Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1895-05-02

than brains, whose name I do not mea-
ton.
yours, ETC., friend of the family,
TX. Y. T."
"Hey, what do you think of itY' ex.
claimed Uncle Joe, through his set teeth.
"Hey, young man, what do you think Of
it, say2"
''Well, Uncle" l stammered, "for
heavens sake, whom do you suspect?'
"Who I suspect" he repeated, who
suspect. Why, man alive. who else could
It be but that oily-locked, shallow-pated.
dreamy-eyed, turndown-collar languid,
lady-killer. vanlier Wright
As VIII Harvey ended this sonorous
sentence, which he gave with good effect,
swapping on each word after the manner
OF his old uncle, Halford Dunn threw
himself back in his chair and broke out
into a succession of outlaws, ending in
fit of choking so serious that Harvey
sprang up and handed him q glass of
water.
Van Wright never drew q muscle. He
was smoking cigarette, and just a tingc
of color came into his pale cheeks as he
continued to blow the smoke up into the
air in lazy, fantastic curls.
"Oh, pshaw, Uncle" said 1, "Bess
doesn't care anything for Van Wright any
more than she does for the other male
butterflies who used to futter about her
before her marriage"
"Hey?" drawled the old gentleman, as If
pulling the word out through his closed
teeth.
"This note, Uncle" l continued, lis
simply the work of Some meddlesomc
Matte, who is jealous of Bess--..'
"And her y-five-dollar-a-week hus-
band" interrupted Uncle Joe.
"Ha, hal! laughed Van Wright, Ian
guidly, that's good, pom my soulr'
Harvey pretended not to hear the inter-
| ruption.
sole heir to the brush-making business
of Joseph Belts, oldest brush maker in the
State" added quietly.
Take care, young man, take care; that
depends" roared Uncle Joe. IF you have
made an unfortunate marriage and will
not give the girl up, you shall not have
one bristle of my business, do you hear,
| sir?"
Il do, uncle" replied calmly, "but
when it comes to the question of giving
Bess up, I'll say this: Give me dollar for
every bristle which the house Of Joseph
Belts ever set into brush and wouldn't
sell you one of her smiles, if I knew it
was to be the last one"
That's it," growled Uncle Joe, "rave
away. Cry down trade. SANDER my
brushes. Why, pretty soon you'll be
claiming that I don't make as good q
brush az the firm of Stubs & Gloo. Nice
pass things have come to. I must say"
and Uncle Joe slapped on his hat with
vicious thump on the crown and trudged
out of the Office.
A couple of days after this occurrence
was again sent for to present myself
in the private Office. Uncle Joe was in the
rosiest of humors. He began by slapping
me on the back and telling me that l re-
minded him of an old acquaintance of his
now dead and gone, who owned a saw
mill up the country. For years experts
had warned him that his dam and sluice
gate were defective and some spring fresh
| ct would sweep the whole thing down the
valley.
"Sure enough" laughed Uncle Joe. sit
turned out just as every one had prophe-
sled. Extra heavy rains swelled the
| streams, picked up his saw mill and car
ried it half a mile farther down the val
ley"
swell, what do you say now! l cried
out, when l found him sitting on the
| ruins.
Say" he repeated, why, it's just ex-
actly what wanted, joe I've been in
tendin' to move down stream for more'n
| year, and now it hain't cost me burned
cent?"
"And I am like that old friend of yours,
am l, Uncle?" l inquired, returning the
old gentleman's pleasant smile with in.
| terest.
Precisely like him." CALCULATED Uncle
Joe, rubbing his hands and chucklng over
the resemblance with cracking sort of
sound peculiar to him when in rosy hu-
| NOR. And now, my friend of the saw
mill, here's news of another freshet," he
added, handing me a note in the same
handwriting as the first. Il read in these
words:
Dear Sir-Even at risk of appearing
to NEEDLE with things only remotely of
interest to me, permit friend of the
| family to draw your attention to the fact
| that whenever your nephew absents him
self from home in the evening q certain
| young gentleman is pretty sure to call.
Possibly, sir, you may see nothing wrong
in this, and you would be quite right, pro-
vided it was only coincidence: but
thing ceases to be coincidence when il
has occurred half dozen times.
"Very respectfully yours,
"A Friend of the Family, x. T."
(To be continued.)