tho portrait of the girl. "The confounded rascal!" exclaimed Dob bins in a rage, "to take that girl's head. And and," he added, as an Idea occurred to him, "tho thief never paid for any of them, cither." But he had, for thero was a sealed blue envelope resting under Dobbins' pillow, and within wore three criip J500 bills. Dobbins waltzed himself around the room. He s.uig aloud in his delight. Then a sud den thought striking him, ho grasped the bills and rushed out to sec if they were good. They were. Then he came back with many good things to eat nnd drink and feasted like a prince. Suddenly he thought of the irl'a head. "Confound the fellow!" he exclaimed, "I'll get after him. I'd rather have that head than all these bllU." But this may have been mere airy persiflage upon the part ot Dobbins. Time went on. Dobbins gave up his sub vray Job and moved into a better room. 11 painted more Jimmy Murphys and Abramo vltches and Valentis and other character istic subway sketches. One day he started on a tour through Staten Island he was looking for the house of the man who had robed him of the huud of the girl. But ho never found It. He kept watching for the girl upon the cars. But be never found her. One day he glanced down the art column In a daily paper and this strange paragraph met his eye: "Lonn Kxhlbllion on West Side. Henry P. Watte and other well known patrons of the arts residing on the Drive have organlxed a private loan art exhibition upon the ground floor of the new Lyceum building. Among the contributions are and a few very clever things by F. V. Dabbina. a new man. whose s'.ar. frorn the admiration provoked by his subway pic tures, seems to be In the ascendant. One of the contributors seems to have a corner in this new artist's work, etc." The following week. F. Vreeland Dobbins, having provided himself with a very elegant frock coat ar.d all tho accessories, hastened up to the Lyceum. A few stylish equipages wore scattered around the street, as Dob bins ran lightly up the steps. The major domo at the door stopped him. "I'm a member of the pres.." whinnered Dobbins to him, with unblushing effrontery.