The Jasper news., 1908-02-20
Being the
"reminiscences
Of a
Nature Fakir
By
John Kendrick Bang.
(copyright. by Joseph B. Bowles.j )

There was Steely gllLter IN tne
postmaster's eye when the Nature
Fakir's association of Cape Mousam
met the other night. He had evil
IDENTIFY got wind of the fact that the
captain was laying pipes to secure
the postmastership for himself, and
having held the office through two
successive administrations he resent
ed as an unwarranted presumption
any effort on the part Of anybody else
to deprive him of what he had come
to consider a life job. 1t was easy,
too, for me as an outsider to see that
there was some kind of an under
standing between him and 81 Wother-
spoon which boded i'll for the captain,
unless the latter discovered the con-
spiracy in time,
Il heerd last night" the postmaster
began, that Sam Busbys goin' to kill
that goatao' histn."
.'Yes," said 81, Il met Sam up at
Bill Wither's ice. cream s.loon yester-
day an he. told me that keepin a goat
an a boardin' house at the same time
was losin' proposition
dliefS luUuSut. ttidI 5odI Woo ohO
O. the most pleasin' features O. life
up at Sans place." said the postmas-
ter. HE told me last year that he'd
made two dollars week out of him
hirin' him out to the children"
Eyes, he did," said ST. "But he's
been;s cranky as all git out this year
Somebody taught him to butt, an last
week he got sort O. crazy an when he
saw the cook comm up the back
stairs with biler full O. clam chow
der for the mealers' lunch, he banged
him square in the stummick, an sent
him, an the clam chowder, an the
biler clatterin' backwards down the
steps into the kitchen again, an they
had. all they could do scrapin up
-@----..ss.-ehe.~efor-eo sntfSfy the Board
ers.%%
They'd ought to KEEP him out O.
the dinin' room." said the postmaster.
"Dinin' rooms amt no fit place fer
goats"
That's what they DONE" said 81,
IAN two days later he ambled into the
office an eat up the boarders' mail.
an then went out on the back piazzy
an butted two old maids off the porch
into the lap of old Gen. Slatherberry,
who was lynn asleep in big arm
chair on the lawn"
"Scand lus," laughed the postmas.
ter.
That's what Mrs. Gen. Slather-
berry remarked as she come along an
see the party tryin' to. pull 'emselves
together" said 81. "They had coun.
Gil O. war that afternoon an Sam was
informed that onless he showed 'em
the dead body O. that goat before next
Satiddy night they'd all leave"
"Jumpin' beeswax, but that's hard
luck!" said the postmaster after all
the keep he's give that goat to have
him turn out dead loss!"
"Keep?" laughed 81. What ye
talkin' about? He amt required nc
keep. He's ca. newspapers that no
body wanted, si' been sort of livin
waste-baskit for Sans place all his
life. / don't suppose Sans spent fl
cents on his keep sence he got him
An he amt agoin' to be no dead loss
neither" he went on lowering his
voice to whisper Sam told me
there warn't no way out o. KILN
him, but he's goin' to serve him up tc
them mealers for spring-lamb all
next week, an make door-mat outer
his hide an hat-rack of his horns
into the bargain"
"Well he'd ought to knowed better
than to have goat around the place,
said the postmaster. "Ye never car
count on 'em. Where they's vim
men an children goats amt safe
Now If he'd been a cantelope it Nigh,
have been different"
That's true enough" said 81, witt
an uneasy glance at the captain
"They tell me them cantelopes has I
very sweet disposition-tho' mus
say l don't know much about 'em."
"Me neither" said the postmaster
"Fact is never see anybody that hat
ever tried to make pet out of {
cantelope."
when 1t comes down to real ex
periences in life, you're the ahyes
Z thing in New England Joe," put II
the captain at this point. Hers Nv,
been Iivin within half mile o. thil
post Office for goin' on 20 year, breed
IN cantelopes season after season, an
yet you nsver knowed anythin' abou
'smI''