The daily Alaskan., 1911-10-24
A CUCUMBER
 CRAZE
Copyright, Isi, by Associated Llt-
 erary Press
sy QUAD

the country about Oiney were ID to
 snud. No patent hayforks could he unloaded on them. or the hundreds of patent medicine circulars they re- ceived each year not one resulted In the sale of a consumption cure. The ] tin peddlers who dealt with them took theIr lives in their hands Cute" was the word applied to the people of the town and county.
 One october day a middle aged man of good address might have been seen driving toward Olney in a buggy. lt
 was raining, and the highway was muddy. At a certain spot a wbeel fell Into a rut. and the buggy was tipped over. Five minutes later a citizen Of Olney named Scott came driving iu from a croSSrnad. He at once offered his aid. lt wasn't much ot a trick to right the buggy, as no damage had been done, but the stranger, who gave his name as Anderson, was profuse in his thanks. He was so profuse as to emharrass Mr. Scott He said it was the first thing that had happened in years to make him believe in humani- ty. NIT. Scott could have passed him by. but hadn't done SO. NIT. Scott had halted and got down In the pouring rain and grabbed and hesved on the muddy wheel NIT. Scott bad been or- fered a dollar for hls trouble, but had waved it away.
 The stranger was Go stop st the Raven inn. in town. He might be there a week. If Mir. Scott would call he would he shown that gratitude stll existed In the human breast NIT. Scott felt that the stranger was over doing things. but curiosity foCced him Co call. He was warmly received.
 Then Mir. Anderson told hts secret, He was travelling over the country to. ind some farmer he could trust Those seeds were a new variety ot cucumber-a chocolate coIorcd cucum- her. It grew Co 2 length of three feet and was going to produce revolution In food. lt could he baked, boiled or fried. the same as a potato, but con- talncd three times the Dutriment, and the taste was something that beat fried oysters all Co smash. The big hotels of the cities would pay a dollar sriece for them and would contract for a million year. Hush, On your life don't mention ttt More money In It chan In a diamond mine. Mir. Scott had helDcd Nr. Anderson out of the mud. Mir. Anderson would now help MT. Scott out of any fnancial hole he had fallen into Re would give him twenty oc the seeds. The twenty would grow. GSO one dollar cucumherS, and the C50 cBcumbeCS would produce a fuu peck oc seeds,
 MT. Scott was smaEed, sstouished and grateful It was the frSt time ne had ever been handed something for nothing since coming down with measles.
 NIT. Scott did not drop a word to a human soul His wife saw that he had something on bis mind and tried to rick it out ot him, but sooner than tell her he let her threaten to go bone to her mother. It was Mir. Anderson who tackled a farmer now and then In the streets ot Olney and took him 10 his room and showed him one of the wonderful cucumbers He didn't do Ft 10 sci seeds, just 10 drop hint ot what was coming.
 And then the farmer would go home and think it over. He couldn't wait three wears for seeds. He wanted Co he in at the start, before the price should drop on an Overstccked market. He would 90 back to the kind NIT. An 6e-sop and ask as a great favor to sell bim a score or 90. In each and everv case he did go back and paid dollar apiece for the seeds and took his solemn oath not to say word be fore the next spring. and he went away with the dttle packet ot seeds hurred te his palpitaunG heart
 Tn time that salt bag ot seeds was em7tied and dned again In time eV- e-v man who could raise few dollars and wanted to make ten for one had h-rrht seeds The news somehow reached as far as twenty miles away. There was 10 day that NIT, Anderson didn't have callers and didn't exchange sae5s for Greenbscks It was with chocolate colored seeds that he paid his bIB at the hotei. The landlord Of fee inn was a man who wanted the ra-v best for hIs guests, lf the new rsDd cucumbers were the best he wanted them.
 From October to March Mir Ander- s-- had a good time He lived high, had the best room in the house and carried around a pocketful of money. Then one day he had to leave for But- rqr, on business. He was to return in tv-o days, but he has not come back as ver- He will never come back in the flesh. His spirit may float over olney now and then. but no human eye will detect It When be hnd been absent for tbree weeks some of the seeds were sent Go the state agricultural rallere for examination. The report was very brief. It simply said:
 These are the usual cucumber seeds. dyed this color to disguise them"