Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-04-15

peccadlllo as the habit of man
slaughter says I, what have you ac-
complished in the way of Indirect
brlgandage or nOnactionable thrift
ness that you could point to- with or
without pride, as an evidence Of your
qualifications for the positionY
Why says he in his kind Of south
ern system of procrastlnated accents.
halnt you heard tell? There aln't any
man, black or white, in the Blue Ridge
that can tote of shoat as easy as !
can without beln heard, seen or cotch-
ed. | can lift shoat, he goes on, out
Of pen, from under piazza, at the
trough, in the woods day or night, any
where or anyhow, and 1 guarantee no
body won't hear a squeal. It's all in
the way you grab hold of 'em and car
ry em atterward. Some day. goes on
this gentle despoiler Of plgpens, 4 hope
to become reckernzed as the champion
Shoat stealer of the world
cts proper to be ambitious says
|, and hog stealing will do very well
for Mount Nebo, but in the outside
world, Mr.. Tatum, It would be consid-
cred as crude a piece Of business as a
bear raid on Bay State Gas. However,
It will do as a guarantee of good faith.
Wen go into partnership. I've got
$1,000 cash capital, and with that
homeward plods atmosphere of yours
we ought to be able TO win out few
shares Of Soon Parted preferred In the
money market
$50 | attaches Rufe, and we go away
from Mount Nebo down into the low
lands. And all the way coach him
for his part in the crafts had in mind.
| had ldled away two months on the
Florida coast and was feeling all to
the Ponce de Leon, besides having so
many new schemes up my sleeve that
I had TO wear klmOnos to hold 'em.
81 intended to assume a funnel shape
and NOW path nine miles wide
through the farming belt OF the mid
die west, so we headed In that dlrec-
ton. But when we got as far as Lex
Ington we found Binkley Bros circus
there and the blue grass peasantry
romplng into town and pounding the
Belgian blocks with their hand pegged
sab0ts as artless and arbitrary as an
extra session of Datto Bryan duma.
never pass circus without pulling
the valve cord and coming down for a
little Key West money, so | engaged
couple Of rooms and board for Rufe
and me at house near the circus
grounds run by a widow lady named
Peevy. Then | took Rufe to cloth
Ing store and gents outfitted him. He
showed up strong, as knew he would,
after he was rugged up In the ready
made rutabaga regOlla. Me and old
Mlsft2ky stuffed him into a bright blue
suit with Nile green visible plaid ef-
feet and riyeted on fancy vest Of a
light Tuskegee normal tan color, a red
necktie and the yellowest pair OF shoes
In town. They were the first clothes
lufe had ever worn except the cling
ham lOyette and the butternut top
dressing Of his native kraal and he
looked as self conscious as an Igorrote
with a new nose ring
"That night | went down to the cir
Gus tents and opened a small shell
game, Rufe was to be the capper
gave him roll of phony currency to
bet with and kept bunch OF 1t in a
special pocket to pay his winnings out
Of. No, | didn't mlstrust him, but |
simply can't manipulate the ball to
lose when l see real money bet. My
Hngers go on strike every time
try 1t,
II set up my little table and began to
show them how easy It was to guess
which shell the little pea was under
The unlettered hlnds gathered In
thick semlcircle and began to nudge
elbows and banter one another to bet.
Then was when Rufe ought to have
slngefooted up and called the turn on
the little joker for few tens and ilves
to get them started But no Rufe I'd
seen him two or three times walking
about and looking at the sldeshow pic
lures with his mouth full Of peanut
candy, but he never came nigh.
"The crowd plked little, but trying
to work the shells without a capper is
like fishing without bait closed the
game with only sac OF the unearned
Increment, while | had been counting
on yanklng the yeomen for 5000 at
east | went home at II and went to
bed. supposed that the circus had
proved too aluring for Rufe and that
he had succumbed to Il, concert and
all, but | meant to give him lecture
on general business principles In the
morning
Just after Morpheus had got both
my shoulders 10 the shuck mattress
hears houseful Of mbecomlng and
rlbald noises, like a youngster screech-
Ing with green apple collie, | opens my
door and calls out In the han for the
widow lady and when she sticks her
head out | says, Mrs Peeyy, ma'am,
would You mind choking Oft that Kid
OF yours so that honest people can get
their restr
"'Sir,' says she, It's no child OF mine.
lts the pig squeallng that your friend
MIR ramm brought home to his room a
couple OF hours ago. And IL you are
uncle or second cousin or brother to