Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-07

subj
Colonel StrickIand's gaze rested upon
the newspaper page. He saw Colonel
Todhunters name boldly typed in the
f1aring headline that extended across
three columns. A full length ''charac-
ter cartoon" of the colonel surrounded
by thumb nall impressions of his
face and bodily pose at various inter
esting moments of his talk of the pre-
ceding day surrounded the larger por-
trait
Colonel Strickland began a reading
Of the article. A smile crept upon his
face Slowly his eyes went down the
printed page. The smile broadened. !
Soon it became a chuckle. Later. alb |
sorhed in the reading. the candidates /
shoulders shook as he read Finally. !
with one big fist pinning the newspa- |
per TO the table in front OF him. Colo |
mel Bill Strickland leaned back in his |
chair and reared with laughter.
Lord nave mercy on us. Thurs he
gasped IT'S the best and truest mfng |
1 ever saw IN my life. They've got
you finished OF to the queens taste"
Il don't know nothin about the
queens Taste, sub" spoke Colonel Tod
hunter grimly, but know one thing
almighty well I'm agoin' to dust that
newspaper mans jacket for him the
next time he comes in reach o me
Great name above, sub, tn amt no
man can handle Colonel Thurs T. Tod
hunter Ike that and not get 1t well
~~rA 80 - hide
Again Colonel Strickland shoated
with laughter. You old foel!" he Sput-
tired THAT newspaper man knows
you better than you know yourself
It's wonderful, Thurs! He's made
character study of you that's nothing
more or less than a miracle, my
friend"
1t was the truth Colonel Todhunter
had come under the vision of a master
fully gifted newspaper expert In char
acter values" The young fellow with
whom he had chatted 30 freely and at
such ease on the preceding afternoon
/ had temperamentally absorbed" him
| body and soul Then he had gone to
his newspaper desk and written de-
scriptive interview that was sheerly
/ the colonel himself in the flesh. 1t was
a feat of psychological wizardry. The
man achieving 1t seemed to have put
aside his own being for the moment
and taken on that of Colonel Todhun-
ter instead As a result OF this exercise
of the strangest OF literary powers
Colonel Todhunter himself the typical
figure of a Missouri Democrat of the
old school. talked in his proper person,
living, breathing, almost palpable en-
tity, from the printed page.
And the keenly humorous, apprecia-
tive and well nigh loving quality that
signalized the writer's performance Of
his task was finely REINFORCED by the
work of the cartoonist. The sketches
themselves were lifelike, bringing out
the colone's every salient characters
tic in facial expression. bodily pose and
gesture.
But this amazing projection of him
self in printers ink on the publicity
screen" of q newspapers front page
appalled, Colonel Todhunter He shrank
from it, shocked, with all a country
mans dismay at sudden prominence
before the world.
It's all right for you. Bill: you can
afford to laugh he said Indignantly.
But I'm the one that's holdin' the
bag, sub. It's me that's put on that
there Internal circus poster like the
wild man O. Borneo. not you And I'll
be shot full o holes if it amt me that's
agoin' to hold them there two young
. lie fn
mark my words, suhi''
Colonel Strickland wiped the tears
from his eyes.
You're all wrong. Thurs-honest,
you arer' he protested. There amt a
hne in that story that don't speak good
Of you, and what you say there is as
sound as dollar. It's you talking. to
the hHe, old fellow, and you're talking
for me, and every word you say helps
as more than e column of ordinary
newspaper STUFF. ! wouldn't take 81 :,
!, 600 for fl, right nowr'
I'd sell it for u blamed sight Iess'n
that, suhT- hotly replied Colonel Tod
hunter. "And didn't warn you
, didn't tell you beforehand that they'd
shoreiy sfse me up as n country jake
from the very beginnin' and that I'd
buneie you all up here In st. Louis
suh7 Didn't l say that as sure as ]
came to these here city headquarters
o your'n Ia play tie very old blue
biRIes and Sam Rfh fore got through
Gahi Yes, snh-aAd I'm a-headin
straight back fer NIAeveh this sery
. day, sshF
. No, POS aln't-not By a jugfulE' re
torted Colonel Strickland, manfuHy
striving to straighten his face int
gravity. "So, SIR. You'll speak at the
, enisseUm this very night Just as we've
planned, ThnFs, and TIL tel you an
other thaAg. YeH'u Eeeak to the big
! gest and most ENTHUSIASTIC audience
: the coliseum eNsf held o. else doa't
know the signs 81 q NAME popularity
. when I see fem, slrg"
Colonel BIN Strickland psophesled
truly. The coliseum was PACKED to the
, dooVs.
Great Sect and Maria, suh," said
, oaLsae4 TedhaptRF, deseFibiag the scene
TO Dick 6aatrIII upon his return hasae
VOC eeVida't he wedsea knife blade
In hetwEsp any two Rsp In that there