Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-08-01
THE MIDLANDERS
By CHARLES TENNEY JACKSON
done It and what do I git? Nitchered
copyright 1912. The Bobbs- Merrill Company

done 1t and what do git? Fitchered
by swanny!" ~ hH.em'ta "a ".N
And when the artist came on store
| clerks and travelling men discussinf
her about the square, and the strang'
ers asked of the beauty winner. he
growled: Bunk! Don't ask mel"
Mowry, the undertaken, who always
came into the News office to peddle
gossip and read the proofs Of the coun-
ty board meetings to see IL there wa;
not some INDECENT dead he could bury
was rasping in his shiny serged legs
before Mr.. Curran's stove and summing
up the towns comment.
"Everybody's sore, Folks air goin' to
stop them She-cawgo papers. VIM
mems club says It's demoralizin', and
the teachers say 1t busts up schoo
work. Cal Rice, over to tie bank, ne
says of all the disgustin' things Is fol-
the Chronicle to git roped in by Q
French girl this way. And Dickinson
I guess he's sore because his cir
didn't git no prize, and everybody Is
holIerin'; and here amt buried any
body for two months!" He looked
across at the Widow Steger's holly
hook walk: Hey. how's the widderT
'I understand that Dickinson is go
ing to send her to Burlington for
treatment, answered Wiley. 49,.
"Just SO. And she'll die in hospital!
And been a-buyin' my groceries at
Dickinson's for seven years-ever
since the widder was took! Dog gone,
Wiley-this is a sorehead town"
Old Mowry went out to denounce the
grocer and the county board to every
farmer along the hitching-rails. He
had been county coroner until the story
got out that once he fished nigger
out Of Broad slough, held an inquest
and buried him, and put in his claim
for fees. Four days after he discover
ed another niger under the ice, held
an inquest and buried hini-with fees
Three days after another mysterious
niger was found and buried-with
fees. Then the weather unfortunately
grew warm, and some one started an
investigation. The niger and the cor
oner's political career spoiled simulta-
neously that week. Old Mowry had
been shutting around the court house
trying to collect his fees from every
succeeding county board, but always
the ghost of that colored citizen haunt
ed him. And every monthly board
meeting Father Doyle drove over from
Earlville to see If Mowry's claim had
been allowed. Mowry was the sole
Catholic in Rome, but the only time ne
would contribute a cent was when he
had buried a Protestant in good stand
ing. And one of the undertaker's
grievances, always aired in the News
Office, was that county dead should not
figure in the good priests calculations
lie couldn't collect his fees, anyhow,
out of this gol- -darned board. Mr.. Cur
ran listened patiently. The priest was
his good friend. So was Mowry. So
seemed all the lame ducks Of the COM
munity-and no one else. He wonder
ed now, in his new-found ambitions,
why all the representative men SEEM
ed afraid Of him; and why all the non
descript humanity Of the town attach
ed itself to him. Mowry was the first
to spread the news about the court
house that week that Curran was 60
ing to run against Jim Hall in the con-
gressional primaries. Mr.. Curran. when
he made his usual round Of the county
building for the batch of items, reaped
an unexpected harvest.
He met Thad Tanner and his SON.
in-law, Cal Rice, Of the First National
bank, in the corridor. Cal Rice's wife
owned most of the Earlville Mercury
Journal stock; and recently the Mer-
curry journal had been giving away
jardinieres and eight-day clocks with
subscriptions in an endeavor to put
the News out Of business. Old Thad
and Cal were talking about it now and
some of the county board were with
them. Thad had boasted five years age
that he would put that damned four
page rag on the dump" behind Cur
rams shop, but still the rag" persist
ed. Somehow the county remembered
the day the elder Curran was stretched
senseless across the dingy desk by 6
copper head mob.
Old Thad was small and screw
headed, with a continually barring up.
per lip as he talked, and his husky
voice came out Of toothless cavern
of mouth that seemed never quite
able to close it's grinning. Yet he had
certain clear and singing way Of
stating facts, rugged horse sense,
and profane humor that accounted fol
much of his dominance in the county
affairs-that and his money and fight
ing qualities. And he knew men. He
knew Wiley Curran. Wiley had an ex
asperating idea that Old Thad, by
some intuition, had gagged year by
year. month by month, week by week
the decay of the News-that he could
forecast very nearly how much longel
the malcontent sheet would keep up 1t!
barking.
Morning, Mr.. Curran;" Thad turn
ed from the board members as the edi
tor mounted the court house steps
How is our very weakly these days?'
| That fast never-failing banter of tht
county boss. The farmer member
were apt to smile deprecatingly; ant
the editor kept his temper. He won
dered how the bodied countrymer
could tolerate the boss's grin-he al
ways was so sure of himself-ant
them. Old Thad felt good this morn
ing-he had got his contracts for th'
creek diversion and road culvert abou
which the News had been pepperint
the board. Only Burt Hemminger, {
pale-eyed, yellow-b bearded farmer, hat
protested and mumbled something
about the News charges that the Tan
ner quarries were the chief benefici
aries of the work. Boydston and Cur
ry, the road committee, and Tanne
men, had put through the contracts
without comment-it was the usua
programme. So now the quarry bos!
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