Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-05-11
g A PERSON or r.
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! ASXA ~lloYD osBouRM k
! NAR|nnaey TIL MmoMR es
merrill COMPANY,
coovr;eht. i9l1, The Bobbs- Merrill Company.

what a paucity of openings 1t present
ed. He had been meditating days
work on the docks-stacking lumber
or unloading coal-by no means a
pleasant or remunerative prospect.
Besides, the mysterious enmity that
everywhere surrounded him would find
itself baffled by this little woman,
whose need of him was so real, and
whose position was so unassailable.
Moreover, she would give him two
years contract, which he could break
at a months notice, while she was
held rigidly for the full term. She
conceded this not unwillingly, imparting
the extra inforE.ation that she had
three thousand dollars in the savings
bank, and owned the property In which
the "parlors' were situated.
Matt questioned her with the as
surance of man who was loath to
close the bargain; with an understand
ing sharpened by his recent trials.
His unseen foes had shown how formi-
dable they we're, and here appeared an
opportunity of resisting them success
fully. Why not be an undertaken,
with an ironclad, boom-proof contract
who could smile at his persecu-
tors? He would leave the final deci-
sion to Chris, and meanwhile hold
tight to that hundred dollars month.
But he would want the contract
drawn up by lawyer-no homemade
affair. full of legal holes-but brass
bound, double-riveted. and securely
bolted and nailed down by an expert.
The little widow had no objection; in
stead, she rippled with satisfaction at
having gained her point; and called
him dear for consenting. Indeed she
was so pleased, so overlooking, that
Matt felt himself villain for imposing
such harsh conditions. But the White
Cadets catastrophe with it's attendant
blackness and blueness had instilled
caution. He remembered the Y. M. &.
A. too, and the garage, and the speed
with which his services in both had
been dispensed with. He would pro-
tect himself this time from any such
repetition, however exacting he might
seem to be. Steel should meet steel
and Mr.. Kay might gnash his teeth.
From this aspect, becoming an under
taker was not without stimulation; he
saw himself, not as a ministerial indi-
vidual, brooding darkly over clammi-
ness and decay, but as fighter, hurl-
ing lack those insidious forces that
would destroy him. ...
Not caring to show his scratched
face on the street, the lawyer was
brought toahim, and the contract forth.
with was drawn up and signed. Mrs.
Crowther, If anything, was more eager
than he to have it settled; and after
ri hi mn hlovN1in0 hacG Cnn.
veying tailor, who took Mats mea-
sure for frockcoat and trousers Of
grayish black, and was pledged to a
feverish hurry. The boarders, i'm
pressed but jocular, took great credit
to themselves for achieving an ar
rangement they deemed so advantage
GUS to both the high contracting par
ties. At supper there were congrat-
ulatory speeches; Mr.. Goldstein opened
bottled beer; Mr.. Price, always humor-
GUS, foretold a tenderer partnership,
and closed peroration that caused i'm
mense merriment by asking: ooh
grave, where Is thy sting? Oh, death,
where is thy victory?" Good taste was
the only thing lacking in an evening
Of general hilarity; but as no one
noted the omission except Matt he did
not consider it his part to be offended.
Mrs. Crowther certainly laughed as
gaily as the rest, and thought she
colored at some of the illusions, it was
not in reprobation.
Behold Matt a week later a full
fledged undertaken with wide band
Of crepe around his silk hat and In
mourning for all humanity. Manas-
wan was one Of those deceptive little
places that was great deal bigger
than it looked, and this was borne in
on Matt by the press Of business. Peo-
pie died with astonishing freedom; the
dead-wagon was seldom idle; the daily
funeral became almost as much mat
ter of course as any other daily func-
ton. He rehearsed pall-bearers; could
rattle off the price Of caskets with
deep-toned fluency; knew all about
death-certificates, the use Of ice. the
graduated perishability Of human clay,
and how stiff and stark it looked in
cold storage. There was indeed a
dreadful interest in the work. 1t car.
ried him into many strange houses,
and brought him in contact with many
strange people. He moved amid grief,
sometimes affected, sometimes so real
that 1t overwhelmed him.
Incidentally he was very successful.
Awkward secrets had sometimes to be
told, and discreetly understood. There
were night funerals as we'll as others,
and worthy people to be shielded from
public and evil acknowledgements
by lantern-light, and in graves that
might never bear headstone. He was
shocked at the .intolerable expense,
especially in the case Of the humber
people, and those least able to afford
it. Poor widows, with nothing above
their heads but a mortgaged roof, had
to be persuaded against ordering rose.
wood collins and solid silver handles
and name plates. The bereaved on
the whole were so helpless and so
easily preyed on; they met imposition
halfway, and in their pious folly en-
couraged it. It may not have been
quite loyal to Mrs. Crowther, but Matt
would not let some of his clients be
victimized, even by themselves-sug.
costing economy and cotton-velvet and
stained pine when word the other
NOV would hava ouadruD1ed their hill