The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-11-11
Luck Did It
BY RUTH GRAHAM
Copyright. 1910, by American Press
Association.

er who prided himself on having
made himself comfortable by hard
work and good Judgment.
you've got to begin" he said re
his would be son-in-law, the way
began. I was farm hand, and OF
every dollar earned I saved half
When / got a small lump together
loaned 1t at a big interest till Ia got
enough together to buy this farm
part cash and part mortgage. ! had
to live close to pay the mortgage. but
did 1t, and now I'm prosperous
Didn't luck have anything to &c
with it?" asked johnny.
mot bit. Never had any luck IN
my life. What I've got I've made In
spite OF luck"
Johnny asked Kit to meet him oui
on a projecting corner OF her fathers
farm to talk matters over. They chose
this spot because 1t was far from the
house and they were not liable &c
interruption there. 1t was an unpro
ductive piece Of ground that had been
tackled on to the farm in order to sell
| It.
Johnny and Kit looked at the stu
alton and saw no comfort In 1t. John
| had no one to help him, and Kit knew
| her father too well to expect any
help from him.
There was not $40 to be scraped
together between the two. Kit snio
she would wait. but John, VINO
was an impatient fellow, didn't wish
to wait. He said that to go about the
problem Of life as Mr.. Bowers pro
posed would be impossible to man
of his disposition. He told Kit that
he would go out into the world and
do what he could. She could wait for
him or not, as she chose. IL he had
any luck he would come back ana
claim her; IL not, she might marry some
one else in case she got good OFFER
Kit babe him goodby with streaming
; ewes and went home. while he stoot
looking after her. When she reached
a point where she would pass from
his view she turned. threw him a kiss
which he returned, and then she dis
appeared.
The only consolation Johnny ha'
/: was his pipe. He took 1t OUT OF III
nocket. filed it and sat down on tn
, ground for smoke. 1t was one o
those warm sultry days that some
times come just before the collapse 0
summer Johnny sank lower and low
err on the ground till at last he wa
sprawled at full length. Then II
; turned on his side with his nose nc
two inches above the earth.
"Some one" he said to himself, mus
have spilled kerosene here. can SINE
. It," He put his nose fat down on ID
. surface and shifted. The odor was III
. mistakable. He moved short Gil
lance, shifted again and got the sam
odor. After testing several location
= he found that the odor was stronges
b where he had first smelled 1t, but
r was so scattered that 1t could not hav
; come from the overturning of a can
:. kerosene. Johnny had discovered COT
oil on Mr.. Bowers ground.
That night he returned with spac
and dug hole where he had first q
tected the odor. The deeper he du
the more perceptible the odor. Whe
> he was satisfied he filled the hole, o
DE- liberated the marks Of 1t and wei
~ away.
Il A few days later Farmer Grige
le owning land adjoining the BoWe
e. farm, dickered with Bowers for Il
&; corner Of the farm on which John al
Kitty had parted and bought 1t for
Is song. 1t was decided to Griggs, WI
g decided 1t to John O'Nell and mi
he had induced to advance the mon
os for its purchase. One morning N
on Bowers saw preparations for bori
! on the property he had sold. lie W
much interested. All day he could nc
the noise of the boring Then the
was a stopping of the work for e.
~ months. at the end of which time
et was recommended. After several
these stops, covering period of near
a year. Mr.. Bowers heard somethl
that astonished him. Rushing out
te. where the men were boring, he ~
es a stream OF oil shooting up iowa
" the sky.
10 Bowers was much disgruntled Il
iO, some one had discovered Oil on
property and had got 1t from him
II: q paltry sum. He tried to ma
/, who were the lucky parties, but faii
n. Meanwhile the Eagle Oil company y
u, organized, but the well was soon $
70" out to the Universal OIL company 0
J., was merged into its extensive PROF
w ties,
=" one day Johnny O'Neil appeared
the Bowers farm dressed In
clothes and with all appearance
prosperity. Indeed. he drove up i
re ST 800 automobile. He said he came
ex- Kitty and after showing OF his
eef sets to her father had no diffict
25 in getting her. Just before the 70
Tvs mans departure AFR. Bowers asked
md How did you do 1t. johnny
Luck" replied Johnny as he
dy; whirIed away.
ers After Johnny and Kit were mar
. 10 Mr. Bowers made another attempt
y discover how Johnny had made
Ill. fortune. lie received no more exp
f1hy