The Randall County news. (Canyon City, Tex.) 1908-1926, 1910-05-06
GOOD
MR.. COODENOUCH
By NJ QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

| tiou, anu ut uuu uoue
"Mornin', widder."'
"Widow. If you please" she womb
answer
Eyes. | meant wilder. Horses ano
cows and sheep and pigs all welly
Very well, thank you. Won't yor
sit DOWN."
IL guess So"
"Widder. | don't believe there's go
ing to be any circus in Brownsville
this year"
MOP"
And | shouldn't wonder If hog
cholera broke out"
"No!"
"And I've got three hens a.settin'
and expect as many as twenty chicks,
Yes
"And-and they say Pm courrin'
you
do they? Well. | didn't know it
"Neither did |. but s'pose it's So
Well. I've got to be movin along
Glad I've seen you. wilder"
widow. Mr.. Goodenough."
"Yes? ! allus git 'em mixed"
When this sort of courtship had
been going on for several months Silas
determined on desperate deed. He
rehearsed 1t for q week and then tied
his team to the widows hitching post
and walked around by the kitchen path
to find her feeding the chickens. He
just gave her time to nod and then
started In with:
"Widder Spicer. I've been lovin' you
for years and years. and I want you
for wife. I'll be good to you. You
needn't make soft soap nor rag car
anywhere within three miles OF us
we'll drive over and stay three days"
81 couldn't think of it, Mr.. Good
enough" was the reply
Don't care for me. eh2"
mot enough to marry you"
81 thought mebbe you did, but if you
don't | might as well move on. Them
geese O. yours are lookin' remarkably
well for this time O. year"
YES"
well, so long Oh. say, wilder,
they say that next year is goin to be
a buster Of year for grasshoppers!
Hope they won't eat US up here"
Silas Goodenough didn't drive home
to commit suicide. He didn't even
think Of it. He simply thought the
Widow Spicer bit odd that she didn't
jump at his offer, and after three days
he was all over it. Then came
neighbor who said:
"Silas. hear that you popped the
question to the Widow Spicer and got
thrown DOWN.
why. yes. I asked her If she'd have
me-"
"And she said no."
That's about 1t. Mebbe she didn't
mean 1t. but I took 1t that way"
81 guess you took 1t right enough.
She turned you down because Jim
Wheeler is counting her She's In love
with him. but | don't think he cares
much about her II she had more
property he'd marry her. but as 1t is
| think he's only foolng,"
$50 you think the wilder cares for
him" asked Silas after moments
thought.
"All the women folks say so"
And she'd be disappointed If he
didn't marry herr"
Naturally
Then Jim orter do it, Yes he
orter The widder's a mighty nice wo-
man. and il would be too bad to MAKE
a fool Of her must see II cant do
sompthin' for her"
The neighhor laughed and left hin,
and Sias began TO think. II he WASH {
good al counting he was very fair at
thinking. If Jim Wheeler was holding
off because the Widow Spicer wasn't
a catch financially why, something
must be done. II took him just Il
fortnight TO figure out what that some
thing was TO be. and he brought II
home In his wagon after drive OF
thirty miles At the back end OF the
widows farm was rocky dell and a
spring and rivulet. When Silas Good
enough had made three midnight trips
to that dell. carrying jug OF crude
oil each time. the people for mile
around began shifting the air. When
he had made three more they began
hunting for coal oil. They found II.
1t was floating from that spring and
oozing up through the rocks around
1t. There was excitement at once.
The widow had scarcely received the
first offer for her farm when jim
Wheeler proposed marriage and was
accepted. Then he bad something 10
say about the succeeding offers. And
after marriage he had all to say.
Men came and looked and investigaf'
ed and either shook their heads or
made cash offers. and Silas saw to II
that the sup ~ Of oil was kept up. The
day after the Spicer farm had heen
sold for $4,000 the same neighhor
who had interviewed Silas before
came sauntering over to say:
well. Silas. Jim's got the widow
and $4,000 in cash"
"Glad 10 hear it," replied the re-
jected.