Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-01-15
The Daily
Short Story;
LIKE CURES LIKE.
BY Oscar Cox.

trary and suppose that's nv na,u,.
There's sayen among sartin d..
tors that like cures like; they h.v.
a Latin lingo about It, but that doas
know, never haven had much larnea
Anyway I've got story about myaeH
that reckon shows what l uesa
I'm goen to tell 1t.
+ One day l harnessed up the mar, !.
go over to Bunkerville to do SOM
traden. While l was drivin' slons
the road I come to a leetle house thss
had been vacant a long while ana i
noticed curtains In the winders and
sign out: Matrimonial Agency.
Now. hadn't any notion O. marrysn
at all; always thought this sent.
mental love business was kinder ridie.
| ulous. and what man wants SOM
| woman to boss him fer couldn't -
But IL l hain't got no romance | "a
hull lot O. curiosity. just thort IA
go into the house and see how tn
matrimonial agent bamboozled peopla
to harness up for lifelong tight
! Wall. got out o. the wagon, TIA
the mar to a post before the door
and rang the bell. A good-lookep
young woman let me in, and when
told her that l wanted to see What
she could do for a lone bachelor she
invited me into a coy room and eel
a cheer before me. She told me that
she had several young wimen on her
list that wanted husbands and she
would introduce me. axed her Il
she could recommend EN- to maxi
good wives.
Recommend nothen," she said. II
people want to tie themselves I'D witt
knot that only hull lot O. lawyer,
lexpenses can unite it's no business q
mine. l help 'em to git into masrk
mony. but l don't pursuade 'em to g
thar"
Il like your honesty" I said, and
must confess ] like your idee. Jus,
come in here out o. curiosity. l don't
believe in matrimony any more n you
do. If 1t warn't fer the fol de rui
connected with it there wouldn't Be-
SO much Of it as Their is. This settin
alongside gal In a rose garding, or
by fire light holden hands and the
Teller tellen her she's an angel, ID an
J COMPOUNDED rot. They call the first
month O. married life the honeymoon.
That's before the tighten commences
It's like bracen up soldiers for war
They dress 'em up in uniforms and
have a band to play inspirin' music
} to make EN- forgit they're to BE-
killed. That's what they're fer and
nothin' else"
YES" said the agent, when q gal
is about to be married they dress her
up in lot O. finery, and lace veil y
put a bokay in her hands and she
thinks she is an angel sure enough.
But she finds out that the Teller that's
i, been taken about bein' her slave Is
maken a slave O. her"
do you know" l answered to this,
that in all my life neer met 80 sen
sible a woman? You have my idee
exactly. I wonder where you got It!
But l can't see how you do any bust
ness if you talk to your clients Is you
do to me-"
why, it doesn't affect 'em bit.
II a man or a woman is bent on get
ten married a stone wall won't stop
'em, you might as well try to pull up
= a runaway horse with bit made out
Of spear O. grass. But there's 20
use a taken about matrimony to 4
!, Teller that don't want to git married.
l reckon I'll 60 down to the cellar
and bring up some cider. We kin Get
by the fire and talk about sompen sen
sible."
She brought up the cider and tux
; some cake out of the cupboard and We
. set down side by side before the frs
and eat and drunk.
"Pon my word" I says, Its mighty
comfortable setten beside a sensible
woman like you; EN- had met stch :
purson before this I'd passed lots Q
= time comparable instead O. mopen
alone" .
And if I'd met man like you meu-
be I'd a made a sensible matter-o.
fact match without any gewgaws, ann
: wouldn't been in a business tibet
don't approve of. We could formed
a partnership, for some regular
5 trade"
l "Sartin," / said, I'VE could a done
I that very thing"
D The freight was kind O. genial ana
the young woman's face lighted up ny
b it was purity as newly painted plow
Q Just out O. the store. Somehow SOM
lpen got into my arm-the one next 70
4 her-to rest itself on the back o ner
q cheer. 1t hadn't been there very lons
d before it slid down all by itself. win.
t out my doing anything about 1t. ana
rested agin her shoulder. She dloN
say nothin', and what did the con-
e sarned arm do but draw her to me:
i She turned her face toward me ana
e her lips looked SO red and tempiea
s that l put mine agin 'em to see Wnss
:, they felt like" ~.
Well, we sat there long while TAX.
t en-we didn't say nothin' more aposs
Z matrimony--and when ! got up 10 ~
r home she said seen that l was tas
d first sensible man she'd ever nv
e she'd like me to stop again wnen
was passen.
It Somehow after that / drove nea1y
4 every day to Bunkerville; thai Y
n started for Bunkerville, but ! nesss
: git by the matrimonial agency, ~
It when l come home the house loose.
6 like there'd been a funeral there. Wv
day there was a wedden at the asenes
between me and the agent, ana ~
II bet it want no cheap affair. ansIs
d was a satin wedden dress LOT W
a bride. wedden presents, flowers e.
n all the monkey shines of a hrst-cis''
e tieup.
" ---------------.----------
= nary torm NJ cour, in an effort to aTefs