Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1902-05-08


chair from the table and confidentially
| addressing the ink receptacle, I'VE
come to the end of the story"
The beautiful Princess has been
rescued; the Prince has undergone as
many hair-breadth escapes as we can
| really afford to throw in for IS, and
the naughty ogre has been killed off by
| partaking of box of poisoned dragons
sent anonymously through the mails.
An up-to-date touch, that last, Botty,
| my boy"
The container of writing fluid re-
naming unresponsive, he continued.
Some folks say, Mr. Bottle, that a
writer always pictures in his hero
himself, but l doubt that. l guess my
| heroes are mostly composite creatures,
with just enough of me in their make
up to furnish them with movable
| joints, so to speak, at the knees and
elbows"
But I'll tell you who poses for my
villains-all of them" acclaimed the
R. Y. W., with vehemence. Mister
Dennis @. Smith, commonly called
Denny. Fate tried to conceal him,
suppose, but 1 wish she had gone far
enough to have him born in settle
ment off the railroad in Afghanistan,
and made Afghanistan an undiscover-
ed island, and instigated international
laws against exploring. Denny is
smiling, good-natured chap, too, and
T could like him, were he not fool
enough to see the good qualities in the
girl 1 like, and to carry his audacity
to the point of liking her also"
Nothing being forthcoming from the
insensate vial, the R. Y. w. kept it up,
with much satisfaction.
But let him smile and smile-he'l
always be my villains. He's been the
hard-hearted usurer, that turned
out the widows and orphans in
the cold, cold snow; he's been the
faithless lawyer that destroyed the
will and left the rightful heir nothing
but mourning ring and starvation.
He's committed every dastardly deed
from treason and arson to boiling the
straight Prohibition ticket; and in
our present story, Bot, I've made him
the horrible ogre, a fiendish outcast,
and carried his degradation to such
| degree as to make him opposed to the
| higher criticism, and in disgrace with
the administration.
1--WE heaped indignity. contumely,
and insult upon him. I've made him
a victim of moving accidents by field
and food I've shuffled him off this
mortal coil by every known means
from the wheel and rack to choking to
| death on a collar button, notwith
| standing which, l invariably find him
occupying her front steps or parlor
sofa O. night on Tuesdays, Thursdays
and Sundays.
But never mind, Bot, I'm sure she's
mine
So what care l
Though Smith be nigh?
I'll live for Nan
For Nan I'll die"
A knock came upon the door. The
warbler arose and admitted, decided
i ly to his surprise and discontinue, the
very lady, the subject of his impas-
stoned ditty and object of his affec-
tons. Perhaps he wondered how thick
tie woodwork was.
why, what on earth, Nan" he
began.
81 have something to tell you. Dick"
replied the young lady, in a tone that
might have been firmer.
You must have But won't you
have a chair?"
mo, it won't take but a minute"
she went on. "Dick, I'm going to be
married"
Now "Dick" had often imagined
her telling him this very thing, and
himself nobly resigning her, acknowl-
| edging his own utter unworthiness,
wishing her joy, and so on. A quite
human sort of picture and one that
most lovers have sometimes conjured
up. Nevertheless, it hit him hard,
was the very unromantic, yet natural
question, who to?"
you know-Denny."
But isn't this rather sudden?"
Maybe it is" said the girl, half de-
family, but his uncle died and left
him ten thousand dollars, and he
came and asked me, and 1 Just
couldn't stand that factory any long
er, and now I've got to go on with
it, for yesterday l quit And you
know, Dick, 1 never said I didn't like
him as well-as 1 do you"
81 should think you'd like him ten
thousand times as we'll"
you needn't talk that way, Dick"
well, then, ten thousand dollars is
no princely fortune. might make
that much eventually, with a single
story"
Yes, Dick, you might, and 1 truly
hope you will-but, Dick, you never
have; and what was to do?"