The times., 1898-06-05
STAGE STORIES.
Aims Was a Chumn.

Yep, yore dead right, Jest come back
from the funril O. ole man Jansen. Cold
er'n thunder an the snow lyin' in heaps
al over everything. Seemed kinder fun
ny ter hear tn preacher say. dust ter
dust an ashes ter ashes with nothing but
frozen ground an white drifts n sight.
When I'm planted I want It warmer,
Wow! 1 kin feel it yet-mix me a whisky
ef yer viii. Jake
Il dunno xactly wat we're goin ter do
now. lie was a mighty good acter ef he
was a chump an he wouldn't a been way
out hyar with a one hoss show but fer
suthin' thet happened ter hum Picked
up lot hyar though-mostly through
gamblin' fer he certain were n awful
kyard player when he had chance. Left
every cent Ter thet gal ez was IN cause
o IN hui bizness an her not with us a
week Must hev bin n love with her-al-
lus was a chumpl
Seems eZ how he was a acter back
n tn States an would bin thar now
but he fel'n love with a gal an couldn't
marry her coz o. his bein' kinder tied I'D.
But they We're tergether some time an
arter he left she had a little baby gal
an they say it looked jest like him. The
Lord knows how he did it fer cash was
scarce jest then, but he sent her money
ter take care on tn kid with fer nigh
onto two years Then it all dropped off
an he was so busy playin' an gamin'
thet he fergot all about her. An fer six
teen years he marry writ her a line Oh
he was scamp ef thar ever was one, an
t shore seems queer ter me thet he should
be killed fghtin fer a woman ez he hard
Iy knowed
She jined the show over in Ogden an
raised a heap o. trouble an fuss. She
was a reg'lar fack simile o. hirn-looked
ez much alike ez two peasi Same eyes an
hair an everythinki He noticed it, too.
fer when he fust seed her he like 10 took
a fir My Godr he sez. the dead come
back, he sez. an he turns ez white ez a
sheet. An then he begins Ioyin her an
takin' care o her jest like a father an
fer all the huh world ez eff he was stuck
on her an she not noticin at all.
"Durin' the play last Tuesday. ez I reck
on yer know, Jansens old chuIn sed
sumthin ter her tllet made her turn red
like an go ter her dressin room a cryin'
Corse it wasn't none o Jansen's bizness
but he spoke ter the other felIer an thar
was row. The chap-Lewis, his name
was-tole Jansen thet the gal wasn't no
better'n tn rest an Jansen yelled suthin'
bout KILN his old pard eff he ever sed
er did ennything insultin' ter her agin.
Tibet was after the second act. an in
the third cum a scene whar Lewis, ez
the villain, made the gal kiss him. 1 don
xactly know how it happened myself
but I've hearn folks ez was out n front
say ez how Lewis lifted her in his arms
an kissed her twict. An jest ez he was
a a'-puttin her down thar was flash from
the wings an his hat went sailin' out in
the stage with bullet hole in tn mid
die. Mebbe Jansen meant ter scare him
an mebbe he was in earnest. Ennyhow
Lewis was mad. an he had his gun out
n iess'n a second and blazed away. Jan
sen threw up both hands an fell with
his head through tree an two rocks
painted on the canvas.
He had made his will two days pre-
Hious an when the gal read it she jest
said suthin bout dad an took to cryin'
hard. Today when we planted the ole
man she jest clung right to him with her
purity gold hair hangin' all over tn glass
o tn coffin. TIL preacher, he tried ter
haul her off but twas'nt no good an she
stayed down thar till yer couldn't see
nothink O. tn pine box he was n fer TIL
dirt over 1t. Kinder sorry myself fer he
shore was good acter, but why dam
scoundrel ike him wanted ter get killed
fer woman, even eff she did look Jest
like him, | dunno! But then Jansen allus
was a foOl-Dont re-fidop'