The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-11-28
AN UNFINISHED ROMANCE
Involving the Question OF what
Became Of Boo Cobb 2"
His Love Letters, Pictures, Valise
and Pantaloons In the Hands
of Vandals.

There was big crowd yesterday in the
auction house on Fifth street, near the
Mercantile Library, engaged in bidding
S'sight unseen" for the different articles
composing the immense pile Of old junk
which was being sold according TO law by
the Adams and Southern Express compan-
les as unclaimed packages. AS a reporter
entered q rusty, old leather vaIise was just
being knocked down for q dollar The
purchaser was an itinerant peanut pedaler,
and he took his prize out to the curb to
open ii. The reporter went with him.
First was fished out pair of pantaloOns
which had seen much service; then sever
al other articles of male apparel, all well
worn, until in the bottom was shown a
little pile of papers, and two memoir
andum- BOOKS. As the peanut man. who
was an Italian, could not read, the docu-
ments were turned over TO the reporter to
be deciphered. One book contained tables
showing the time worked by different
hands at the st. Joe lead mines. The 9th.
er was somewhat of a surprise, for when il
was opened it was found filled with
sketches, the work Of an untaught hand,
evidently, out some of tn M really mer-
itorious, depicting landscape scenes SEEM
inely sketched from nature In the neigh
borhood of the mines, and pencil draw
ing of young girl who, though not a
rival Of Langtry's, was by
NO MEANS UNCoMELY
Everything in the satchel showed that
its former owner had been a young man
and day laborer The pile of letters Vas
taken mp, and they showed that, day la
borer though he was, ne had his little TO
nance, which the tender mercies of the
auction sale had laid bare to the eyes of
the scof6ng peanut man, the reporter and
the man who drives bonbon wagon around
the street, this last named gentleman hav-
ing come up and stopped to see what was
going on. The young artist and lead
miner had girl, whom he had left behind
him at town called Kirwin, no state
given. She was fond of him. too, and
somewhat Jealous, as she showed i'm letters,
which could not have been more loving,
though they might <have been much better
spelled. Simple 1--we letters they were,
and it seemed shameful they should meet
such fate. The peanut man had not
even romance enough In his composition
to wonder what had become of the miner
artist whether he had stepped in front of
the engine and been killed just as he was
on his way to JOIN the girl, who signed
herself, "Your Own Katie" whether or
not he had basely left her for some other
fair one, or whether or not she had solaced
herself with some other lover. AboDl none
of these things did the peanut man care,
being too d eply Disguised al finding moth
ing in the valise except an old pair of
pantalOuus, worn out undershirt and
some soi!ea hose with no heels In them, To
inquire whether it vas an idyl or tragedy.
Some more letters were opened. Instead
of being addressed to "my own darling"
they commenced "dear brother Bob, and
were signed MARY Cobb" So his name
must have been Bob Cobb. The bon-bon
man was disenchanted when this discovery
was made, and, giving his horse a cut, he
drove of down the street. But the report
er continued % look at the letters while
the peanut man looked at
THE HOLE IN Mr.. COBB's SOCK
with an eye to possible or impossible re-
pairs. AS he read Mr.. Cobb ceased to be
only a vague idea and became an entity.
They were all we'll when hi sister Mary,
who seemed to he loving sister, wrote un-
der date of August 8, 1881; they were
having plenty OF hot weather and the
crops were dried up SO that you could burn
them by striking a match to one end of the
corn field; people were leaving, some 60
ing east and some west, but the only thing
left for their family to do was to stay "and
take what is left of a bad thing" 81 am
glad, dear Bob, that you are doing some
good," only she spelled Il ham glad" An
other discovery, they were English immi-
grants Crops might be good next year,
she said, hopefully, but then overcome
with the thought OF the present she added,
despairingly, people can't live on faith"
Father was just making bare living; he
was getting old AMI the doctors said had
heart disease; what would they do when
when be was gone! Poor father! Allie
said he wouldn't be a. lie to work much
longer. "Oh, Bob. with small b. if only
/ cosld see you could tell you lots more
than / can write. l have been washing
to day and am awful tired ('aughfuP she
spelled it, SO | must stop and get supper"
Just about the same time the peanut
man concluded that he would have to
move on to make back the dollar he had
invested in Mr.. Cobb's old clothes, and SO
placing the valise In his hand-cart he
wheeled it away with the unfinished Cobb
romence and the heelless hose shut up In
it.
"What became of Cobb? Why didn't
he claim his valise and pay the charges on
it?"
Does anybody care besides Cobb's sister,
Mary. or his Gown Kate :" Not the pea |
nut man, certainly.
Figures Do Lie.
Sunday morning. the papers of this and
other cities contained press dispatch to |
the effect that a fine French stallion had |
just arrived in this country, for which the
--fH l.. l. l. Il