Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-10-07
THE AUDITORS WIFE.

IL was September, and Sils bnrtoo
wa I'm the harfis Of his friends Tor
he fourth tsIae. after the ancient and
honorable custom Of candidates for po-
litical preferment- Odd, is it not, that
men who are otherwise very bright viii
jeluae themselves with the idea thas
they are delnsiing other people with
that venerable lies never knew man
10 rise 10 any remarkable altitude IN the
world political who left his candidacy
70 Ibis friends" Once in awhile q
man Of tina, sort comes TO the surface
sni is pushed into the city council, or on
10 the board Of education, by friends"
who are too lazy to want those thanks
less, b1otless jobs themselves
This trustfui individual always shines
in the position Thus thrust upon him.
Having nothing to fear he inaugurates
reforms. says what his innocent, guile
less mind prompts him to say, and does
divers other impractical and impolitic
things. thereby making himself rec
ord, but making it uncomfortable fog
'.the boys who trembie all the time
for fear he will succeed by the help OF
the only too willing opposition In doing
some supremacy idiotic thing that will
cost the party lot Of votes at the next
election. 50 his first term is generally
his last. and "'the boys gently, but
firmly, consisn him 10 the oblivion Of
his own private affairs and clear con
science. which latter is considered by
most people 10 be a very comfortable
thing to possess.
As | said. however. Sile Burton. audi
tor Of Apache county, was IN the hands
Of his friends That was literally true,
however, on this particular occasion,
for Sile was very sick man. 1t was has
own fault that IL, he had no business to
90, as he did. with Sheriff Tom Owens
10 suppress that riot over in the Bioomer
district last month. 1t was not IN the
line Of his duties. But then the call had
been a hasty and imperative one. and
Tom was short on deputies as well As
being pressed for time, and Sile could
hardly have refused to go even If he had
wanted TO- which he did not.
He enjo,ed little row as well as the
sheriff himself did, and besides he was
one Of til. most obliging men In the
world. so he went, and not only got hit
with club 0r something, but received
"A bullet IN his interior department,
while Tom and the rest OF the posse es-
caped without a scratch. Sile was bet
ter now aud could think with consid-
cradle facility, which was unfortunate
perhaps. because his thoughts Were
mostly Of his expiring term Of Office and
his helpless condition.
1t was pretty tough. everybody agreed
because it was going to be ''close
year, and Sile was a great worker. His
friends, too. unfortunately We're kept
pretty busy looking ont for their own
scalps, aud could not give his affairs the
attention they needed.
There was the last payment still due
on the horse: there was paper III the
bank to be taken up; Sile Burton was
in bad financial way, because, in addi-
ton to being what is known as good
fellow" he had made some unfortunate
investments lately, and now, to COM
plete his misery and overflow the cup,
Brad Boutwell,, of Chloride district. had
come out, in his sneaking bnt effective
way, for Jere Hobart for county auditor,
and was working night and day for his
man, who had been Siles strongest OPP
ponent in the last convention. Oh, it
was tough, and here was Sile, lying help
less, with the nominating convention
only two weeks away.
All this and much more Sile poured
into the ears Of his pretty little wife, as
she lowered over him attending to his
many wants in the way that nobody but
woman, and womanly woman, ever
will learn. She did not say so, but she
had had talk with Tom Owens that
day, and he had agreed with her that
the outlook was pretty blue; for Brad
Boutwell,. loss Of the Mountain Girl and
Two lesser mines, employer of 800 men
and an entirely interruptions politician,
was about she worst man in the county
10 have on the other side. and he had
assured Owens that he certainly intend
ed to defea. Buttons denomination. and
that's all there is to 1t. 1t goes, too,
what Brad Boutwell, says, and you know
it, Tom Owens"
Yes, Tom did know it. and he knew
that without Boutwell, his own name
was Dennis" for he had not the
Burton had So his hands were tied.
and he could do nothing for Sile in the
Chloride district.
Mrs. Burton said nothing to~Sile of
Toms visit TO the boss of Chloride. She
closed his complaining lips with kiss
now and then and chirped away as cheer
fully as though mortgages and unpaid
notes and biz surgeons bills and con
ventions had never q part in her life
And all this time she kept up blame
sight D thinkin," as Tom Owens used tc
say to his wife, who was also an ardent
admirer of the little ''tenderfoot" bride
SHE Burton had brought from the States
few months before.
SHE Burton was sleeping soundly next
morning when his wife, the usual smile
gone from her face, stole up to his bed
side. kissed him softly two or three
times and ran over to the Owens. II
was not until 10 o'clock that he awoke
and noticed that the woman by the win
dow was not Mary. but Mrs. Owens.
And he did not know that this kindly,
big hearted woman he'd when she told
him that Mary had lust gone down to
the Springs to get prescription hlled
that they couldn't put up here. and
would be back on the $50 train"
Tom Owens, with the blackboard and
tidgeting Bay Nell. was waiting, just
off the trail, short distance from
Chloride camp. A pretty little woman,
stared at respectfully by the numerous
men loating about-for women were
scarce in Chloride, especially pretty and
respectable ones-tripped down the
street. trying to look unconscious. and
entered the door of Brad Boutwells of
fee. 1t was the noon hour, and he was
alone engaged in the pleasurable occu-
patton of disposing of an excellent lunch
and bottle of beer. He heard the hesi-
tating step in the outer Office, and
stepped to the door of his sanctum,
where he stood, somewhat taken aback
at the sight of his visitor. 1t was sew
eral seconds after her sweet voice had
asked. is this Mr.. Boutwell, that he
recovered his equanimity and gracefully
acknowledged the fact.
Il am Mrs. Burton-Mrs. Silas Bur-
ton. came to see you-to-to
But here her courage gave out for the
moment, and she did the very best thing
she could have done-just wept few
relieving tears. while the sympathetic
Boutwell,, who had been a bachelor
lever since he could remember as he
himself said, My dear madam-ed" her,