The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-06-26

money one way they Will announcer
Its your own fault" says Looey,
kind o. sour.
IT can't see it, says DR.. Kirby
How did know that all these apple
knockers had been filed up with Sykes
Magic Remedy only two weeks ago?
may have been a spiritualistic me-
dunn in my time now and them" he
SAYS, land mind reader, too, but I'm
no prophet
Il amt talking about the business
doc, and you know it." says Looey
"Wed be all right and have our horses
and wagon now If you'd only stuck to
business and not got us into that poker
game. Talk about suckers! Doc, for
a man that has skinned as many Of 'em
as you have you're the worst sucker
yourself ever saw
The doctor, he cusses the poker game
and country towns and medicine shows
and the hull creation and says he is so
disgusted with life he guess he'll go
and be a preacher or bearded lady in
I side show. But Looey, lie don't cheer
up none. He says:
"All right, doc. but it's no use talk
Ing. You can talk all right. We all
know that. The question is how are
we going to get our horses and wagon
away from these Rubes?'
listens some more. and seen them
fellers was really into bad trouble.
Dr.. Kirby be had got into poker
game at Smiths Palace hotel the night
before right after the show. He had
won from Jake Smith, which run it.,
and from the others. But. shucks. it
never made no difference what you won
In that crowd. They had done DR.. kir-
by and Looey like they always done a
drummer or stranger that come along
to that town and was fool enough to
play poker with them. They wasn't
a chancet fur an outsider. If the drum
mer lost they would take his money
and that would be all they was to it..
But if the drummer got to winning
good some one would slip out'n the hc-
tel and tell ST Emery, which WAS the
city marshal And ST would get Ralph
Scott, that worked fur Jake Smith in
his livery stable, and pin star on to
Ralph too. And they would be arrest
ed fur gambling, only them that lived
in our town would get away. Which
ST and Ralph was always scared every
time they done it. Then the drummer,
or whoever it was, would be took to the
calaboose and spend all night there.
In the morning they would be took
before Squire Matthews, that was JUS
tice Of the peace. They would be fined
big fine. and he would get all the
drummer had won and all he had brung
to town with him besides Squire Mat
thews and Jake Smith and Windy
Goodell and Mart Watson which the
two last was lawyers, was always play
ing that there game on drummers that
was fool enough to play poker. Hank,
he says he bet they divided it up after
ward, though it was supposed them
fines went to the town. Well, they
played a purity closte game Of poker in
our little town. 1t was jest like the
doctor says to Looey:
| by George" he says. 1t il a well
! nigh perfect thing. If you lose you
lose. and it you win you lose"
| Well, the doctor, he had started out
winning the night before And ST EN-
cry and Ralph Scott had arrested them
And that morning. while | had been
laying by the crick and the rest Of the
town was seeing the fun. they had
been took afore Squire Matthews and
fined SIPS apiece. The doctor, be tells
, Squire Matthews it is an outrage. and
it amt legal if tried in bigger court
and they amt that much money in the
world so fur as be knows. and he won't
pay it. But the squire, he says the
time has come to teach them travelling
fakirs as is always running around the
country with shows and electric belts
and things that they got to stop dreen'
ing that town Of hard earned money,
and be has decided to make an ex.
ample of 'em. The only two lawyers
in town is Windy and Mart, which has
been in the poker game themselves, the
same as always. The doctor says the
hull thing is put up job, and he can't
get the money. and he wouldn't if he
could. and he'll lay in that town Gala
boose and rot the rest of his life and
eat the town poor before he'll stand it.
And the squire says he'll jest take their
bosses and wagon fur claterral till
they make up the rest Of the $3.50. And
the bosses and wagon was now in the
livery stable next to Smiths Palace
hotel, which Jake run that too.
Well, | thinks to myself it is dern
shame, and felt sorry fur them two
fellows. Fur our town was jest as
good as stealing that property. And
l felt kind O. shamed of belonging to
such town too. And thinks to my
self I'd like to help 'em out Of that
scrape. And then seen how could
do it, and not get took up for it neither.
Say, Dr.. Kirby, got scheme!
They jumps up, too, and they looks
at me startled. Then the doctor kind
o. laughs and says:
why, it's the young blacksmith"
At. Inoov no saws Iookinp at me- hard