The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-10
ZOZO.


towns "a hamlet of some 100000 popula-
tion), walked man who had but one de-
sire in the world unqualified. His name
was Richard Brant, and he was large,
deep chested, handsome mana mans
man; hardly a woman's man at all; and
yet the sort of man that is likely to make
pretty serious matter of it if he loves a
woman, or if a woman loves him.
Mr. Richard Brant came from the west,
the western born child of eastern born par
ents. He made his fortune before he was
thirty-five, and for five years he had been
trying to find out what he wanted to do
with that fortune. He was a man of few
tastes, of no vices and of a Straightforward,
go-ahead spirit that set him apart from
the people who make affectation the spice
of life. He wanted only one thing in the
world, and that one thing money would
not buy for him. So he was often puzzled
as to how he might best spend his money;
and he often spent it foolishly. AS he walk
ed through the suburban streets Of the SUI
burban city this sharp winters night he
was rejecting On the folly Of spending
money on a fur coat. He was wearing the
coat-a magnificent affair of bear skin and
sable.
South of Canada" he said to himself,
s'this sort of thing is vulgar and unneces-
sary. | don't need it any more than COW
needs side pocket. It's too beastly hot
for comfort at this moment. I'd carry it
over my arm, only | should feel how alb
surdly heavy it really is"
Then he looked ahead through the thick
snow, and, although he was man, he
started and stepped back like woman
/ who sees a COW.
Great Caesars ghost" said he.
| He was justified in calling thus upon the
most respectable spook of antiquity. The
sight be saw was strange enough in itself
seen in the squalid, commonplace, sub
suburban street, it was bewildering. There,
ahead of him, walked Mephistopheles-
| Mephistopheles dressed in a red flannel
suit, trimmed with yellow, all peaks and
points; and on the head of Mephistopheles
was an old brown Derby hat.
| Brant caught Mephisto by the shoulder
/ and turned him around He was a slight
understood man of fifty, whose mustache
and goatee, dyed an impossible black, served
! only to accentuate the meager commences
| of his small features.
"Who are you?" demanded Brant.
"Sh-h-hr' said the shivering figure
"lemme go! I'm Zozow
Brant stared at him in amazement
What was it? A walking advertisement
for an automatic toy or new tooth pow
der?
"It's all right" said the slim man, his
teeth chattering, "lemme get along. I'm
most freezing. I'm Zozo, the astrologist
/
| street,"
! Brant dimly remembered that there wa;
Rapelyea street, through which he some
times passed on his way to the station, and
| he had some faint memory of a guadlly
painted shanty decked out with the sign:
of the zodiac in gilt papier-mache.
MY orfice got afire this morning" ex
planned Zozo, from the bakery next door
| And had to light out over the back fence
Them people in the neighb orhood is kinder
superstitious. They amt no idea OF astrol
ogy. They don't know it's a science. They
think it's some kind of magic. And j
they's to see me drove out by a common
ordinary fire they'd think l was no sort o.
an astrologer So lit out quiet"
His teeth chartered so that he made ter
sylIables out of quiet"
it." he continued, land the fire got at my
street clo'e before l knew 1t, and so hac
to light out mighty quick. Now, jes' lem
me get home, will you? This here flame
amt no fur coat"
Brant's coat came off his shoulders in al
| instant.
put this ON he said 'Confound you"
as the man resisted, put it on"
The astrologer slipped into the coat Will
gasp Of relief
"Crackyl'' he cried, "but was freezin'g
do you live far from here?" Brant IN
CURED
Just bit up the road Pm most hom
now" replied Zozo, still chattering as t.
| his teeth.
As they walked along the half bull
street Zozo told his tale. He had been II
the astrology business for thirty years, ant
it barely yielded him living. let he ha'
been able by rigorous economy TO save u
enough money to build himself house
Elegant house. SIR" he said; tain
what You may call large, but its an ele
CANT house. l got the design out of bool
that cost a dollar, sir, q dollar. Their
amt no use in trying to do things chea,
when you're going TO build house"
But his joy in his house was counter
balanced by his grief for the loss of hi
"orfice" He had taken the ground rem
of the city lot, and had erected the "orfice'
at his own cost Three hundred and TWEEN
ty-seven dollars he had spent on that mod
est structure. No, he had not insured it
And now the bakery had caught fire, ant
his "orfice" was burned TO the ground
and his best suit of street clothes with it
his only suit, as he owned after a second
hesitation.