The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-09-17
The Country
Lily
By vERRIcK sHALMAR

n - 49,
Yen Hook Fenton, took of their
made themselves comfortable beside
the radiator In Narcell's theatrical
boarding house.
"Yes sir" Jawbone said, continuing
the argument begun when they had
left the Aim house where they had
passed the evening. "These film plots
are certainly the bunk. Placid Valley!
There never was no such place nor any
girls like these here country lilies. the
innocent little girls that the slick city
villains lure to the wicked city"
Go on, Jawbone," retorted Yen
Hook. "You know about as much
about Placid Valley as these hams
downstairs do about Shakespeare.
Ever lived in a Placid Valley? You
have not"
"Tve worked as many hick burgs as
you have" retorted the fat Jawbone.
II said lived, not worked replied
Yen Hook, a reminiscent look In his
eye.
Il was in a Placid Valley once, years
ago." said Yen Hook. Il married
there"
"whati A country llly2" demanded
Jawbone.
mo, a schoolteacher with a face
like a sour apple pie" admitted Yen
Hook. "She had five thousand in he
bank"
mo wonder you found the place at
tractive," chuckled Jawbone.
yes. l was young enough for that
line them sighed Yen Hook.
widows were my speciality. But
honest, Jawbone, that country got I'M
side of me some way. The orchards
and the river and the smell Of the
fields. Sayl That little place was
peace plus. They called 1t Lazy
Shadows, and 1t was way up In the
Kentucky hills"
"Where was the catch in it?" de-
manded Jawbone. 1.-THE widow had q
temper?"
"No, a child, a six-year-old brat that
was a human hyena." said Yen Hook.
rolling back his sleeve and barring a
scar, a horseshoe of deep blue marks.
81 still have this little souvenir of
amy, he explained.
'Bit you, eh' chuckled Jawbone.
.Some little wildcat"
ugly, scrawny little runt, regular
bobcat for temper. l left soon, with
the five thousand"
Naturally"
"But couldn't ever forget that
place. / kept sort of h%ankering for
- 14I~0 a. hr.f 7 noyor fOftnA ana until
last summer"
"You don't mean Coyote HoleT'
roared Jawbone.
mo, mol" interrupted Yen Hook. "A
place where l went after the Steubens-
vile job. Nobody'll ever find that
place. "A little gray town tucked
away in the bluest hills you ever saw.
And peace over everything. But ! did
see a girl"
Another country lily, I suppose"
snorted Jawbone.
"Yep," said Yen Hook. "Curls and
dimples and blue eyes and innocence
and everything, like that girl in the
movie and then some"
"And / suppose you fell for her."
snorted Jawbone.
"She was different" sighed Yen
Hook.
"At your age, tool" marveled his
partner. well. the wiser they are
the harder they fall"
az fell,y admitted Yen Hook. Me-
LISA Ann, she was called. Regular
film stuff; there was a mortgage on
the humble home and everything, even
q rube lover, crazy to marry her. Well.
l made up my mind to marry that girl.
so l pleaded for elopement on a dark
night. At last we fixed it up. / hired
a machine and arranged to meet her
behind the barn at ten O'Clock. | had
the black bag with the ten thousand
from the Steubensville job in it-the
row had quieted down-and / hid that
behind the barn. Her rude lover was
shopping around as they always do.
She met me all right with all her be-
longings in a big pillow slip-sort of bag.
We set off, but after while busted a
tire and / had to change. This rube
fellow had got wise some way and he
was following in a buggy, just like a
show. 1t took me a few minutes to
slip a new tire on"
"And while you we're slipping the
tire somebody slipped something over
on your laughed Jawbone.
when / got through | could hear
the rube coming, so / just jumped / n
and stepped on the gas"
"And when you got to the big city
the bag was gone,' demanded Jawbone-
'In a way" admitted Yen Hook.
"The girl was gone, too, She'd left
that pillow thing propped up under
the auto rug with a hat on top and
some shoes sticking out underneath
and had substituted another bag for
mine. one just like it, only 1t a
empty, except Tor this note"
The Did con man took a %crumpled
note from his pocket and passed it over
RI II rood.