The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1913-03-15
FROM iO0D TO BAD
But His srouch" Was Cured
Whenfe Fell Into Wild.
rvs Well.
BY cLRA iNEz DEACON.

] - 1LEfs1 stN~e- Sh-sN~~'*s
! James BaE of the town Of Ken.
more did notnarry until he was thirty
years old. Fl years he had been
known as ON Of the best natured AID
onsn-handed itizens of the place. he
Continued to3e so known for sevesal
years after sarriage, and then folks
began askinfeach other what allied
James Baker
Mr.. Baker egan to shirk his debts.
He grew sulA and sullen. He seldom
laughed or siled He seemed to be
carrying a couch around with him
from week teweek His wife finally
left him audgot a divorce and then
| James becam meaner than ever.
There werenany theories and argu-
ments as to he change from good TO
bad. Drink hdn't brought it about
It wasn't loss#f property. He and his
wife were incompatible nor compan-
ionable, as ws generally known, but
that fact shoul not have soured him
on the whole 1orld.
I lACA d I'D S@lLS 4he-Sh ooS>oA
| along and soled the mystery. He
didn't have toask Baker any aues-
| lions nor lookat his tongue nor feel
| his pulse. Hejust asked him to buy
q box OF his ati-bilious, anti-catarrh
anti-consumptin and anti-forty other
| things, and WIN told to go to the hot
| place he let te cat out Of the bag.
| What allied ames Baker, and what
had allied hin'or years, was the fact
that he was anummerette. The name
should not betangled up with suf-
fragette. A sdfragette, the learned
doctor explaind, was female that
longed to po1la vote and butt IN. "A
mummerette VAS small insect in
digenous to Pesia and Egypt They
were rare thes days, but in the long
ago when theywrapped their dead in
ten-cent shirtin and allspice the mum
merette was jo.ously wing'ng his way
from branch tt branch. Now and
then he fell tito the soup and was
wrapped up ant buried with the dead.
When museum mummy who had
had on Sunday buds for a matter OF
five thousand years came to have them
peeled off her, put jumped the mum
merette and bgan to take up life
again and be josous.
James Baker lad swallowed flying
mummerette, aid that was what had
brought the chnge. The insect was
gnaWing away st his vitals. Every time
he took bite tie victim wanted to do
something meat. The anti-pi1ls would
cure him in month by killing off the
insect, but as tie man wouldn't have
them. let him 10 on being mean and
end on flse ggssssSova !.
Two or three days after the doctor
had explained things and moved on,
Mr.. Baker started in to fell tree
near the highway. It was on his own
land, Of course. but as the hummer
cite was biting rather hard that day
the man didn't care which way the
tree fell or what damage it did. The
tree fell across the road just as the
Widow Armstrong; cow came saun-
tering along to see what was up and
was made pulp of.
That COW was valued at s35 and Mr..
Baker had been criminaily careless.
He wouldn't pay red cent, however,
and when the widow sued she was
beaten on some technicality She was
a poor woman and she and her daugh-
ter had to do dressmaking. The
daughter was in love with and en-
gagged to marry a young farmer named
Stevens. Stevens was a cousin to Ba-
ker.
Not content whit killing her COW,
Baker set out to make things uncom-
Portable for the widow. By means of
false tales hesgot up a quarrel between
the lovers, and was thinking up other
mean things when Nemesis took a run
ming jump and landed on his back Be-
ing at work near the widows house
one day. and thinking he had seen
both women 80 out, he climbed the
fence to get a drink of water at her
well. AS he started to pump, the plat
form gave way, and down tumbled the
man of the mummerette. When he
brought up he was Is feet below the
surface and in cold water up to his
waist
Mr.. Baker was mistaken in thinking
he had seen both women go out. The
daughter had gone alone, while the
mother had lain down to take a nap.
The crash at the well aroused her and
she hurried out to peer down and
ask:
is ANYBODY down there:"
Yes, ami" was answered.
Its Mr.. Baker, isn't it?'
Eyes. Your blamed old well is
snan-trap! I'm half killed and shall
sue you for heavy damages"
I'm SO sorry you fell in
THAT don't do rne no good How am
to get out?"
We'll think OF way by and by. |
Waft'til I get chair. / want to have
! talk with YOU
"I'ut don't want a chair"
= The widow fetched out and seated |
lersnlf as near the we'll as was safe |
snH hauan.