The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-11-22

eCt.Cnt, had arranged matters NO thRt
hose who went aftsr their letters and pa
ers could as the same time geh their gro
nv supplies.
Over against this wall On one side wasa
lded green sofa. It was not an inviting
eat, for In some places the springs peeped
trough, and ons Of its legs wns broken,
living ii a suspicious tilt against the wall.
kus q csrtnin little boy found one corner "a
he rickety old sofa d very comfortable
lace. and he used to cnrl mp there nearly
very day, reading such stray newspapers
] he conld3lay hands on, and Watching the
eople come and 4 {. S334
To the little boy, the stock OF Roods dis
layed for sale was as curious in its variety
/ the people WAC called day after day for
he letters that came orthat failed to come.
D some dainty persons, the mingled odor
cheese camphene and macksrei would
ave been disagrseable, but Joe Maxwell
hat VA the name Of the little boy
ad d healthy disposition and a strong
tomach, and be thought the queer little
ostonice was one Or the pleaBantest places
d the world. s535#
AZ partition Of woodwork and wire-net-
tnR cut of the postonaoe and the little stock
{ groceries from the public at large, but
outside OF that Was an area where a'good
many people could stand and wait for their
ettsrs. In one corner of this area was the
ickety green sofa, and round about were
hairs and boxes and barrels on which tired
|eople could rest themselves.
The Millidosville papers had 4 large cir
~ulation in the county. They were printed
! the capital of the state, and wers thought
D be very Important on that account
hey had 30 many readers in the neighbor-
God thAt the postmaster, in order to save
ime and trouble, used to pile them up on .
Dng shelf outside the wooden partition,
there each subscriber could help himself.
oe Maxwell took advantage Of this method
and on Tuesdays when the MillidReyille
papers arrived, he could always be found
urled up in the corner of the old green
ofa reading The Recorder and The Fede-
al Union. What hs found in those papers
. interest him would be hard to say. They
we're full of political essays that were popu-
ar in those days. and they had long reports
II parts Of the state. They were papers for
brown people and joe Maxwell was only 12
ears old and small for his age. .
There was another place that Joe found
b pleasant to visit, and That Was a law
ker's Office in one, of the rooms of the old
avern that looked ont on the pillnred YER
nda. 5Itgwas a4pleasant place to him, not
because it was q law office but because il
vas tho office of a gentleman who was
Fery friendly to the ~youngster. The gen-
tenants name was Mr.. Deometari and Joo
balled him Mr.. Deo, a. did the other peo-
de OF Marlborough. He was fat and
hort ana wore whiskers, which gave him
peculiar appearance at that time. All
he rest of tho men that doe knew wore
bither q full beard OF a mustache md 4 n
imperial. For that reason Mr. Deometari's
whiskers were very queer looking. He was
Greek and there was a rumor among
he people about town that hs had been
compelled to leave his country on account
BIZ his politics. Joe never knew until long
tfterward that politics could be q crime.
He thought that politics consisted partly
d newspaper articles signed "Old Sub
- criber'' and "Many Citizens'' and s"Vox
Populi' and "Scrutator,,' and partly in ar
Euments between the men who sat in tine
Weather on the dry good boxes under the
China trees. But there was a mystery
tbout Mr.. Deometari, and it pleased the
nd to imagine all sorts of romantic stories
hbout tho fat lawyer. Although Mr.. Deo-
metari was a Greek, there was NO foreign
wang to his tongue. Only az close an OBJ
server as the boy could have told from his
Ealka that he was q foreigner. He was a
good lawyer and a good speaker, and all the
Dther lawyers seemed to like him. They on