The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1923-01-18
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Uncle Johns Lurid
{ Fast
By ANTHONY REIMERT
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES


yes, you can go and see your
Uncle John, Maud, but Harry and you
are TO stay together all the time you
are with him." Elsie Thompson
| sighed and turned 10 her husband.
I'VE can't cut ourselves off from my
only brother" she said, but it's ter
iible 10 have such man in our fam
lily. Ii it wasn't that he's taken q
fancy to the children and"
And may leave them his money"
lnterposed her husband, smiling.
"Oh, it's all very well to laugh, Har-
old, but L think It's terrible" sighed
Elsie.
IF you ask me-" said Harold. II
think your brother John is Il good bit
of Il big blur, myself | don't believe
John is quite such reprobate us he
| makes out"
Maud and Harry set off, hand In
hand. Their terrible old uncle IN
spired them with a mixture Of fear,
admiration and wonder. Uncle Johns
reputation was decidedly bad one.
1t was not that the children were
| likely 10 come to any actual harm
| Uncle John would not try to lead
them into SHIT was just the horrl-
BILE example of this old bachelor uncle
Why, take Uncle Johns rooms, for
example, at the Chatham hotel. The
| pictures All over the walls were
signed photographs of actresses in
| iow-neck dresses. All of them wore
smiles that showed rows of white
teeth. And the signatures: "To dear
old john" "With love to john
love, think of that Half a dozen of
them had once loved Uncle John, and
the Inference was unsnistakable that
Uncle John had lover them in his
| dogs days.
And then the sporting prints !!
There were old-fashioned prints of
men hunting in red coats-that was
not so bad, but 1t showed that Uncle
Johns thoughts ran on horses, which
were fast. Then there were prints of
famous horses and jockeys. But what
was worst of all was the mysterious
cabinet, always locked, in which Uncle
John kept his whisky. Whisky? NQt
only whisky. Liquors with French
names that nobody could pronounce.
1t was for this reason that Uncle
Johns family frowned upon him. 1t
was for this reason that they avoided
him when they saw him coming down
the street twirling his cane-a cane,
mind you, evidence in itself of an I'M
4
"AIr. Benton can't see any one to-
day." the clerk Of the cheap little
hotel told the children. "He says he's
got bad cold"
Elsie was unfeignedly glad when
they got home. Really, Harold" she
said, "Tve been thinking seriously
that we shall have to put our foot
down, money or no money The chill
dren are growing up and must be
protected from wrong Influences"
sob, John isn't such a bad man as
he makes out" answered her hus-
band.
But the children were never to see
Uncle John again, for the simple rea-
son that the hotel clerk telephoned
them next morning that Uncle John
had passed out In the night, of heart
failure.
Then there was scurrying. None
of Uncle Johns reiStives had evInced
much desire of friendship with him
for years, but now there was a gen.
eral rush to the Hotel Chatham, to
the darkened room In which all that
was mortal of Uncle John lay
stretched out on the bed.
There we're two persons in the room
"a faded little old lady and an old
man, neither of whom any of Uncle
| Johns relatives had ever seen before.
After looking at Uncle John and the
old lady and gentleman, and the
| sporting prints, and wondering what
| brand of whisky Uncle John kept In
| his cabinet, they took their depar-
ture. But they went back next day
to hear the will read. Everything
was left to my friend Mrs. Pelham"
There were snorts of indignation.
| Harold and two or three others
stayed behind to talk to the lawyer
and the old gentleman and that aw-
full, awful Mrs. Pelham.
"Who is that woman?" demanded
Elsie when he got home
ooh, it's quite romance" said
Harold. 1T appears her husband
abandoned her twenty years ago,
and they've been in love With each
other all that time, but as she didn't
believe in divorce they've just been
friends. Sad. isn't It'll"
"Sad? That doesn't sound like
Johnl" said Elsie Indignantly. "And
not a penny for the children. The
old reprobate-'
"Ah, my dear, old Jack Greaves was
talking about that. That was just
Johns way of hiding his feelings from
the world. He never knew an actress
in his life, and he got those sporting
prints cheap at sale. And the cab
met was full of books. Some men
don't wear their hearts on their
sleeves, you know. Mu ought to have
known your own brother better than
that, Elsle'
| "Hum |" said Elsie dubiol1slv sI