Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-05-16, Page 10Page 10—Luci7now Sentinel, Wednesday, May 16, 1979 On thewal l . of the beverage room in the Redtrees Hotel was an old clock, which had been bought tor a song by Shylock Shaeffer, the landlord. Always out to make a fast buck, (often by questiJnable means), the hotel owner had visions of reselling the timpiece at a handsome profit - 20 or more bucks anyhow. It was on display for resale purposes rather than to informthe patrons of the time of day. The regular alcoholic brethren had lost their interest in time long ago! When Shylock first acquired the clock, it was minus a pendulum, so he substituted a pill bottle containing just the right weight of water. From a mechanical standpoint, this was probably his only flash of genius. His other efforts to improve the clock's. appearance were less than spectacular. Attempts to clean the face had blurred the roman numerals and an application of cheap -paint had given. the clock a shiny but sickly brown appearance. Nevertheless, it served its purpose, and wheezed and clanged away the time until the arrival of a serious purchaser. Shylock was not Shaeffer's real christian name. Of German origin, he had been christened Adolf, and since this story took place only a few years after the • second world war, he preferred to. keep his original handle .a secret. The local boozers soon found a name in keeping with his character. Shylock was hardly the name he would have chosen for himself but anything was better than Adolf! The only thing which really interested Shylock was the dollar you might say that he was born about 20 opportunity he had waited for. "I've got the change," he said quickly. "For a hundred dollars?" "Yep, I cars change a hundred dollar bill", Shylock told the man. "O.K. then", the stranger said. "Gimme 80 bucks. I'll pick that clock up tomorrow. My car's full of gear right now." When the stranger left; Angus moved his chair closer to mine and whispered in my ear. "Did yer ever hear tell of a guy goin' to a cattle sale in a pin striped' suit an' patent.leather shoes?" "I shook my head, "That there guy is as phoney as a three dollar bill," Angus said. Where the stranger had been sitting, was a scraP of paper on the floor. Being of an inquisitive nature, arhbled casually over to the spot and pickld up the paper. "What is it?" Angus asked me, "Oh, nothing really," I said. "Only a dry cleaning ticket." "Let me have it," Angus said excitedly, almost snatching it from my hand. I forgot all about the incident and Angus didn't mention it either, at least, not until the next time we patronized the Redtrees Hotel. That was the following week when we went to town to try to squeeze a little operating money out of the bank manager. We were unsuccessful. The man behind thel desk refused to believe that Angus and I were about to make our years before his time. 'He was known to make cash, fortune on the Hungry Hundred! advances for a few days to those strapped for booze Our visions of hioh finance being thwarted, we money. His interest was one per cent: per day - went to wet our sorrows in the Redtrees Hotel reasonable enough unless you calculate it on a yearly neither of us had enough money to drown them! basis. Shylock carried out other business transactions Whilst we were exchanging comments+ about the too numerousto.detail,.but they all involved. hard cash bank manager, (none of them very complimentary), and were' guaranteed to completely baffle the Department of Revenue! the subject of our conversation burst through the. Any `accumulations of money in.the cash register. door. He looked even more disgusted than earlier,' were quickly transferred to an ancient safe.- a large 'when we had tried to tap him for a couple of hundred steel structure ,strong enough- to protect the crown x„rio buy some weavers. He stormed up to the bar and placed abill on the cloth -smeared surface. jewels - Redtrees was not big enough to have a {e , "e 'ain't gonna buy a'drink, that's fer sure,' Angus whispered. The bar suddenly became silent - even Windy Perkins. stopped talking. "What do you tali that Mister -Shaeffer?" the bank manager said angrily. - "Looks to like a hundred dollar bill," Shylock said sarcastically. . ''What it looks like, and what it really is, aretwo different things. It's counterfeit," the bank manager yelled. "And you tried to passit off in MY bank.", Shylock's face. turned into a beetroot: perms ent bank. A small branch office was opened once a week for businessmen to make deposits. It was here that Shylock placed the m ney from, legitimate business. His 'under the cojnter" profits were stashed somewhere. gut of town! -Needless to say, Shylock was about as popular as a pork chop in a synagogue and Angus detested the man. In fact, Angus's interest in the Redtrees Hotel was confined to the beer and the old -clock!. One day he renewed his .efforts to otain the timepiece, ' "I didn't know it was phoney - 'ere give,11 back and `I ll,give yer 10 bucks fer that there clock", he, 1'11 let you 'ave five 20's for it." .chided Shylock. "Gimme. 