Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-01-27
KINGSBORO'S PUZZLE.
A Very Satisfactory and Roman
tic Solution.

lnh2bltant, said that during his earth
ly pilgrimage he had soiourned at
numerous towns, but in no one of
them had any young man who dressed
nicely and did no work turned out
we'll Capt. Brown, who worked hard
but managed so badly that he was
never out of debt, glared savage]y
whenever he saw handsome Joe Malli-
SON with his hands in the pockets of
his neatly fitting coat, and took &C
casion to remark to the first person he
met that he wished the old DAYS in
which people who had no visible
means OF support were prosecuted
would return again.
Squire Ripson, who kept the post
Office, admitted to certain astute ques-
TONERS that 10 Madison never received
letters, SO it was impossible that any
one was sending him money with
which to support himself in idleness.
Suspicion even ran so high that Bill
Bridger, who was the only apothecary
and candy seller at Kingsboro, and
who had 10 Madison for quite a steady
customer, made it rule to examine
very carefully every banknote that 10
offered in payment, lest haply the
handsome do-nothing might be cirou-
lating counterfeits. The married wom-
en- at Kingsboro, who had to work as
hard as women almost always do in
new towns in young states, carefully
pointed out j o to their sons as an ex-
ample to be stunned, except so far as
personal neatnesS was concerned.
But the Kingsboro girls differed from
the rest OF the community in their es-
timation of 10. He might be INDECENT
in fact, they knew he was, for he
might almost always be seen on the
main street of the village, sauntering
along, while other men were at work
but he was handsome and he dressed
with real taste, and his breath never
smelled of liquor or tobacco, and he
was always polite, and ne never was
awkward or ill at ease or presuming
when in the society of ladies. and he
seemed to understand all his fair COM
panions so we'll In all these respects
he was quite different from most of the
Kingsboro boys, SO that when good
mothers warned their daughters
against young men who could only give
fine words in proof of affection the
damsels experienced strong misgivings
as to what they would say if 10 Malli-
son were to propose
But 10 saved them the necessity of
deciding any such question. He pro-
posed to nobody; he made love to no
body; he seemed to have no special
favorites among the girls of Kingsboro
He never even hirted. He seemed to
heartily enjoy himself when with la
nd 70 IL
deity as to leave no one a word upon
which to base a suspicion of any
stronger sentiments. And he did not
stop with conquering the hearts of all
the Kingsboro girls. Without any
seeming intention to do so, he won the
hearts of a few of the elderly women
in the town. They did not mean to
give countenance to a snowy idler, but
somehow, when 10 would coax some
bad or fretful child to take walk
with him and then send the child home
with head full of Bible stories and
mouthful of pretty songs, the mother
of the child would reluctantly admit
that the handsome young do-nothing
did have real good heart.
There was not at Kingsboro any
club, that Institution so, industriously
hated by all good women, but there
was gathering place which fulfilled
all the requirements of a club, and that
was the post Office. The mail stage
was nominally due at seven in the ev-
ening, so that half the male inhabitants
congregated in Bill Burth's saddle
shop, which formed the ante-room of
the post office, Immediately after sup
per, and they usually enjoyed a two
hour season of conversation before the
arrival and distribution of the mail
gave them hint to go home.
Subjects for conversation were not
very numerous at Kingsboro, and as
the few native characters with any
salient points had been thoroughly dis
cussed during the many essions of the
men who waited for the mail, the ar
rival of 10 Madison was perfect god
send. 1t is hardly necessary to say
that 10 found but few companions
among the Kings boro men. The young
men hated him for estranging their
sweethearts, and each of the older men
was afraid that 10 might marry his
daughter and come under the paternal
roof for support.
One cool night, several weeks after
JOS appearance at Kingsboro. the
opposing theorists as to JOS character
;ndulged in many-cornered and very
lively duel. 1t was during a season
when sudden atmospheric changes
made most of the klngsboro people
bilious; otherw Use the bitterness with
which the conversation finally came to
be characterize would have been in
applicable. Squire Ripson so forgot his
years and dignity of character as to
call Bill Burth, his temporary host, a
fool for holding that 10 could be moth
ing worse than well-to-do young man
enjoying himself, while Bill, notwith-
standing the kindliness of spirit which
was proper to man who was Metbo-
dist class leader, called the squire
liar. Both men were on their feet, in
clining slightly forward toward each
other and looking words which should
never be spoken, when suddenly the
mail stage drew up with q crash at the
door.
The postmaster threw last parting
glare at the squire, and carried out the
mail bags, while the whole party fol-
lowed to see who might be in the
stage. The light streamed through
the open door into the stage, and the
villagers saw inside single passenger
whom they recognized as Cincinnati
salesman through whom some of the
Kingsboro merchants occasionally pur-
chased goods They were about to
turn away In mingled disappointment
and resignation when suddenly 10
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