The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-11-27
Claimed He Was Held Up.

Harry Hydorn, the Standard Oil
company representative, blAw into
town the other day and startled the
been held up in broad day light by a
band of highway robbers out near
Long Lake and how he had jumped
out of his Ford and smashing right
and left, had spread Ee1;h, destruc-
ton and CONSERVATION among the
highwaymen. who just as quickly as
they could, gathered up the widely
scattered and bloody remains of their
party and beat hasty retreat. Local
folks were in for organizing a posse
and starting out to intercept the
bandits, but Harry would listen to no
such talk, declaring that no court
could deal out better medicine or JUS
tice than that which he had given the
fellows and while he refused to al
low a posse to go out after the ban
dts, he went over to Ben Freddy, the
undertaken. and Nd Ben, on the quiet
that it might be a good idea if the
latter would go out and pick up the
remains and give them at least a de-
cent burial, besides Harry told Ben,
that the stencil from the decompos-
ing carcasses of the slain rascals
might not be relished by the inhab-
itants Of the region later on and it
would be much better to go out and
gather them up and conduct the fu-
neral now. Harry sure had the local
populace worked up to an admirable
pitch and he had the sidewalks and
streets of the city all to himself if he
wanted them and he had an OPEN
mouthed and gaping crowd of listeners
around him every time he told the
story, which by the way, was quite
frequent
Pride always goes before a fall,
however, and during the time that
local people were being treated by
the Standard Oil man to hair raising
details of the greatest battle in re-
cent years party of hunters con-
sisting of Bert Rummler, Dee Harri-
son, Earl French and others wendell
their way back to the city. OF
course, as usual they were not over
loaded with game, but what did they
care? They had had a good days
sport anyhow. 1t was then that
the oil mans story went glimmering
and the real truth of the battle"
leaked out.
According to the party of hunters
there was no battle at all and it all
LOOK place Wnen the dogs IN the nunL-
ing party started a rabbit and bunny
took it across field toward the road,
along which about the same time, the
genial jokesmith, Hydorn, happened
to be coming with his Ford. Hydorn
looked over in the field Just as Bert
Rummler raised his shot gun to blaze
away at the rabbit and noticing that
it was pointed somewhat in his own
direction let go of the steering wheel,
dropped on his knees and begged for
mercy. His applications provided
for forgiveness Of every joke, crime
or wrongdoing of every description of
his past life and all that might happen
in the future. He cussd the fated
day when the company laid out a
route which took him over in that di-
rection and he was still begging for
mercy and promising to be good in the
future when the little old Ford, which
had kept right on going, the ruts In
road keeping it in the track, bore him
out of hearing in the distance. Just
how far Harry kept up his supplica-
tions no one knows. but when he final
ly got back to Bedding he had one of
the most wonderful stories to tell that
one ever heard His story very near
lly made one forget some Of those
"One- Yank-single-handed captures
$4,000 Huns" etc., and he was having
things his own way until the hunters
struck town, the crash came and Hy-
dorn's mushroom like fame as great