Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-01-23
CHAPTER x.
ROLLING STONES GATHER MOSS.

other sensation. The McFetridge twins
came back. Now the McFetridge twins
belonged to an older and not easily rel
ished annal. They were the nephews
OF Old Mowry, the undertaken, and had
been the village cutups before they in
herited the Carmichael livery-stables.
But even a livery-stable did not re-
form them, and promptly, on attaining
their majority, they sold the stable and
went off, to the relief Of all Rome.
What deviltry Hen McFetridge did
not think Of in his teens, Ben did.
They had been a pillar Of red neckties
by night and a cloud OF bad cigar
ner, since they spent their patrimony
trying to develop racers in the period
when all Iowa went mad over trotting
and built a mile track in every county
and paid fabulous prices for mares and
drivers-the days of Allerton and AK
tell and Bud Doble. But the fleet
limbed Morgans have long since given
place to Percherons and Cly~desdales,
and the mile tracks are %innocuous
county fairs. or raising corn today;
and with the passing of the trotting
craze passed Hen and Ben McFetridge,
bankrupt at 81.
Occasional rumor and "reminiscences
of the McFetridge boys came out of
the west as other sons returned, but
one bleak day Hen and Ben, rotund
and 40, same red neckties, same bad
cigars, were discovered in front of
C~armichael's relating a tale of Allad-
din to RUDE Van Hart, the broken
down league player. They had regis
tered at the Parsons House. slapped
their real alligator Skin cases and
walked around h square into every
store and office; upstairs to Vawter,
the artist; blithely into the back room
of Cal Rice, president Of the First Ma
tional; and to Uncle Mowry's. Dick
court house. bringing q presence of
freckles. good living, diamond pins
and dizziness. They saw everybody,
'jollied" everybody-within two hours
every one in town knew the McFet-
ridge boys had struck it rich.
Same old town. Ben" said Hen.
Same, Hen" answered Ben. Let's
go over to Wiley's and get something
in the News about u.s."
But Wiley was off trying to collect
bills. He did not see the McFetridge
boys until he went to the Maccabees'
supper at Odd Fellows Hall that even
ing. There, with Old Mowry. in his
door, were Hen and Ben, q self-con-
stituted reception committee for the
ladies. Wiley was always invited to
lodge functions and affairs of the sort
because, for his share Of chocolate
cake and coffee and ice-cream he
weeks News Notes OF a Busy Day.
He had heard that the twins hadn't
changed a bit, except to get fat, and
Hens diamond was in q horseshoe pin.
while Ben's was set in q real and i'm
mense nugget.
Hen and Ben slapped him on the
back simultaneously and spilled coffee
over his best trousers.
Hello, Wiley-you old gazabe!"
'Still running the old sheet, Wiley.
that the old man used to chase US out
of?"
I'm making out about the same!"
and Old Thad bumped you when they
arranged to have the Earlville papers
get over here for early delivery. Say,
heard about US in oil?"
YES"
big. Tulare fields. California. Hon
and me was beating it from ono water
tank to another one day-fippered.
business in Fresno. Well. Hen and me
coming down . canon along the track
about dark, saw some cow tracks.
NOV, we saw the stars shining up out
Of those COW tracks. Wiley, II 1t had
been you that's all you would have
just 0S0A0 otAAASAAA6 OdSh vi SAAOA4A
COW tracks. But Hen and me saw oil"
Ben and me prospected, and lit for
town and entered hat whole blamed
cow pasture. Then we went to Los
Angeles. where all the easy marks In
the United States come out, and we
capitalized them COW tracks. Say, we
F, got more engraved certificates Of stock
than o a shake a stick at sluing
round California this very minute"
"Did they bite?' put in Ben
couldn't keep ZEN of with q club"
Cray about u.s. said Hen-''us and
the COW tracks. We organized. and sold
more stock for development, and blew
1t in: and whenever we wanted moro
money we assessed the stock and got
it. Finally the whole company blew up
Hen was president, and they said
they didn't want a president who spent
al his presidential time at the girl
shows in Los"
Hen looked at Ren-"was it good.
Benz"
Ben looked at Hen-'was it. Hen.
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