Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1926-07-08
ONE REIINO,
AND HE WAS
FEEDING
BY Z. r. WARE
t@. 1885. western Newspaper Uais.)

o. 1885. Western Newspaper UnisA)
r YENRY PARKER ceased pacing
the floor Of his small. dingy
l. L law Office, and listened intent
ly. Could those footsteps In
the corridor be heralding the approach
Of a client? For six months, since
hanging out his shingle. Henry had
been expecting to see clients walk
through his doorway; perhaps the
person now approaching
The flap on the outside Of the door
was raised and. long, white envelope
shot through, the slot.
Only the postmanl
Nothing good ever came out OF
an envelope" gritted Henry, savagely
shaking a fist at the letter. Lay there
and rot; darn you!"
II the letter had obligingly. rotted
there would have been nothing further
to record here, But 1t didn't. Henry'i
curiosity presently Overcame his an
ger, and Ave minutes later he was
reading the Enclosure. :"
Typed on the letterhead Of q
Arm Of lawyers was the following In
formation:
Henry Parker, ESQ.,
:. Atty. at Law,
WarrenstOwD, Mo.
Dear SIR.
- BY the terms Of the, will of yoar
late cousin. Moses Alternately, you
are the sole heir to his estate.
Mr.. Alternately, as you doubtless
know, was the proprietor OF
circus; that, as a matter Of fact,
formed his entire property. All
debts have been discharged In &C
cordance with the instructions
laid down in the will, and the
residue will be turned over to you
upon demand. The residue, afOre-
said, consists Of one rhinocerOs.
The keeper, whom as agents we
have retained, states that the ami
NAL is young, in good skin; and
is feeding.
Arrangements for keep Of the
animal and his attendant have
been made by US, In your name.
Of which we trust you will APP
prove. Kindly advise at once
Yours very truly,
COTTER AND BALL, Attys.
Not gracefully and by easy stages
as. well-bred person deposits him
self In chair, but pretty much as
coal falls, into a cellar, Henry sat
down. For a long time he stared al
the letter, trying to make himself
believe that 1t was Joke; In bad
taste, of course, but joke. In mo-
ments of youthful indulgence, he re-
called he had wished for many
queer things; but never, at. his wild
est, had he ever desired rhinOcerOs
Clients. new suit Of clothes, enough
money to keep his landlady from &C
tually ejecting him-those things he
had even prayed for, but rhinoceros
-neverl
And 1t was feeding! Running up
food bills on him; at heaven alone
knew how much per diem! And he
Henry Parker, with only nine dollars
and sixty cents between himself and
starvation!
There was Betty NoOnan, too; the
girl he hoped to marry when the
clients should begin to stream In
What would she say to sharing their
pretty bungalow-their, dream one
with a rhinoceros? No doubt the
beast was a.. rayenous feeder, and
would eat him and Betty, if he ever
succeeded in getting her, out of house
and home.
Feeding ~. he muttered. eating
its head off So is the keeper And
1 am paying the bills!'
The thought catapulted him toward
the telephone 1t was in Henry's mind
to send off message, with all the
speed the telegraph company could
put at his disposal, and the message
would seriously interfere with the ra-
lions of one rhinocerous, young and
in fine skin! :;
SORRY. Having trouble : on ysur
line. Wen call you later
Central's voice came family, and
Henry hung up with bang. II any-
thing had been lacking to make him
completely miserable. Central had
furnished it. he looked at his watch.
Four fifteen, four-ffteen-
Why, he'd have time ito catch the
afternoon trainl But he would have
to hustle. Yes, that was the logical
thing to do. When one wanted thing
done well, one had best be ones own
agent.
Maybe the thing can be killed, and
by jove! They make things out OF
rhinoceros hide; shoes and things
Maybe something can be gotten out
of the brute's pelt. The feed bill, at
leaSt!'
He took hope out of the thought.
Snatching up his hat, he dashed down
the village street, reaching the depot
Just in time to swing aboard the last
car of the train. He sat on the rear
platform. painting, and specializing
upon what he would do In case there
should be some sort Of law forbidding
the slaughtering Of the rhfno.' One
needed a special permit In order to
kill ones own horse, Henry knew.
Suppose rhinos were likewise pro-
tected?
WELL" thought Henry, Gin that
case I'll just have to do the best
can"
what you doing hefe7"
Henry glanced over his shoulder,
and became aware Of two things he
had not previously noticed. First, a
tall, well-fed, middle-aged man was
aknndinnr thu nor donrruav NoAnnd