OCR Text |
Show The Country Lily By VERRICK SHALMAR !&. Weaurn N.wipap.r t:ntun.) JAWBONE TEAL and his partner. Yen Hock Kenton, took off their rabbit skin-cultured ovcrcouls and made themselves comfortable beside the radiator In Nurcell's theatrical boarding house. "Yes sir," Jawbone said, continuing the argument begun when they had left the (lhn house where they had passed the evening. "These film plots are certainly the bunk, l'lacld Valley ! There never was no such place nor any girls like these here country lilies, the Innocent little girls thut the slick city villains lure to the wicked city." "Go on, Jawbone," retorted Yen Hock. "You know about as much about l'lacld Valley as these bams downstulrs do about Shakespeare. Ever lived In a Placid Valley? You have not." "I've worked ns many hick burgs as you have,' retorted the fat Jawbone. "I said lived, not worked," replied Yen Hock, a reminiscent look in his eye. "I was In a l'lacld Valley once, years ago," suld Yen Hock. "I married there." "What! A country lily r" demanded I Jawbone. "Mo, a schoolteachri with a face like' a sour apple pie," admitted Yen Hock. "She had five thousand In the bank." "No wonder you found the place attractive," at-tractive," chuckled Jawbone. "Yes, I was young enough for that line then," sighed Yen Hock. "Widows were my specialty. But honest, Jawbone, that country got Inside In-side of me some way. The orchards and the river and the smell of the fields. Say I That little place was peace plus. They called It Lazy Shadows, and It was way up In the Kentucky hills." 1 "Where was the catch In It?" demanded de-manded Jawbone. "The widow had a temper?" "No, a child, a six-year-old brat that was a human hyena," said Yen Hock, rolling back his sleeve and baring a scar, a horseshoe of deep blue marks. "I still have this little souvenir of Amy," he expluined. "Bit you, eh" chuckled Jawbone. "Some little wildcat." "Ugly, scrawny little runt, regular bobcat for temper. I left soon, with the five thousand." "Naturally." , "But I couldn't ever forget that place. I kept sort of hankering for one like it, but I never found one until last summer." "You don't mean Coyote Holer roared Jawbone. "No, no !" Interrupted Yen Hock. "A place where I went after the Steubens-vllle Steubens-vllle Job. Nobody'll ever find that place. "A little gray town tacked away in the bluest hills you ever saw. And peace over everything. But I did see a girl." "Another country lily, I suppose," snorted Jawbone. "Yep," said Yen Hock. "Curls and dimples and blue eyes and Innocence and everything, like that girl in the 'movie,' and then some." "And I suppose you fell for her," snorted Jawbone. "She was different," sighed Yen Hock. "At your age, tool" marveled his partner. "Well, the wiser they are the harder they fall." "I fell," admitted Yen Hock. 'Melissa 'Me-lissa Ann, she was called. Regular film stuff; there was a mortgage on the humble home and everything, even a rube lover, crazy to marry lier. Well, I made up my mind to marry that girl, so I pleaded for elopement on a dark night. At Inst we fixed It up. I hired a machine and arrunged to meet her behind the barn at ten o'clock. I had the black bag with the ten thousand from the Steubensvllle Job In it the row had quieted down and I hid that behind the barn. Her rude lover was snooping around as they always do. She met me all right with all her belongings be-longings In a big pillow slip-sort of bag. We set off, but after while I busted a tire and I hud to change. This rube fellow had got wise some way and he was following In a huggy, just line a show. It took me a few minutes to slip a new tire on." "And while you were slipping the tire somebody slipped something over on you !" laughed Jawbone. "When I got through I could hear the rube coming, so I just jumped In and stepped on the gas." "And when you got to the big city the bag was gone," demanded Jawbone. "In a way." admitted Yen Hock. "The girl was gone, too. She'd left that pillow thing propped up under the auto rug with a hut on top and some shoes sticking out underneath and had substituted another bag for mine, one Just like It, only It was empty, except for this note." The old con man took a crumpled note from his pocket and passed it over to J.iwhone. It read: pur Popper: Thanka for the ten thouaand. Th t Just about equala that five thousand and interest you stole from mother back In Lazy Shadows. Sorry I spoiled your tire; I sure musi have bitten you right for I see you still have the scar. It shows wlien you roll up your sleeves. The ten thousand will start ma and my hiband off Just right. Vour affectionate step-daughter AMI. "So you see," added Ten Hock with a siulie which showed he could appreciate ap-preciate a good Joke even If it were on himself. "The Aim plots ain t always al-ways ao far from real life after alL" |