Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-09-28
THE AUDITORS WIFE.

fOAAO SO~~
was sin the hands of his friends" for
the fourth time, after the ancient and
honorable custom of candidates for po-
itical 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 irnpolitic
things, thereby making himself rec
ord, but making it uncomfortable for
'sthe boys" who tremble all the time
for fear he will succeed by the help Of
the only too willing opposition in doing
some suprelnely idiotic thing that will
cost the party a lot of votes at the next
election. So his first term is generally
his last, and "the boys" gently, but
firmly, consign him to tho oblivion of
his own private affairs and 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 a very sick man. 1t was his
own fault; that is, he had no business to
20, as he did, with Sheriff Tom Owens
to suppress that riot over in the Bloomer
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 # 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 IL club or something, but received a
"A bullet in his interior department,
while Tom and the rest of the posse es-
capped without scratch. Sile was bet
ter 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 a "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 wis '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 a ''good
fellow" he had made some unfortunate
investments lately, and now, to COM
plete his misery and overflow the cup,
DOubM Gil, VI NIlOl iOS ulSbl lCt, udu
come out, in his sneaking but effective
way, for Jere Hobart for county auditor,
and was working night and day for his
man, who had been Sile's strongest op-
ponent in the last convention. Oh, it
was tough, and here was Siie, 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 hovered over him attending to his
many wants in the way that nobody but
a woman, and womanly woman, evel
will learn. She did not say so, but sh'
had had talk with Tom Owens tha
day, and he had agreed with her thai,
the outlook was pretty blue; for Brad
Boutwell,, boss of the Mountain Girl and
two lesser mines, employer of 800 men
and an entirely unscrupulous politician.
was about the worst man in the county
to have on the other side, and he had
assured Owens that he certainly intend
ed to defeat Burton's denomination, and
''that's all there is to it. 1t goes, too,
what Brad Boutwell, says, and you know
it, Tom Owens"
Yes, Tom did know it, and he know
that without Boutwell, his own name
Mas Dennis" for he had not the
strength in the precincts near town that
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 ldg surgeons bills and con-
venr1ons had never part In heF life.
And all this time she kept up ''blame
sight o, ,thinkin," as Tom Owens used to
say to his wife, who was also an ardent
admirer Of the little ''tenderfoot" bride
Sile Burton had brought from the States
few months before.
Sile Burton was sleeping soundly next
morning when his wife, the usual smile
zone from her face, stole up to his bed
tide, kissed him softly two OF three
times and ran over to the Owens. It
was not until 10 o'clock that he awoke
and noticed that the woman by the win
low was not Mary, but Mrs. Owens.
And he did not know that this kindly,
big hearted woman lied when she told
him that Mary had "just gone down to
the Springs to get prescription filled
that they couldn't put up here, and
would be back on the s:30 train
Tom Owens, with the blackboard and
fdgeting Bay Nell. was waiting. lust