Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-07-04

~ Al Soie dt any prie.
The merchant. who also corphinaS
thrift with art, reaped the bepes, !.
a huge advertisement which ba 80
figured On.
Two nights later Alcibiades Pair. =,
Lombard street took a stroll on cbss,
nut street.
Alcibiades had belonged" to N.
Paiges Of Virginia. He tolerated -.
shortening of his first name into N
but the omission of the letter ~Ty !.
his last one excited his ire.
He was the philosopher and genes,
oracle of Lombard street and II "a.
whispered knew something sbop,
BLACK art"
IL the "Voodoo" was impressive hv
day she was doubly so at night o.
burst on the amazed vision of Ali.
blades with a dramatic surprise tha,
brought him TO a sudden halt.
For fifteen minutes he never moved
Then he wrenched himself away And
went to Lombard street.
His interview with Mrs. Rastus wa.
not a satisfactory one. Finally he pre-
vailed on her to go with him to Chest.
nut street.
As she wound a shawl about her
head Rastus. lying asleep on the
lounge. stirred and drowsily asked:
"Whah yo' gwine, Liar
"Jes' gwine ter tn stohr
Mr.. Paige brought all his art to bear
on Mrs. Rastus on the way TO Chest.
nut street, but she was obdurate. She
would neither deny nor affirm.
Eventually he confronted her with
the picture. The expression Of her
face when she saw the photograph
was convincing to Alcibiades.
The original and the counterfeit star
ed at each other with equal look
Alcibiades' peroration was conclu.
sive. Said he:
'sThah amt no use en- denyin' ct.
Thai yo' be. Eff ct wah painted
pitsher Ell mought hev nah doubts.
But this yer's a photygraf, an they
doan' lie"
Suddenly great light broke on Mrs.
Rastus. She had hard work TO keep II
to herself, but she did.
Two days later Lombard street was
astonished to find that the sign wash
ING done Here had disappeared from
the front of Mrs. Rastus' house and
that it was replaced by staring vel.
low one bearing the Inscription:
Mime. Jonez, voodoo."
Rastus was even more astonished
than the neighbors.
His wife informed him in decisive
manner that she had done with wash
ing. He threatened. he raved. he ex-
postulated, but to the black Gibraltar
sitting in state in the ''parlor." which
she had draped with black alpaca, his
words were as the idle wind.
Rastus stood 1t for four days. then
he got a Job" at the salt works, the
first he had taken in seven years. Also
he went to board with a neighbor.
Lombard street first looked with awe
on the sign. But, after a few days. an
adventurous woman. driven to desper'
ate courage by the scorn of a mulattc
longshoreman, called on Nine. Jonez.
A week later she and the longshore-
man were married.
But, though the sign still blazons Its
yellow tidings to the public, Nine.
Jonez is in a bad way. The longshore-
mans wife Is an ardent disciple, yet
Nine, Jonez failed to cure Pete Blen'
kin's broken leg. and he had TO go to
the hospital. Minnie Hunts husband
died of pneumonia in summer. despite
the fact that she paid six silver DOL
lars to the "Voodoo" for his recovery.
Sim Wilson was arrested for playing
policy. He had paid $40 TO Nine 10.
nez. but the police seemed unaware oil
that fact and hailed him off just the
same.
Nine. Jonez "voodooed" seven can
dies Nevertheless one of the wilson
twins died from the measles and the
other is partially blind.
Then Lombard street arose in wrath.
1t did nothing severe. 1t simply re-
fused to have anything further TO 90
with Nine. Jonez. And it talked about
her.
Things went on for a time, and tnen
one morning Lombard street awoke 10
find that the yellow sign had dsap-
peared and that inside the window OF
he parlor hung the meek legend:
.WasHinG done Here"
But Lombard street would have none
IF 1t.
Little black and yellow urchins stooa
n front of the house and cast gioes at
is inmate. They followed her on the
street, and convenient stone at tunes
ave aching point to their scorn.
Even Rastus, appealed to secretly at
light, refused to hearken TO the whe
If his bosom and shook In her race
With defiance the S21 he had saved
/ do not know what is going TO De-
ONE of Mrs. Rastus. Pierce has gone
,ver to New York TO work for one OF
he newspapers there. The Chestnut
treet merchant is in Europe.
But the photograph. in It's silver
rame. from the wall of his norars
tares into space. The Irish serving
Maid shudders every time her mistress