Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1910-01-21
THE LOVE PH|LTER
OF |KEY SCHOENSTE|N
Wedding Bells Rang, Though the
Potion Went Astray.
av q. HENRY.
tcopyrisht. 1906. by Mcclure. Phillips &

BY o. HENRY.
copyright 1906 y So Mcclure Phillips .
The Blue Light drug store is down
town, between the Bowery and First
avenue, where the distance between
the two streets is the shortest. The
Blue Light does not consider that
pharmacy is thing Of bric-a-brac.
scent and ice cream soda. III you ask
it for pain killer it will not give you
a bonbon.
The Blue Light scorns the labor saw
ing arts Of modern pharmacy. It mac
crates it's opium and percolates its own
laudanum and paregoric. To this day
pills are made behind its tall pre-
scription desk-pills rolled out on its
own pill tile, divided with spatula.
rolled with the finger and thumb, dust
ed with calcined magnesia and deliv-
cred In little round pasteboard pill
boxes. The store is on corner about
which coveys Of ragged-plhmed, hilari-
Gus children play and become candi-
dates for the cough drops and sooth-
ing sirups that wait for them inside.
likely Schoenstein was the night clerk
Of the Blue Light and the friend Of his
customers. Thus it is on the east side,
where the heart Of pharmacy is not
glace. There, as it should be, the drug
gist is counselor, confessor. an ad-
wiser, an able and willing missionary
and mentor whose learning is respect
ed, whose occult wisdom is venerated
and whose medicine is often poured,
untasted, into the gutter. Therefore
keys conform, bespectacled nose
and narrow. knowledge bowed fig
ure was we'll known in the vicinity of
the Blue Light. and his advice and no
tice were much desired.
1key roomed and breakfasted at Mrs.
Riddles. two squares away. Mrs. Rid
die had daughter named Rosy. The
circumlocution has been in vain-you
must have guessed it-Ikey adored
Rosy. She tinctured all his thoughts
She was the compound extract Of all
that was chemically pure and oficinal
The dispensatory contained nothing
equal to her.. But key was timid, and
his hopes remained insoluble in the
menstruum Of his backwardness and
fears. Behind his counter he was 9
superior being. calmly conscious Of
special knowledge and worth. Outside
he was weakened, purblind. mo
torman cursed rambler, with Ill fitting
clothes stained with chemicals and
smelling Of socotrine aloes and valeri
anate Of ammonia.
The fly in keys ointment (thrie'
welcome, pat trope0 was Chunk Nc
Gowan.
Mr.. MCGOWAN was also striving t
catch the bright smiles tossed abou
by Rosy. But he was no outfielder. a
key was. He picked them OF the hat
At the same time he was keys frient
and customer and often dropped in a
the Blue Light drug store to have
bruise painted with iodine or get {
cut rubber plastered after a pleasan
evening spent along the Bowery.
/ One afternoon MCGOWAN drifted II
in his silent. easy way and sat, comely
smooth faced, hard, indomitable. goo
natured, upon stool.
"Ikey." said he when his friend ha,
fetched his mortar and sat opposite
grinding gum benzoin to a powder
''get busy with your ear. It's drug
for me II you've got the line need.
key scanned the countenance Of MI
MCGOWAN for the usual evidences Q
conflict, but found none.
':Take your coat off," he ordered.
guess already that you have bee