The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-17

the same. Fur about a year Colonel
Tom he was always making trips away
from there to the north. But whether
he ever got any track Of his sister and
that David Armstrong nobody know
ed Nobody never asked him. Old
Colonel Hampton he glievcd and he
grieved, and not long after the run
away he up and died. And Tom Buck
ner he finally sold all he owned in that
part Of the country and moved further
south George said he didn't rightly
know whether it was Alabama or
Florida, or it might Of been Georgia.
| thinks to myself that mebby Mrs.
Davis would like to know where her
niece is and that / better tell her
about Miss Hampton being in that
there little Indiany town and where 1t
is. And then thinks to myself | bet
ter not butt in. fur Miss Hampton has
likely got her own reasons fur keep
ing away from her folks or else she
wouldn't do it.
1t set me to thinking about Martha
too. Not that I hadn't thought Of her
lots of times. I had often thought
would write her. But I kept putting
it off. and purity soon kind Of forgot
Martha. Moving around the country
so much makes it kind Of hard to
keep thinking steady Of the same girl.
Besides. I had lost that there half of
Il ring too.
But knowing what 7 did now about
Miss Hampton being Miss Ruckner-
or Mrs. ArmStrOng-and related to
these DaviSos made me want to get
away from there Fur that secret
made me feel kind Of sncaking, like I
wasn't being frank and open with
them. Yet if had Of told EN- would
Of felt sneakinger yet fur giving Miss
Hampton away. I never got into 4
| miXup hathaway bptwiXt my con-
| science and my duty but what it made
| me feel awful uncomfortable SO I
guessed I would light out from there.
They wasn't never no kinder. better
people than them DaviSes either They
was so pleased with my bringing Bud
home the night he was shot they would
of jest natchernlly give me half their
farm If I had Of asst them fur it. They
wanted me to stay there-they didn't
say fur how long, and l guess they
didn't give a dern. But l was in a
sweat to ketch up with Dr.. Kirby agi1l.
I made purity good time, and in a
couple Of days Il was in Atlanta. l
knOwed the doctor must Of gone back
into some branch of the medicine game
the bottles told me that.
It's hard work looking fur man in
a good sized town. l hung around ho-
tel Hobbies and places till l was tired of
it, thinking he might come in. And |
looked through all the office buildings
and read all the advertisements in the
papers Then the second day l was
there the state fair started up and l
went out to it.
run acroSt a couple | knowed out
there the first thiug-it was Watty and
the snake charmer woman. Only she
wasn't charming them now. Her and
Watty had a Partisan models show
1 asst Watty where Dolly was. He
says he don't know, that Dolly has quit
him. BY which l guess he means he
has quit her | asst where Reginald is,
and the Human Ostrich. But from
she way they answered my questions
l seen l wasn't welcome none around
there suppose that Mrs. Ostrich
and Watty had met up agin some
where's, and had jest natcherally run
off with each other and left their fam
blies.
1t was at the freight depot that !
found Dr. Kirby at last. Tickled ?
Well, yes! Both Of us.
"Well, by George" says he, you're
good for sore eyes"
Before he told me how he happened
not to Of drownded or blowed away or
anything he says we better fix up a
bit. Which he meant I better. So he
buys me buds from head to heel, and
we goes to a Turkish bath place and
puts 'em on And then we goes and
eats. Hearty.
'Now," he says, "Fido Cutup, how
| did you find me?" Authors Note
| Can it be that Danny struggles vague
ly to report some reference to fidus
! Achates?]
I told him about the bottles.
"a dead loss, those bottles" he says.
81 wanted some nonrefillable ones for
| a little scheme I had in mind. and
| had to get them at a certain place.
and now the schemes up in the air and
I can't use EN-"
The doctor had changed some in
| looks in the year or more that had
passed since l saw him floating away
il that balloon And not fur the bet
ter. He told me how he had blowed
clean acrost Lake Erie in that there
balloon. And then when he got over
land agin and went to pull the cord
that let's the parachute loose 1t wouldn't
work at first. He jest natcherally
drifted on into the midst Of nowhere.
he said-miles and miles into Canada.
When he lit the balloon had lost so
much gas and was flying so low that
the parachute didn't open out quick
enough to do much floating. So he lit