The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-12-17
ONE TOO MANY.

WIOSe udLlc was A-ctuutl lIOutN' AAC
was a real estate agent and had long
enjoyed a monopoly of the business in
that village.
At intervals when Al newcomer hung
out hts ''shingle" bearing the inscrip-
tiOn, "So-and-so. Real Estate" old
Lem PrOuty. as he was commonly
called. would exert his energies to
drive him out of business. and in
variably in the course of few months
he succeeded. So shrewd was this
veteran trader and such hold did he
have In his town that In twenty-five
years only two sales had been made
by rival agents. and In each instance
they had been compelled to buy the
old man off to prevent his upsettlng
the trade.
One day as old Lem sat In the open
doorway Of Tom COnnor's stable he
remarked:
1.-The man who gets ahead of me,
Tom, must rise up early In the morn
ing and sit up late O. nights-in fact,
he must stay up most all the time"
Tom laughed and replied, 81 guess
that's about right, Lem"
At this point Bill Gardner, the portly
constable, who was sitting ON a bar
rel enjoying an after dinner cigar,
piped out. what Lem PrOuty don't
know about sellin' horses amt worth
KNOWN. and I'll bet $40 to 81 on him
any day"
Some days later. as old Lem sat In
the stable doorway smoking and chat
ting with party Of acquaintances,
his eye rested on new sign in bold
characters which read, ANDREW Gray
Real Estate"
"Aha"' exclaimed the old trader.
'WhO Is this? Well have to look into
the matter and give him his pass
pOrts.''
Shortly afterward the office door
opened and young man stepped out.
He was tall and slightly round shoul-
dered, with red curly hair and the
foundation Of sandy beard, while
his clothes were worn and somewhat
seedy. He presented the appearance
Of a young man from the country.
IA verdant hayseedw exclaimed the
old trader. That's easy game enough"
He spoke so loudly that the young man
cast u sharp glance at him as he pass
ed down the street
Immediately old Lem started in pur-
suit. and, by keeping at safe dis
tance and inquiring of neighbors and
acquaintances with whom he saw the
young man talking, he managed to
learn that his young rival had effected
a sale and that the papers were to be
drawn up on the morrow.
That evening the veteran trader call
ed upon Mr.. Andrew Gray at his Of
fee.
"Mr. Lemuel Prouty, SIR" said that
worthy gentleman, seating himself in
chair, with some emphasis.
Good evening, SIR" said the young
man, with glance that seemed to say,
Il have seen you before and don't en-.
tertain very good impression of you"
"Well, SIR" began old Lem, II spose
you know who l am. For twenty five
years I've handled all the property
that's been sold around here, and
whenever I've had Il competitor I've
squelched him. Now, l understand,
sir, that you've made sale, and Just
dropped around to say that the man
you've traded with Is an old friend of
mine and that | have place which
I know he would like great deal bet
ter. Unless you are willing to make it
right with me shall see him at once"
Sir" replied Mr.. Gray rather sharp
ly, "the trade is all made, and he has
agreed to take the place"
Agreed thundered old Lem,
whats that amount to? ! know the
man better than you do, and when |
can give him better place and save
him money, too, he won't be fool
enough to take yours"
A look of deep concern overspread
the face Of Andrew Gray, and for some
time he was lost In thought. Finally
he looked up and inquired:
IF l give you half my commission
will you be satisfed?
"Yes, perfectly" replied old Lem, his
face beaming with triumph.
agreed" said Mr.. Gray. II will
give you one-half of what l get for
selling the place. The papers will be
passed at noon tomorrow. Good even
Ing, SIR" he added abruptly.
HGnO1
as he sauntered slowly out of the Office
THE easiest one yet" be chuckled aa
he latched the door.
On the following day Lemucl Prouty
put in his appearance several minutes
before the appointed time. The stable
keeper and the fat policeman had also
come over ut old LENS request to see
how easy he could "turn $50" Others
of the party were the landlord, the GUS
toner, the justice Of the peace and the
young agent.
The papers having been duly drawn
up, signed and sworn to, the former
landlord turned to Mr.. Gray and In.
qutred:
A>NWI SAAs AoW uuCu uo owe your
mot q cent" replied Mr.. Gray en-
phatically.
There was q moments silence, when
Lemuel PrOuty arose and, stufinE his
hands into his trousers pockets, bolted
moOdily out at the doorway, followed
by peals of laughter.
Some time afterward the following
advertisement appeared in the local
paper:
mot squelched! Andrew Gray is
still doing business at the old stand"
Not SeasonabIs.
II see Maybell's young man is still
calling"