The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1913-06-26

Soon 1t became chuckle Later. alb
sorbed 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 roared with laughter.
lord have mercy on us. Thurs ne
ga,Red. TITS the best and truest thing
ever saw in my life. They've got
you finished off TO the queens taste
Il don't know nothin about the
queens taste, subj" 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, TIL amt no
man can handle Colonel Thurs L. Tod
hunter like that and not get it well
taken out of his hide. suh.'
| 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, He's made
character study of you that's nothing
more or less than 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 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 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,
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 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 newspapers front page
appalled, Colonel Todhunter. He shrank
from it, shocked, with all a country
mans dismay at sudden prominence
before the world.
Its all right for you, Bill: you can
afford to laughr' 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
rascals to an accountin' for it, you
mark my words. suhI'
Colonel Strickland wiped the tears
from his eyes.
You're all wrong, Thurs-honest,
you are!' be protested. There amt a
line 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 life, old fellow, and you're talking
for me, and every word you say helps
us more than column of ordinary
newspaper stiff. / wouldn't take ST.
600 for it, right now"'
I'D sell it for blamed sight less'n
that, subj" holly replied Colonel Tod
hunter "And didn't | 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 l |
came to these here city headquarters |
o. your'n I'd play the very old blue |
blazes and Sam Hill fore l got through, |
sub? Yes. suh-and I'm a-headin' |
straight back for Nineyeh this very |
day, subj
mo, you ain't-not by jugfulF' 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 I'll tell you an
other thing. You'll speak to the big
gest and most enthusiastic audience
the coliseum ever held, or else | don't
know the signs of a mans popularity
when see 'em. slrr'
Colonel Bill Strickland prophesied
truly. The coliseum was packed to the
doors.
Great Scott and Maria, subj" 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
crowd. sub. And the way they cheered
and hollered when | was introduced by
the chairman of the meetin', subj
Blamed if rou wouldn't ha' thought |
was the original roarin' ring tailed
of Calaveras county, sub,
and the only one in captivity, sub. |
never saw grown men behave that way
before in all my life, Dick Cantrill.
and it made me hotter'n blazes. But
kept my shirt on. sub, sayin' to myself
I . hnIr. al tai /