Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-12-18
Snappy Town to
Live In
60 BY Doubleday, Page & Coz
By RALPH D. PAINE

SmAll-toWn hardware store WHen ne
should have been pacing spray-swept
quarterback or riding the open spaces
among red-blooded men. He said so
himself, as often as anybody would lis
ten. If customers edged away from his
word. pictures there was always the
pretty cashier with the bobbed hair and
the smile that beat any closeup ever
flashed on a screen. Johnny told her
this to her face. Instead of rebuking
him as fresh gink, Miss Edna made
him dizzy with another Of those mil
liondollar smiles.
mot that | want 30 run wild or pull
any freak stuff, Edna, for I'm too
sensible for that. But | simply have
gotta express myself somehow. / am
terribly ambitious. That's what aiIs
me. And ambition Is bound to make
fellow restless. My gosh Nothing ever
happens in this soggy dump Of town,
and nothing ever VIII"
Adventure? Is that the big idea.
1ohnnyf'
You said it, Edna More to it than
that, though. It's up to me to make
stake somehow What chance have
got here? You tell me-"
Miss Edna ceased checking up pile
of monthly statements and gazed at
the young adyenturer with fond amuse-
ment. Then she powdered her pert
aose and inquired:
why the stake? You can take me
out and bug me one for supper if you
like. What's the hurry to get rich?
You have a good job for kid"
$50 | can marry you, Edna. Haven't
| told you that fifty timesf
Il am not fortune hunter, Johnny,
dear You better hustle and earn a raise
Of salary. Heavens, but you are
handsome boy when you look at me
like that. Now run away or I'll do
something rash"
Listen If | had a stake of five thou
sand dollars would you marry meT
persisted the imprisoned sutton.
mo, for I'd drop dead in my tracks
before you could be widower. For
the love of Mike, SHOOT | am a poor
working girl"
AS brutal anti-climax the boss
| bawled from an aieove: "Drat you,
Johnny What in time do | pay you
for? You come get this sprayer and
load it with bug poison. Then you trot
around to Doctor Merritt's house with
it and show him how to spray his per-
later patch He phoned that the mix
ture was no good and had the nerve
to tell me his bugs got fat on it,"
"The old dumb-bell don't know how
to use a sprayer," said Johnny Beal.
Il watched him puttcriQ' in his back
yard. All right, I'll showsA.m how"
Expertly, Johnny measured a proper
| dose OF the prepared poison and
! dumped it into the two-gallon gall
yanized spraying tank. Then it oc-
Cured to him TO make it sure death and
so avoid, more trouble with the UNI
| pleasant Mr. Merritt. So lie ADDED, at
random, some arsenate of lead, a dash
of blue vitrio and a rich seasoning of
| paris green.
'"That ought to put d crmp in EN-"
said ne, as he poured the sprayer two
thirds full of wafer and vigorously
shook it, He slung it over his shoulder
| by the strap and moved briskly out of
| the store. AS he walked along he piled
/ the plunger to build up air pressure in
| the cylinder and get ready for action.
| In front of the bank he paused to
| le.ok at shade tree whose leaves We're
| badly eaten by catelpillars. The fuzzy
pests were crawling along the twigs.
| CO Op buf Inhnny nnlin1.
bered the sprayer for practice shot.
/ He might as well make sure that the
| machine was ready for business.
The caterpillars appeared so dis
gusted that he gave them another vol
ley. The breeze carried the fine spray
against the side of a closed car stand
ing at the curb The courteous Johnny
fastened to wipe off the white spots
with his handkerchief. The man be-
hind the wheel swore and told him TO
! go chase himself Johnny resented his
rudeness and advised him to seek a
torrid climate. ~
Just then pistol shot was heard in
the bank, then another. Out from the
entrance, taking the stone steps in a
|
small satchel in one hand. pistol in
Me other. He charged straight for the
closed car at the curb.
Johnny Beal stood petrified, his
mouth open, too scared to bulge from
the path Of the outlaw. The pistol
was jerked up to ire and clear the
way, but Johnny was quicker. He did
not mean TO be. One finger happened
to be on the nozzle valve of the spray
er. That finger frightened convulsively.
The nozzle was pointing straight
ahead, with plenty Of air pressure be-
hind it.
The fleeing bank robber caught it
full in the face-prepared poison,
arsenate of Lead dash of blue vitrol
and rich seasoning Of paris green.
Blinded, ne swerved with his hands to
his face and crashed into the maple
tree. Falling to the pavement, he
groaned that he was dying, Just before