The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-10-26
Hear Three | overs
ht& 4 10 "A r,
By NJ QUAD *,
Copyright, 1910. by Associated Lit
:. r.,r... erary Press. a,.,~' s,,s.
By NJ QUAD

You wouldn't find another case like
It in three states. Here was Miss Susie
Jones Of the village Of Grafton. smart
and good looking. with three lovers in
tow. Each one had proposed marriage
leach knew the other had-each was
ready to die for her, and yet the three
were good friends.
There was family skeleton in the
Jones closet, but none of the lovers
suspected it. The smiling and gracious
Susie had a temper like a wildcat
This was only shown out at home
however. Had any Of the young men
suspected it he would have reasoned
that be could tame her after mar
rage. Had he been told it he would
have replied that he admired temper
In a girl. Love isn't blind. It's just
woozy.
The three young men had dangled
and sighed and grown thin for a year
when the Methodist church held its
annual picnic on the bank of the river
half a mile below the village. The
three Of them escorted the young lady
on that occasion. The three of them
also had an intuition that that would
be momentous day for them. Intui-
ton was right Young Springer was
the first to discover that it was. He
invited Miss Susie to take row with
him on the surface Of the historic
Wabash. She graciously assented. No
jealousy on the part Of the other two.
They would walk along the bank and
be as happy as they could.
Young Springer had never rowed a
boat. He had simply seen others do
It He did very well, however, for
about ten minutes. That was because
he let the craft drift, while be pro-
posed marriage for about the seventh
time. The answer was the same as it
had always been. Miss Susie would
see about 1t. This so encouraged the
lover that he seized the oars
dipped blade and splashed barr
Of water over the girl in white in tn
stern. She screamed. Then he splash
ed another barrel with the other oar.
This completed the bath. Miss Susie
rose up, and the boat was upset. 1t
was for young Springer to rescue her.
He would have done it slick as grease
had she not while clinging to the
waterlogged craft begun calling him
names. It was dreadful the way she
called him blunderhead. dunderhead.
idiot, greenhorn, milksop, red head.
Bqutnt eye and thirty other things.
How could he rescue her with her
tongue like that?
Young Springer, on a sand bar, and
young Brown. on the bank. heard
every word Of the interesting dis
course, but they were not a bit jealous.
When Miss Susie had to stop talking
and hunt around for some more breath
she thought it time to continue on to
the shore and 60 home for dry clothes.
Young Brown had not plunged. He
had q new pair Of blue suspenders
that had cost rs. cents, and he knew
that II you get pale blue soaking wet
It will crock a dollar shirt and add 2
cents to the price of washing at a
Chinese laundry. He had told Miss
Susie that he stood ready to die for
her, but Of course he meant dry
and not wet death. II these things
are properly understood at the time
they are spoken much confusion may
be saved later on. Young Brown
waited to extend his hand when the
nymph should come near enough.
No Jealousy on the part Of the other
two-a great deal Of wetness and mud.
but no jealousy.
The bedraggled Miss Susie extended
her lily wet hand, but in so doing she
lost her balance and went under water
again. As there was good bed Of
mud, to fall on, no bones were broken.
Those pale blue suspenders were still
in young Browns thoughts. 1t was
time to plunge. but he didn't do It
Instead, he reached down and seized
a dainty little foot to which a painful
Of mud was clinging and hauled the
half drowned girl up the bank. No
jealousy on the part of the others. On
the contrary, they looked on admiring-
ly. Susie gurgled and gasped and
coughed. and Mr.. Brown knelt beside
her wet form and asked her for his
sake to recover. II she died. then he
wanted to die too. He didn't want
to die Of mud and water, but Of a
Black Hand bomb. He wanted to be
In an Italian grocery buying macaront
when the bomb exploded, and he want
ed his faithful and loving heart to be
blown clear across the street.
Miss Susie could not withstand the
appeal. She returned to life and the
state Of Indiana and the Wabash river,
and then she made jerky little speeches
to her rescuer. He had rescued her
heels first; he had dragged her up on
the bank: he had dragged her after
she was up the bank. All the names
phe had called the other two she now
bestowed on the trembling Brown and
then added twenty new ones for good
measure. Then, scorning all assist
ance, she started for home, leaving a