20 dollars and it's, yours'', the landlord TI-te.bank manager shook his head and banged his. fist on the bar. quipped.• "No way - dont involve me in your thieving plots There was a stranger sitting alone at a table and he I'm going to hand this over to the Provincial Police pulled out a well -stuffed wallet and flippedvhis thumb You .can give all your excuses to the.ml'' through the notes. Angus set his' beer bottle down on the table with a I'll give you $20 for that clock tomorrow,'.' the crasnand almost screamed with laughter. stranger shouted. "All..I got today is big bills. I'm By the jeeze,'` he said. ``I sure as 'ell made a goin' to a cattle sale.." . mistake when I said that,stranger were as phoney as a Shylock's eyes became a cash register. This was the .three dollar bill 'e were as phoney as a 'undred dollar bill, so 'e were,!" Spews about HonieHelp at WI meeting Linda Young, Home' Help Project Manager for Huron County, was guest speaker at, the Lucknow Women's Insti- tute meeting held on Tues- day, May 8th. She was introduced by Mrs. George Whitby., Linda spoke and showed slides illustrating the work carried on by the various Home Help Services. This worthwhile service is grow- ing rapidly from 40 workers rir 1978 to 100 workers in I It is ,a non-,rofit .or pnization whose aim is to k' aintain a person in.. their own liame. She was thanked and presented with a gift by Mrs. W. F. MacDonald. ° Mrs. George Kennedy was. convener of the ' program, which opened with a poem saluting all Mothers. The' motto, "The Women's Insti- tute is like a hank, put nothing in, you gi t nothing out", was well prepared by Mrs. W. F. MacDonald and read by . Mrs. George Whit- by. 11 A solo by Mrs. Harvey Webster who supplied her own accompanyment was enjoyed. .Mrs. Armstrong Wilson favoured with a Mother's Day reading de- picting a Mother's love for her family. Tilly, also con- ducted an interesting quiz' on the handbook with Mrs. Bert Gammie -'winning the prize. " Mrs. Raymond Leddy gave an excellent report on the Officers' Conference which she attended: President, Mrs. Mary MacGillivray, conducted the • business meeting. The roll call, "A .place I have visited" was answered by 24 mem- bers and 2 visitors. Delegat- es to the District Annual to be held in Kincardine are Mrs. Mary MacGillivray, Mrs. Armstrong Wilson, Mrs. Bert Gammie and Mrs. Omar Brooks. It was decided to work on the quilt for Participation Lodge. A com- mittee of Mrs. Wilson, Kennedy and MacGillivray were appointed to arrange an Institute trip in June. Mrs. Alex MacNay reported on the Bruclea Haven Tea. It was decided to donate a Plaque and trophy to the most -improved girl and boy in Grade 8 attending Lucknow Central School at the end of each current year. The group enjlpyed a dis- play of Needlepoint, the work of Mrs. Jack Collinson and Mrs. Jas. McNaughton. Sus- an composed a humorous poem for the occasion. mg means milligram 1 \1 y = . 3. C & B Builders CUSTOM HOMES COTTAGES. ADDITIONS RENOVATIONS REC ROOMS CEMENT WORK WALLS SIDEWALKS PIG BARNS Call Alex Call Doug 529-7714 524.8147 Phone after 6 p.m. 11 IR Id,liliuluJf11111j1In 11,uli111111 0l . ,3 Earn as high as 10 3/8% 5 Year Annual Interest Guaranteed Investment Certificates - Top Interest Rates Through Such ' trust Co. as Victoria & Grey - -City Savings Standard District - Greymac Municipal - Continental - Premier Trust Invest Through Rod McDonagh; Box 250, Lucknow, 528-3423 All companies members of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Rates quoted as orMay 1979 Here are FWE good to consider a building from Advanced Farming Systems 1 PLANNING • 24 years experience means you get a building that works the way a good farm building. should 2 MATERIALS 6 CONSTRUCTION • We • constantly up -grade our materials and methods while searching for economies that meari better value for your dollar 3 PRE-ENGINEERED I PRECUT BUILDINGS • No short-cuts ,at your. expense 4 SELECTION - Size, shape, purpose, materials and colour of your choice 5 A LOCAL DEALER - Representing Advanced Farming Systems in your area year after year ,is: Russell Yeoman: 395-56 5.