The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-11-28
A Delayed Rejoinder.

roaring Creek, Oklahoma ''Its OF thess
two that 1 have a tail tu tell
/ Old Hank Hunter, in fact, wuz the old
| est man on the front, in sum ways. the
| biggest krank- He wuz the most intensesi
| American that ever. lived. England ur
/ Germany un Spain un Italy wuz awl kins
OF myths tn him. He cudn't believe they
existed, coz ne cudnt believe that emmy
body cud De such a fule az to allow q
king TO rain over him fer a sekond He
| believed that the United States cud lick
every nation on the earth. blind-folded He
believed that Washington wuz the Big
| gest city in the werld, un that every king
| on this yere terrestrial ball ducked his ned
| when the presydert sed scat" He
| wudn't allow no ore to say word agensr
| the presydent. un though the boys differed
| sum in politics, un those on the other side
! sometimes kussed the presydent wh.tel
was not of their side. they never did II
| before Old Hank Hunter. Not becoz thsy
WIZ afrade OF him. becoz ne was very
aged, but becoz they didn't wunt tu hurt
| the poor old fella's feeEn's.
But when electyun time KUN around. Old
Hank wuZ in dredful pickle He wuz
ded sure 10 hear sun1buddy larruping into
the presydeEt un saying he ottent to be
reelected, un 1t axuaIIy made him cry. the
good old soul But moas,ly he wud hide
out until the election wuz over, so that
he cTdn't hear mean things.
1 remember II wuz when Harryson run
the sekond time that Old Hank he'd his
worse trubble. The boys wuz allus a-rip-
pirg into Harryson, not mentioning he wuz
presydent, however, at the time.
One day. however. one Of the boys let
it out by saying that he wud Ike TO be
there the day old Harryson received the
word that the people had shot it 10 him IN
he wuzn't presydent no longer.
Old Hank wuz sitting near un he raized
mis- he'd IN sed:
Not werd agin the presydent. boys"
'I didn't say ennything agin the presy-
dent" snapped cut the first speaker. ~
wUz tewking agin Harryson.
Well, Cleveland wuz elected un the boys
awl jUbilated, un Old Hank overheard 'em
saying that he wud maik the best presy-
dent this kuntry ever had, un he lifted
up his old, r,nkled face un smiled un sed:
That's the way TO talk. Stand by the
presydent, boys-stand by the presydent-
un America
OF korse, it mighta been different, he'd
the old man he'd a vote, but we lived IN
territory un didn't vote fer presydent
Now this kid, Charles Alfred Stanley
wuz the son of an Englishman who he'd
a ranch near there. The kid wuz a sun
ny. kurly-headed little fellow about seven
years old. I doan't know why-probably
becoz one wuz a child in old age, un the
other a child in youth-but the two, old
Hank Hunter un little Charles Alfred
Stanley, bekame fast friends un konstant
companions. They wud wander over the
wide, green prairies together, the boy
chasing away in front, plucking a daisy,
un bringing ii bak fer the old man TO
smell of. Tn they wud sit down on the
bank of a dry creek, under cottonwud,
un the boy wud ask menny foolish ques-
tions un the old man maik foolish answers.
Merny a time Mr. Stanley found them
asleep together, the nttul kurly he'd on the
old thin knee of Hank, dreaming peace
fully together, one as vaguely of a frazzled
past as the other of misty future.
But one day this happuned-un 1 believe
it cawsed Old Hanks death.
The ki6 sed: "Sum day, Mr.. Hunter, I'm
going bak where l wuz born-to old Eng
land"
The old man shook his he'd sadly.
''Didn't yu ever heer of England, Mr..
Hunter, un the Queen?"
Here wuz a young infidel. un Hank lifted
his feeble old he'd un britened under the
effort OF making a convert TO the United
States.
81 doan't want to hurt your feelings"
he sed. But the Queens awl stuff un
nonsense"
But she isn't" sed the kid. "She's the
greatest ruler ever wuZ.
"Whatr' exclaimed Old Hank. Greater
than the presydent"
"Oh, yes; much greater, Mr.. Hunter"
Sonny" sed Old Hank, "Yu liz too brite
a boy tn get started wrong In this wurld.
The Queen is a frawd. Kings Is frawds.
Nothing but presidents IL wurth the fire
to heat the irons to brand 'em. Don't you
know we wuz awl created free un equal.
un there shud be no queens. You're az
good az the Queen: I'm az good az the
Queen. Now say TO your Uncle Hank that
yu doan't like queens any more"
The kid shook his he'd sadly.
"God created us free un equal" sed the
old man in a thin voice.
But He didn't" protested the kid.
"Yes He did," sed Old Hank. "Un wha.
God does. is right"
The 10y wuz studying hard His faith /
In queens was shaken. But he got his
second wind un come bak with this:
''Yu know what bees is, Mr.. Hunter?''
"Of korse / do
"God made 'em. didn't He?"
"Of korse He did,
TN He made a queen bee over 'eui, |
didn't hep
The old man gasped un dropped his he'd. |
He hec never tho't OF that God had put 4
his seal OF approval on queenship there. |
sure enough. What answer cud ne make /
TO the kid? None He wuz undone.
Fer days after that he avoided MS little /
companion. Fer days after that We wu1 4
see him hobbling around on his cane In I
he sunlight, un those who got close I
cud hear him a-saylng over un 4
over agen az his poor old he'd bobbed az
he walked: Bees, Bees, Bees, What cud 4
God a-meant2 Bees, Bees Bees"
1 think re musta worried himself 10
ieath. the poor Old soul. trying TO figure
,uc an answer un reklame that KID frun
he clutches Of monarchy.
Enryhow one morning be didn't get Up.
,ur slept long into the day. un when he
opened hiz eyes. he whispered the name OF
he kid
They sent fer II. littul boy. IN when he
yusn, the old man made out 10 beckon %
i'm un. the doctor permitting coz he sci
he ole man wu1n't last til night. the st
III boy went iini5ly over 20 his SIDE. tt.
ID man put his lips 20 the kids ear un
Bees IL bugs Be a man"
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