The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-07-11
Ry M. QUAD.

why he didn't smile. When a year
hed nassed and no smile had yet ap-
peared on his phiz there was sol
emn shaking of heads. No woman
around there had ever before seen an
infant of that age that had not smiled
and crowed and showed how much ne
enjoyed being the 'it' Of the house.
Fhree doctors got toget Ter over that
haby. and after an hours consultation
It was decided that he was born for
sexton and no one was to blame for
it.
Raby Scott grew to be a child-not
smile. He grew to be kid-not
grin. He grew to be called a youth,
but never for an instant had he re-
Taxed that sober. serious expression.
He hadn't when he reached his major
ity. He hadn't when he married, two
years later. He hadn't when he went
into the dry goods business. Mr..
Scott's case was written up as novel
one, and he came to be the landmark
of the village. He proved that one
could be q good fellow and still not
smile.
The doctors got a new theory about
it every so often, but it did no good.
Their most popular theory was that
something would arouse the man to
laughter some day and that when the
time came he would do something sur
prising, if not desperate. This could
have been only guesswork at best, but
it turned out a hit. Mr.. Scott had
reached the age Of forty years without
having cracked smile when his wife
and children went off on a visit for q
week, leaving him alone in the house.
On the third night of their absence he
was aroused from his slumbers to find
a man standing over him with pistol
and two more in the room. They were
there to clean out his pockets and Sc
cure the keys of the store and safe.
They were strangers in that part Of
the state and had never heard Of his
inirmity, as some folks called his lack
of humor. Mr.. Scott had few dollars
In his pocket, but had hidden the keys.
He was threatened in vain. AS the
rascals had the house to themselves,
they determined to try something
stronger than gestures and words.
They put lighted matches between his
fingers, but they didn't get the keys.
Then they went for his feet-not to
burn them, but to tickle him. They
tickled with their fingers and with a
coarse comb and with a hens feather
taken from an old hat belonging to
Mrs Scott
The sensation was a new one to Mr..
Scott He almost Immediately recog-
nized that it was There were no
funny stories, no grins or laughter,
but after FIVE minutes Mr.. Scott smiled
for the first time in his life. Tive MINI
utes later he was grinning. In two
minutes more he was laughing just as
natural and heartily as any man in the
state. When he had chuckled and CUR
gled and laughed and surprised the
robbers not a little he suddenly broke
out with:
why didn't some one think of this
before! By George, but it's finel Ha,
ha, ha! One of you tickle the other
foot at the same timer
Hang you. we'll tickle you with a
knife in the ribs if you don't give up
the keys" growled the leader.
Say, don't get mad about it. Ia,
ha. ha! You are good fellows. and Pm
n good fellow. You make me ha. ha,
ha, and l like you Say. now. you
wouldn't find over So in the store safe
if you got in, and l can put you on to
a better thing
No fooling, now. or wen make a
dead man os you! What is the better
thing?'
NIt's-ha, ha, haI-it's that Deacon
Glover has got thousand dollars in
his house to take over to the bank at
Elyria tomorrow. It's-ha. ha. hal
right under his pillow, and I'll go with
you to get it,
The robbers consulted and decided
that they had got hold of an idiot or
iunatic, but at the same time there
might be something in the story of the
thousand dollars. They tfckled as
hard as they could for five minutes,
and then, giving him a minute to re-
cover from his commissions of merri-
10y ultIi To UF6SS ana
foilow them. This he did, his face
wearing the broadcast kind of a grin.
ne TOOK them straight to the house,
showed them how they could effect en-
trance Y by climbing she'd and one of
.nem went in and got the cash without
disturbing the sleeping deacon.
lie didn't try to follow them. He
went home and sat down on the door
steps and laughed the rest of the night
away. he laughed at those who first
round him, and he laughed at the
ie"eoh Tor being robbed, and the doc
lors came and said that nothing could
De done. Mr.. Scott made I'D the thou
SAND dollars TO the victim and then
-ohtlnued to chuckle and gigele and
sufgle and ha, ha. ha! He laughed
Il everything. A remark about the
weather brought loud peal. and the
'lght OF funeral procession started q
sufgle Ne; he hadn't lost his mind