Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-05-05
LID BARNEY WISDOM was =.
rough. hard-handed man. and IL
his early days his reputation had
been bad enough. Even then he

M ~
~ been bad enough. Even then he
had owned the farm miles beyond the
town. and he drove into town oftener than
necessary. getting madly drunk and
driving home at wildly reckless pace.
his wagon swaying from side to side OF
the road, his voice raised in song or
curses, and his hand beating his horses
numerically Several times he had
been thrown from the wagon. but luck
was with him and he had not been
killed
Wisdom had found girl willing to
marry him. 1t was said he beat her:
certainly she aged early and became a
gray, frightened creature. and his one
child-Jimmy Wisdonl-grew up in FEAR
of him. They said. in Muscatine. that
it was old Barney's regular habit on
reaching home from town to staggT up
to Jimmy and plant fist between the
lads eyes, knocking him down. this being
old Barney's idea of quenching rebellion
before it even began to glow as spark.
The old man-lquor had aged him as mis-
treatment had aged his wife-was giant
in strength. as such men sometimes are
and when he entered the houseboat of
Shagbark Jones. shored up on timbers
on the Muscatine levee. the blows he
struck the table as he told of the theft
boards of which the table top was made.
HE took it. my son Jimmy did," he
ewore with an oath. You can't fool me
the old woman wouldn't dare touch it. I
Jailed him for it, you can bet on that;
but the Judge let him out on bail. You
think you're a mystery man. as 1 hear it.
Lee me see If you are. or if you are just a
smooth-skinned old faker. You look at
the stars and tell me if Jimmy done it,
and where the money is
Winter, indicated by the black-gray
clouds that came hastily over the sky
and spilled a drizzling rain that turned
to s1eet toward night. had come upon
the houseboat Furipides early and unex-
pectedly the day Shagbark Jones, the
Muscatine that year. The shaggy-haired.
tangle-bearded old rascal heard the sleet
6patter against the window over his head
as he lay on the cave-in sofa in his cabin.
do you hear that? Winter"
ut is winter. dad" his daughter an
ewered from the small room parti-
toned off for her in the corner Of the
cabin. TITS winter. sure enough"
It annoyed Shagbark. He had meant
to reach the lower river. those reaches
Of the Mississippi where winter never
came. before this. but business had
been so good that he had fingered twice
Is long as usual at each stopping
place. Each year his reputation as a
solver of mysteries had grown, and
with 1t the audiences that in the after
noon and evening attended his grand
musical entertainment and anatomical
lecture had increased. with consequent
increases in the sales of Shagbark oil
and Shagbark IMMINENT. and he could
never tear himself away from a port
until the sales dwindied to almost
Nothing. Even the small hamlets had
yielded good returns this year. so large
mad his reputation become. and now
winter had caught him unexpectedly
1t was not the first time he had spent
2 winter in the north. In many ways
he liked it. The LATEST old rascal in
ten states. he did not mind some
months of enforced laziness as a rule
but of late-since money had been
coming in SO freely-he had come to
love money more. Originally he had
only cared to sell enough Of the vile
0ecoction he called Shagbark oil to
keep going" but now he was accumu-
!atfng cash. and he had grown to love
tine money for its own sake. He did not
love IT sufficiently, perhaps, ever to
wish to do even the slightest bit of
real work. but he loved it.
This season the money had poured
N SO generously that even Orlando and
Black Pete. the little dried-up mon
key-faced cook and the big black
negro crew" talking together on the
rear deck when Shagbark was drows-
ing In the bin. had often drawled out
estimates of it's magnitude.
He must have a millium dollars
Lando. Black Pete said Jus keens
e-rollin in and a-rolIin' in. that money
goes You don't hardly git time to cook
OIL 30 steady"