The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-01
THE AUDITORS WIFE.

1t was September, and Sile Burton
was ''in the hands of his friends" for
the fourth time, after the ancient and
honorable custom of candidates for po-
htical preferment. Odd, is it not, that
men who are otherwise very bright will
delude themselves with the idea that
they are deluding other people with
that venerable lie? I never knew man
to rise to any remarkable altitude in the
world political who left his candidacy
to ''his friends" Once in awhile a
man of that sort comes to the surface
and is pushed into the city council, or on
to the board of education, by friends"
who are too lazy to want those thanks
less, bootless jobs themselves,
This trustful 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 a rec
ord, but making it uncomfortable for
''the boys" who tremble 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. So his first term is generally
bis last, and ''the boys gently, but
firmly, consign him to the oblivion of
his own private affairs and a clear con-
science, which latter is considered by
most people to 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 his
own fault; that is, he had no business to
70, as he did, with Sheriff Tom Owens
to suppress that riot over in the Boomer
district last month. 1t was not in the
line of his duties. But then the call had
been 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 enjoyed little row as well as the
sheriff himself did, and besides he was
one Of the most obliging men in the
world. So he went, and not only got hit
with club or something, but received a
"A bullet in his interior department,
while Tom and the rest of the posse es-
caped without scratch. Sile was bet
her now and 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 great worker. His
friends, too, unfortunately were kept
pretty busy looking out for their own
scalps, and could not give his affairs the
attention they needed.
There was the last payment still due
On the house; there was "paper" in the
bank to be taken up; Sile Burton was
in bad financial way, because, in addi-
tion 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 but effective
way, for Jere Hobart for county auditor,
ind was working night and day for his
man, who had been Sile's 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
lad had a talk with Tom Owens that
lay, and he had agreed with her that
the outlook was pretty blue; for Brad
Boutwell,, boss of the Mountain Girl and
Two lesser mines, employer of 300 men
Ind an entirely INSCRIPTIONS politician,
was about the worst man in the county
10 have on the other side, and he had
assured Owens that he certainly intend
ID to defeat Burton's denomination, and
"thats all there is to it. It 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
,trength in the precincts near town that
Burton had. So his hands were tied,
Ind 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
aow and then and chirped away as cheer
July as though mortgages and unpaid
lotes snd big surgeons bills and con-.