The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-09-22


think think there L any ,, shew for me 70 be-
There might be, and then again
there mightn't.'' said Abijah after some
thought. Liars have to develop came
about THINGS get While psy o
ers go right to the front and make
glorious regulations. Was you thinkin'
of experimental a little?''
s., WAS was" replied the len, man H. Ia sno oHs
few lessons. You have got the look OF
q liar about you"
Yes, i am one Of the Oldest and
slickest in the town" proudly replied
grasshopper lynn, I have no peer; I
challenge competition and defy criti-
cism. II you want few lessons. I'll
give 'em to you at a dollar apiecs
Which is a low price and a great
condescension on your part, said Nj.
Goodheart "I'I take five lessons and
see how the old thing works. I'd like
them all on grasshoppers, too. as I've
insects A naturalist told me rev
days ago that-But never mind"
Here the stranger seemed to remem-
Der something and checked himself, and
Abijah had to coax him for quarter
of an hour before he explained:
well, you were the first man in Jeri-
cho to speak kind word to me, and l
want to prove I'm grateful. Did you
49,
music?'
NO; I never did"
Il thought not. 1t was discovered by
accident. but it's solemn fact. They
are just rampageous after music. the
man who told me of it is catching five
barrels day and shipping them to New
York to be ground into oil cakes for
the Chinese. The heather prefer them
to rats!''
You don't say!'' gasped Abiiah.
What sort of music is it that grass
hoppers are crazy after?"
Anything that's music-a mouth or
gan. fiddle or q jewsharD. Do you
Il can play old Dan Tucker on a
mouth organ"
That's good enough but you must
DO your catching at night. You put
five empty barrels out in the field and
hide behind them and play. The hop
pers will come along and fill the barrels
within an hour. Then you clap on the
heads and you've got them. They bring
81 barrel in New York
1t had never occurred to Abijan
sandman that a grasshopper had a
soul. The idea surprised him, and yet
ne was inclined to believe it He had
heard that music soothed the savage
wolf, and there was no good reason why
it shouldn't soothe the savage grass
hopper He said he would try the ex-
pertinent that very night and If 1t was
a success he'd spend half his days for
stranger how to become a champion
liar. He went home to get his barrels
ready, and the stranger turned to and
told the same story to every other man
IN town. and told it in such a way that
no one DISPUTED his word. That after
noon there was great run on mouth
organs in Jericho. The two stores which
kept them sold about so. and every pur-
chaser looked as innocent as mud as he
carelessly said:
"TsUa boop y1rov,, lei In, NV 1>nr, - rot
him mouth organ, and, bein' as I'm in
here and bein' as you've got some in
stock. I guess I'll take one along"
When evening came. something funny
out of the village by all roads. some
having sent barrels on ahead and some
carrying them, and by and by mouth
organs were to be heard over most of
the township. After an hour or SO of
blowing without hopper having re-
sponded most of the crowd suspected a
sell and sneaked back home, but Abijah
sandman was one of the half dozen
who stuck 1t out till midnight. They
played everything they could think of,
By" and they played as loudly as they
could and as softly as they could The
only result was to keep the sheep and
! calves awake. At last Abitah rose up
and began to swear, and the other fell
lows followed suit Then they felt sure
that the stranger had put up job, and
they hurried home to mob him. They
reached the hotel to find him gone, and
after looking at them for awhile the
landlord said:
''It strikes me that you'd better get
home and keep powerful quiet That
stranger who was no liar and watched
to take lessons has lied the boots right
off the whole crowd and passed off a
counterfeit five dollar bill on me into
the bareainr
Copyright. 1902. by c. B. Lewis.)