Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1909-09-16
II.

cuous crowd of loafers with chairs tilt
ed against the wall of the village tav.
ern received a shock. They heard tn,
tinkle Of bells in the distance, ant
looking in the direction Of this unus
ual sound, saw a team Of splendid coal.
black horses dash round a corner ant
whirl a strange vehicle to the door Of
the inn.
There were two extraordinary fig
ures or the front seat of the wagon
The driver was a sturdy. thick-set man
whose enormous moustache suggested
a crow with outstretched wings. AS II
to emphasize the ferocious aspect lent
him by this hairy canopy which com
pletely concealed his mouth, Nature
had duplicated 1t In miniature by
brows meeting above his nose and
spreading themselves, plune-like, over
a pair Of eyes which cleaned so
brightly that they could be felt, al
though they were SO deep-set that they
could scarcely be seen
This fierce and buccaneerish person
summoned the doing hostler in a
coarse, imperative voice, flung him the
reins, sprang from his seat and assist
ed his companion to alight. She gave
him her hand with an air Of utter in
difference, bestowed upon him neither
smile nor thanks, and dropped to the
ground with a light flutter like a bird.
Turning instantly toward the tavern,
she assembled the steps Of the porch
under a fusillade Of chances of aston
tshment and admiration. Young and
beautiful, dressed in a picturesque and
brilliant Spanish costume, she carried
herself with h ease and dignity Of
a princess, and looked straight past
the staring crowd. Her great dreamy
eyes did not seem to note them
When she and her companion had
entered the hall and closed the door
behind them, every tilted chair came
down to the floor with a bang, and
many voices exclaimed in concert.
who is she?" Curiosity was satisfied
at 8 o'clock in the evening, for at that
hour Doctor Paracelsus Aesculapius,
as he Enthusiastically called himself,
opened h doors Of his travelling
apothecary shop and exposed his uni
versal panecea" for sale, while at the
same time, "Pepeeta, the Queen of
Fortune Tellers," entered her booth and
spread out upo a table the parapher-
MALTA by which she undertook to dis
cover the secrets Of the future
h the evenings work was ended,
Pepeeta at once retired; but the doctor
entered the bar-room, followed by a
curious and admiring crowd. He was |
In a happy and expansive frame Of
mind, for he had done a land office"
business in this frontier village which
he was now for the first time visiting.
He looked over the crowd with an |
.clus superiority and waved his
hand with an inclusive gesture. The
motley throng Of loafers sided I'D to
the bar with a deprecatory and auto
matte movement They took their
glasses, clfnked them. nodded to their
entertainer, muttered incoherent toasts
and drank his health. The delighted
landlord, feeling 1t incumbent upon
him to break he silence, offered the
friendly observations: "S-s-see you
s-s-tutter. S-s-stutter a little NM
my own self"
"Shake!" responded the doctor, who
IN too complacent q mood to take
and the worthless grasped
hands
Don't know any w-w-way to SIS
stop It, do you" asked the landlord.
NO, [ d-d-don't; t-t-trted every
hing. Even my universal p-p-pana-
;ea' won't do 1t, and what that can't
10 can't be d-d-done. Incurable DID,
disease. Get along all right when I go
slow Ii this; but when I open the
.hrottle. get all b~-b-balled up. Bad
hing for my business. Give any man
thousand d-d-dollars that1l cure
ne" the quack replied, slapping his
rousers pocket as if there were mil
ions in it.
"Co-co-o couldn't go q-q-quite as high =,
IS that; but wouldn't mind a hu-hu-
lundred,"~ responded the landlord. cor
Tell you what it is, b-b-boys," said :
he quack, "if it wasn't for this i'm
'ediment in my ~s-s-speech, I wouldn't ,
eed to work mere'n about another
-y-year!" ,
"How's that?~ asked someone in the >
rowd. =
"C-c-cause II 1 could talk as well as !
Ocean think, 1 could make a for
side Of which old John Jacob
-stors would look like a :
b-b-bank!" 4
You could?" q
IF 1 can find a mar that can do the =
talking q mean real talk, you know. n
Tx a crowd blind as b-b-bats). I've n
ot something better'n q California g
gold mine" n
Better get Dave Corson," said the a
llage wag from the rear of the A
and up went a wild shout NJ b
lighter. h.
who's D-D-Dave Corson?~ asked "
ue doctor. W
Quaker preacher. Young Teller IL
put 20 years old" q,
Can he t-t-talk?" a,
Talk! He kin talk a mule into q II
ottin' boss in less'n three minutes"
He's my mani" exclaimed the doc IN
r, at which the crowd laughed again. G,
What are you laughing att" he 20
ked, turning upon them savagely, his q,
Id voice and threatening manner III
ghtening those who stood nearest. "a
that they instinctively stepped back CO
pace or two. Iii
~offense, Doc" said one of them; 10
ut you couldn't get him. He's pious."
'Pious! What do I care?" be
Well, these here pious Quakers are tn
r. in their notions. But you kin jedge co
yourself bout his talkin. fer there's 10;