The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-04-24
Colonel
.T0DHUNTER;
of Missouri
By RIPLEY D. SAUNDERS :
Copyright 1911, by the Bookseller
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Copyright, 1911, by the Bookseller
rill Company.


rill Company. .
oosossesssssssssssssssssss
Colonel Strickland began reading
OF the article. A smile crept upon hts
face. Slowly his eyes went down the
printed page. The smile broadened
Soon it became chuckle. Later, alb
sorbed In the reading. the candidates
shoulders shook as he read. Finally.
with one big fist rinning the newspa-
per to the table in front of him, Colo
mel Bill Strickland leaned back in his
chair and roared with laughter.
Lord have mercy on US, Thurs" he
gasped. "1ts the best and truest thing
/ ever saw in my life. They've got
you finished off to the queens taste
II don't know nothin' about the
queens taste, suh,' 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 70
man can handle Colonel Thurs I. Tod
hunter like that and not get it we'll
taken out of his hide, sun
Again Colonel Strickland shouted
with laughter. You old fool!'' he sput-
tered THAT newspaper man knows
you better than you know yourself.
It's wonderful. Thurs. Hes 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 master
fully gifted newspaper expert in Char
acter values" The young fellow with
whom he had chatted SO 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 a de'
scriptive interview that was sheerly
the colonel himself in the flesh. 1t was
a feat of psychological wiZardry. The
man achieving it seemed to have put
aside his own being for the moment
and taken on that of Colonel Todhun.
ter instead AS result Of this exercise
OF the strangest Of literary powers
Colonel Todhunter himself, the typical
figure of Missouri Democrat of the
old school, talked in his proper person,
q living, brea thing, almost palpa bic en-
tity, from the printed page.
q And the keenly humorous, apprecia.
tive and we'll nigh loving quality that
signalized the writer's performance OF
His task was finely REINFORCED by the
work Of the cartoonist. The sketches
themselves We're lifelike, bringing out
the colonel'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 a newspapers front page
appalled, Colonel Todhunter He shrank
from it, shocked, with all country.
mans dismay at sudden prominence
before the world.
SITS all right for you. Bill; you can
afford to laugh!' he said Indignantly.
"But I'm the one that's holdin' the
X,
there internal circus poster like the
Wild man o. Borneo. not you. And III
be shot full O holes if it amt ME that's
agoin' to hold them there two young
rascals to an accountin' for it, you
mark my words, subj
Colonel Strickland wiped the tears
from his eyes.
"You're all wrong, Thurs-honest,
you are!' he protested. There amt a
line in that story that don't speak good
OF you. and what you say there is as
sound as a dollar. It's you talking. to
the life, old fellow, and you're talking
for me, and every word you say helps
us more than a column Of ordinary
newspaper stuff. ! wouldn't take ST.
coo for it. right now.;'
t".I'd sell it for blamed sight less'n
that, subj hotly replied Colonel Tod
hunter. "And didn't l warn you
didn't tell you beforehand that they'd
shorely size me up as a country jake
from the very beginnin' and that I'd
bungle you all up here in st. Louis,
sub? Didn't / say that as sure as
came to these here city headquarters
To- your'n Id play the very old blue
blazes and Sam Hill fore got through,
sub? Yes. suh-and I'm aheadin
straight back for Nineveh this very
day, subj ... .s
mo, you ain't-not by a jugful!' re-
tOrted Colonel Strickland, manfully
striving to straighten his face into
gravity. "No, sir You'll speak at the
coliseum this very night. just as we've
planned, Thurs. and III tell YOU an
other thing You'll speak to the big
rest and most enthusiastic audience
the coliseum ever held. or else ! don't
know the signs of mans popularity
when see 'em, sir.'' "
Colonel Bill Strickland prophesied
truly. The coliseum was packed to the
doors.
"Great Scott and Maria. suh," said
Colonel Todhunter, describing the scene
to Dick Cantrill upon his return home.
..you couldn't ha' wedged knife blade
In between any two men in that there
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