The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-05-31
By EVE LII FO RID

the bumps Rabbit was gettin', with
his head down among the bottles.
| follows along on the outside.
though. and in a minute or so / sees
what the Commodore was amin at
Out to one side was cute little fish
pond. about a hundred feet across, and
he was maxim a bee line for that. 1t
was down in a sort of a hollow. with
nice, smooth turf slopin' clear to the
edge.
When the Commodore gets halfway
down he gives the cart one last push
and five seconds later MI Rabbit
with his head still stuck in The wagon
souses into the water like he'd been
dropped from a balloon. The old boy
stays just long enough TO see the
splash, and then he keeps right on gOin'
towards New York.
AT that 1 jumps the stone wall and
prepares TO do some quick diyin', but
before 1 could fetch the pond Babbitt
comes to the top, BLOWN muddy water
out of his mouth and threshin his arms
around windmill fashion. Then his
feet touches bottom and he finds he
amt in any danger of bein' drowned.
The wagon comes up. too, and the first
thing he does is to grab that. BY the
time / gets there he was wadin ashore,
and the women had made up their
minds there want any use fainting.
"Babbitt," says the COMMODORE
daughter, explain your conduct in
stantly! What were you doing stand
ing on your head in that tea wagon?'
Please, ma'am, II forget" splut-
ters Babbitt, wipin' the mud out of his
eyes.
s"You forget" says the lady. And
say anyone that knew the old Com
modore wouldn't have to do any guess
in as TO who her father was. you
forget, do you? Well, 1 want you to
remember. Out with il. nowlP
yes, ma'am," says Babbitt. tryin'
TO prop up his wilted collar. I'D just
give him his first dose for the day,
and I'd lodged the glass, when some
thin catches me from behind. throws
me into the tea wagon, and off goes.
But that dose counts, don't it, ma'am.
He got it down..
1 sees how it was then; Rabbit had
been gettin' a commission for every
glass of the medicated stuff he pumped
into the Commodore.
Twill you please run after my father
fand tell him to come back" says the
lady to me.
Sorry says I. but I'm no antelope.
You'd better telegraph him"
l didn't stay To see any more, l was
that sore on the whole crowd, but I
hoped the old one would have sense
enough to clear out for good.
l didn't hear any more from my
lneighbOrs all day. but after supper that
night, just about dusk, somebody
sneaks in through the back door and
wabbes up to the veranda where l was
sittin'. 1t was the old Commodore. He
was about all in. too.
"Did-did drown him." says he.
You made an elegant try" says l.
but there wasn't water enough"
Thank goodness" says he. Now
| can die"
What's the use dyin % says L
Amt there nothin' else left to do but
that?"
i've got to-" says he. I can't live
OH that cursed stuff they've been Civ
ing me, and if l eat anything else I'm
done for The specialist said So"
"Oh, we'll" says I. maybe he's made
wrong guess. It's your turn now.
Suppose you come in and let me have
Mother Whaley broil you a nice, juicy
hunk of steak"
Say, he was near starved. l could
/ tell that by the way he looked when ]
mentioned broiled steak. He shook his
head, though. IF 1 did, I'd die before
morning says he.
TN bet you a dollar you wouldn't.
| says l.
That almost gets a grin out of him.
shorty" he says, I'm going to risk
| it,"
| IT'S better'n starving TO death,
! says /.
/ And he sure did eat like a hungry
man. When he'd put away good,
/ square meal, includin' dish of sliced
raw onions and two cups of hot tea, /
plants him in an armchair and shOVes