The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-03
there looking at that I wondered why
CHAPTER TX.
The Wild Man From Borneo

| ana l TOOK away Will uIe LHo
half Of ring me and Martha
had chopped in two. We kept on go.
ing. and by the time punkins and
county fairs was getting ripe we was
into the upper left hand corner OF
Ohio. And there Looey left us.
One day Dr.. Kirby and me was
walking along the main street OF little
town and we seen bang up funeral
percession coming 1t must of been
one of the Grand Army OF the Repub-
Leans, fur they was some OF the OLD
soldiers in buggies riding along be-
hind and big string Of people foller-
ing in more buggies and some on foot.
Everybody was looking mighty sollum.
But they was one man setting beside
the undertaken on the seat or the
hcarse that was looking sOlumer than
them all 1t was Looey, and I'll bet
the corpse himself would of felt proud
and haDpv and contented if he could
of knowed the style LOoey was CIV
ing that funeral. A couple Of hours laC
! or LOOev comes into camp and says he
| is going to quit.
The doctor asts him if he has inner
tied money.
mo-" says Looey. but my aunt has
given me a chancet to go into busl-
ness"
Looey says be was born nigh there
and was proving around town the
day before and run acroSt an old aunt
of his'n he had forgot alt about, She
is awful respectable and religious and
asha med of him being into travelling
show. And she has offered to lend
him enough to buy half share in
business.
what kind Of business are you 60
ing into?" asts the doctor
81 am going to be an undertaken"
says Looey My aunt says this town
needs the right kind Of an undertaken
bad"
Mr.. Wilcox. the undertaken that town
has. is getting purity old and shaky.
Looey says, and young Mr.. Wilcox. his
son, is too light minded and goes at
things too brisk and airy to give it the
right kind Of sendoff. People don't
want him joking around their corpses.
and he is fat young man and can't
help making puns even in the pres.
ence of the departed. Old Mr.. Will
coy's eyesight is getting so poor be
made a scandal in that town only the
week before. He was composing de-
parted's face into a last smile, but be
went too fur with it and give the de-
parted one Of them awful mean, dew
ilish kind of grins, like he had died
with bad temper on. By the time
the departed's family had found it out
things had went too fur and the face
had set that-a way, so it wasn't safe
to try to change it any. ---a-'''"-
Old Mr.. Wilcox had several brands
of last looks. One was called Bear
Up. For We Will Meet Again" The
one that had went wrong was his ia
vorite look, named 20 Death, Where
Is Thy Victory" '''>''s'"''
Looey's aunt says she will buy him
a partnership if she is satisfied he can
fill the towns needs They have talk
with the Wilcoxes. and he rides on the
hearse that day fur tryout. His aunt
as the percession goes by her house.
and when she sees the style Looey is
giving to that funeral and how easy
it comes to him. that settles it with
her on the spot And it seems the hull
dern town liked it, too. including the
departed's family.
Looey says they is lot Of chancet
fur improvements In the undertaking
game by one whose heart Is in his
work. and he is going into that busi-
ness to make a success of it. and try
and get al! the funeral trade fur miles
the shadders was soft and thick and
velvety and laid kind Of brownisn-
greeney on the grass. / Topped down
in the shadder of some lilac bushes
and wondered which was Martha's
window l knowed she would be III
bed long ago, but-wel | was jest
plumb foolish that night, and l couldn't
of kept away fur any money. That
moonlight had got into my head. it
seemed like. and made me drunk.
The porch of that house was part
covered with vines. hut they was kind
of CAPPED apart at one corner. AS
laid there in the shadder of the bushes
hearn hutterng movement. light
and gentle. on that porch Then all OF
a sudden | seen some one standing on
the edge OF the porch where the vines
was gaped apart, and the moonlight
was falling on to them. They must of
come there awful soft and still. Who
ever it was couldn't see into the shad'
der where | laid-that is. if it was
human and not ghost Fur my first
thought was it might be one Of them
ghosts | had been running down so
around He reads us an advertisement
of the new firm he has been 6ggerinG
out fur that towns weekly paper. 1
cut copy out when it was printed.
and it looks about the genteelest thing
like that ever seen, as follers:
(To be continued)