The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-06

ticuiarly beloved of his fellows. but he commanded respect and attention. He was an entertaining cuss, because he could think of more things to do with nothing to do 1t with than anybody else I ever saw. He inflicted so much pain on others in his pursuit of the festive joke and laughed so heartily and so good naturedly at the fellow who got hurt that he possessed a reputation for brav- cry beyond that enjoyed by the rest of rs.
 Well. there were four chaps who lived there at the old Massasoit all friends and all bachelors. Attractive women were scarce in that part of the world in l those days, but there was one--one girl who would have been rare in any part of 'he world. Her name was ,Moiiie "Pshaw! Maybe this doesn't interest you"
 Alderman paused while spreading Kis l cheese mixture and looked up at Wamos- ley and Grossman.
 Tt interests us immensely-next to your own story. If you won't tell that so ahead with old Watson-and his pumps"
 ''Wetl, he'd quit pumps at the time I'm telling you ,of ana had gone into the | hardwsre business. which meant riches out there,. when the greatest agricultural region in the world was opening up and hadn't a cultivator in sight Watson and one of the Massasolt fellows were | boon companions; they were inseparable, perhaps because they were so unlike, per- haps of youth-just youth. The two oth- CT chaps at the hotel were Hit and Otricher.
 Hit and otricher! Humph! How those days come back to me! "All of them were Eastern men about Of an age Hit was a retiring sort, bat good companion; stuck to business and made systematic love to Mollie. Her l other name was Evarts. We didn't call | her Mollie everi We called her Miss Evarts, and were devilish particular about it, too. Every other woman on the frontier was called by her first name. otricher came from Massachusetts, guess. nevcr asked, but I'll swear he was gentleman. l always liked him. liked Hit. for that matter. "All three-FIitt. Otricher and Watson were doing the best they could for themselves and Mollie-Miss Evarts. watson was dashing chap. You wouldn't think it now, would you? He | was. At first he paid dignified,. New York Stete sort of court to Miss Evarts and she did not seem disp.eased with it; but presently Hltt took long rides with ! her over the prairies. while simultane- ously Otricher took to reading poems to her whichever Hit wasn't rouFA till lin- ally Watson's attentions were reduced | to conventional call once a week. After a while the atmosphere beca me oppressive when these three met at sup- per. They had supper about or o'clock | out there then-a lot of little oval dishes that looked like those bathtubs for bird cages. Each of 'em held a little dab of indigestion ahd made a great showing. They fried the steak, too" Alderman | paused a moment to adjust the sugar. | brandy, match and coffee. and then to watch the flame.
 When the three would meet which was not often after a while, because one of 'em was pretty certain to be having supper at Evarts'. there seemed to be .coolness between Otricher and Hit. Watson was just as usual-gay and non- chalent and trying to treat with both of them; but for each other Otricher and Hit didn't get on worth a cent. whl.e before that all three were as close as triplets.
 Watson was always the last to leave the table. and when Hit or Otric1er would go Watson would say to the one. remaining something like this:
 Miss Evarts is making a fool Of Hitt'-or Otricher, as the case might be. I know how you feel.s Hitt.'-or Otricher I-'aad, much as like Hitt-or otricher II don't like the way he Is treating you in this affair. I confess used to think a good deal of Miss Evarts myself till found out how it. was with you. Then I felt 1t my friendly duty to withdraw in your favor. But hang 1t all if would have stepped down and out as I have if I had thought Hitt'-or Otricher-'was I Sas k.k-. | I don't approve of the way he speaks of you in her presence; 1t isn't fair etc
 Now. things went on like this for sev- eral weeks, when one day the fourth fel- low-you remember I spoke of a fourth fellow who was Watson's boon compan- ion, the B. C-well. one day the B. C. was down at the ferry on his way to 1 Kansas City, There wasn't any other way to get across the Missouri in those days. He was waiting down there when Wat son came scrambling down the ht,I. all out of breath and laughing in his mus tache in way he had. He laughed in a sort of secretive way. and all you heard were little sniffs-a bad sign. hut nobody thought about 1t then.
 "'Here. old fellow he said to the R. e., I want you to write line for mc before you go-just a bit of a joke If I write 1t myself and appear in the matter
 
 1t all
 Tine B. c. started to argue the matter because he knew of Watsons joke meth ods, and the B. c. was a tender hearted cuss. He often hesitated to have a hand in Watson's affairs.
 Watson iollied. showed some paper un- der the chaps nose and dictated: Sir. I commission the bearer of this communi- cation to act for me. He will make my meaning plain to you. I forbear to mem l tion either my own name or yours in ths brief note because of the obvious indis- l erection of such a proceeding. My mes 1 sage is sent by one whom you will re,og- nize as my friend, and I demand an in stanf response
 Watson dictated while the other fel- low wrote mechanically. The R. C. stop ped in the middle to remonstrate or find out, but the fellow at the ferry was yell Ing to come on. and Watson was laugh ing, so he wrote and went off and lost his connection at St Joe because he got to thinking it over by himself when Watson was not about to reassure him by work 'ng his glittering moral generalities.
 Watson went back to Commercial street and looked for Hit. I didn't per sonally witness all these details. but I
 heard of 'em afterward
 Hit was just riding into town alone, alter taking Miss Evarts home from a canter over the Wild West and Watson saw him turn into the livery stable Wat son followed and said:
 ] Come over to my office, will you, Hltt? l-l We got something to say to you. I can't say it here; I-' And Wat son hesitated and bit his lip and did that | mn OVf af