Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1904-08-26
! The Story | Told ScroggS :
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! BY Mabel HaughtOn Brown. :


THIS is a story with two heroes and
only a hint of a heroine. Perhaps
II hero should be called the villain.
but the question is still undecided in
the mind of the writer and is left to
the kind discretion of the reader,
When J told the story to ScroSgs, my
Chum and confdant, he said:
Mar alive, no one could believe it,
That's because it's true" | said,
and Scruggs looked at me long and ear
nestly.
DO you believe such rubbish" he
asked with the air of an insanity in
spectur.
Il tell YOU IT happened" | affirmed,
'and I'm going to write it down"
"YOu1l be sent to Agn"ws," he said,
aud that is all the satisfaction | got out
of him-no queries-no wonderment-
Just coolly expressed doubt.
The attitude of ScrOggs is not to
be considered seriously. He is a
'dreamless man" highly Unconditional,
although high-strung. like him, but
his logic annoys me at times, | have
"i""yS ''i'N' ~ W. 'yo''h
that is, it seems entirely plausible, al
though | am inclined to regard it from
two points of view. My opinion. how
ever, may be biased, for | was the
intimate friend of one hero and came
near knowing the other.
The first man was f%air-your true
blonde type, with light hair. almost
white, against his florid face; of
medium height, slightly inclined to
stoop-and his name was Walter Kent.
He was inclined TO be shy. His
great clumsy hands usually sought his
pockets and stayed there when he
talked to men. With ONE he was
Different, he tried to ppear perfectly
at his ease M failed dismally. II
was all too bad. lie was about the
best kind Of a friend that "A Oma
could have had under any circum-
stances. but no one Of the fair sex
stand it to talk to a long
enough 10 let her get acquainted with
him: and yet | know that IN the inner
recesses of his soul he treasured a
high, idealistic opinion Of nm in
general, and had his day dreams like
the rest of us.
Of | were a woman, | think | would
marry a man like Kent-knowing what
I DO Of men-but to my knowledge,
Kent had never proposed to a woman
In his life, and not one of the women
he had met had ever shCwn him the
slightest favor. Not TO my knowledge,
you say? Well, Kent told me all about
ttb
The foothills of a state like Colo
RADIO seemed just the place hat a man
like Kent would go eventually. We all
have something OF the cowboy spirit in
our natures, | think, and in Kent it
was more strongly developed than il
is in most of us. He was a child of
nature deep down in his sturdy old
heart-the fresh fields and green woods
were near akin to him, or so it seemed
to me when | unused on things senti-
mental, and | was much given 10
musing in those days. Perhaps the
reader has surmiscd before this that
was somewhat devoted 10 Kent. |
was, and when he started to the hills,
I picked up and went with him. ]
fancied that we two would get along
swimmingly out there. The thought
of the free. outdoor life held for me
all the romance of a quaint old story.
! should be enabled to put my knowl-
edge Of surveying to practical use,
thought. and, moreover would be get
ting in fine shape for my coming ca
reer. was just out of college. and my
coming career was a sweet hallucina,
ton under which | labored at the time
But | had misinterpreted my OWE
nature, even though | was pretty cor,
rect in my estimate of Kent. ! soor
learned thai the cowboy spirit in my
nature had spent itself long years be-