1939-06-09 — Page 8

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THE CHINA MAIL, JUNE 9, 1989.

By BUD FISHER

MUTT AND JEFF

· THIS FARMER LOST

EVERYTHING! NOW

THE FIRM WANTS YOU

TO GO OUT THERE AND TAKE INVENTORY!

TAKE:

WHO?

TAKE INVENTORY!

WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU SEE! MAKE A... LIST OF ALL THE ∙CHATTELS AND

STOCK!

WELL) SO FAR I COUNTED

THIRTY CHICKENS, TWELVE EGGS, FOUR COWS, TWO HORSES AND NINE SPIDERS!

HELLO,MUTT WHAT DO

YOU CALL THAT THING THATS AROUND HERE WITH A ROUGH COAT THAT'S WORN OUT IN STROTS, A WHITE BEARD AND A LONG SAD FACE?

A. MUTT PUBLIC

(DVOTTA: 1000, be :

YOU

BOOB THAT'S THE FARMER!

- AND I SUPPOSE YOU'RE `THE FARMERS

KID!

Starts To-morrow at the

QUEEN'S

ALHAMBRA

YOUR FAVORITE STARS IN SPRINGTIME TRU OF LOVE AN

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...her best since "It Happened One Night"

DON

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girls, he's irresistablet-

lo

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good for a thou- sand laught...

ADDED!

E

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more glamorous than ever...

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THE DAILY SHORT STORY

FAMOUS CITIZEN

2

"Our most famous citizen?" Old "A week passed. Then Al Gal- Timer smiled reminiscently. "Let's, loway came back. He busted into the see, now. I reckon our most famous Desert Thirst, saloon and let out citizen was Al Galloway. But you yip that could be heard for blocks. In know about him, of course?"

his hands were clutched bunches of currency. His pockets were heavy with silver and gold.

I shook my head. "My familiarity with famous western characters is limited to Jess James and Billy the Kid and a few other lesser known outlaws."

"Sho' now!" exclaimed Old Timer. "Is that a fact?" He whittled himself a chow of tobacco. "Al Galloway wasn't an outlaw-not, that is, in the sense you mention." Suddenly he laughed aloud. "Al Galloway is fam- ous because he broke the bank at Gophertown!"

Suddenly I remembered, dimly, about a certain cowpuncher who had travelled north to the famous gambl ing hall at Gophertown and broke the bank, starting with a ten-dollar bet. Gophertown is now u swank and fashionable watering place, with sky-scraping hotels and dude ranches scattered about. The gambling hall is still there, only deep-cushioned car- pets have replaced the once sawdust covered floor, and a cocktail lounge with chromium furniture has replaced the old time barroom.

.

"'Yeeooow!' he yelped and flung the money into the crowd of us. You never saw such a scramble in all your life.

"Yep, Al had busted the bank. From him and from eye witnesses we got the story. He had started with a ten- dollár bet and in less than an hour he had run his ten dollars up to $5,000. Before midnight he was a *winner of something like $50,000. Burt Martin was whitefaced and grim- lipped. There was nothing he could do, not with a score of armed miners standing by, watching.

"So Martin called a recess and sent down to Youngstown for more funds, and when it got there Al started in again. At noon the next day he quit. He was the richest man in the state.

"Everybody thought Martin would close up shop, but Martin figured he couldn't afford to not with Al Gallo- way's winnings against him. No, Martin remained open and continued to "A man named Burt Martin start- do a flourishing business. Much more ed Gophertown's gambling casino," flourishing than ever before. You see, Old Timer mused. "He came out news of what Al had done travelled

By Vic Yardman

here following the gold strike up in fast. Miners and cattlemen began to the Sawtooth range. He expected come in for miles around, all hoping to to make big money.

repeat Al Galloway's stroke of luck. "For a time he did well. Then If one man could break the bank, they another strike was made down near figured, another could. Soda Sink, It was a bigger and "Gophertown began to prosper. richer strike and most of the miners Mines were reopened and business migrated south and established the boomed. Al Galloway never went town of McKenzie.

back. He stayed in McKenzie, which makes him our most famous citizen."

"Business fell off at the Gophertown casino. Twenty miles was a long ways in those days, and few of the miners would make the trip even on week-ends. Besides, a lot of them -suspected that Burt Martin was run- ning crooked games, though they had no proof.

"Martin considered moving down to McKenzie, but the cost of transporta tion of the equipment he had install ed, plus the erection of a new build- ing, plus the fact that most any time another strike might be made farther away made him hesitate. Besides, he had foresight. He believed that some- time Gophertown might become a resort town. "

"Whatever happened to him?" I asked.

"Why, he died. Everybody dies sooner or later. And on his deathbed he confessed."

"Confessed ?"

"Sure. You see, Al was on relief when he died. Didn't have a nickle. We were all curious as to what he'd done with his money, and he knew we were curious. He'd promised to keep the secret, but since Burt Martin was dead also, he figured it wouldn't do any harm to explain that Martin had hired him to say he'd busted the bank. Yes, Martin gave him a few hundred dollars to throw around and "Martin's problem, therefore, was a few hundred more to keep for him- to induce the miners to make the trip from McKenzie up to his casino. But he didn't get very far. The miners had no faith in him and they weren't interested.

self. Martin had to do something to drum up business, and that was the best thing he could think of. The bank at Gophertown never was busted, never will be. Keep away from there, stranger."

I took the next train for Gopher- town.

(Distributed by The Associated

"Then Al Galloway's claim pétered out, He had been working away at it for a couple of months steady, hadn't had any excitement, and he was rarin' to go. With $2000 worth of dust in Newspapers). his polk and no claim to keep him busy he exhausted in, short order the [ limited sources of entertainment in McKenzie. One night he got pretty drunk and declared he guessed he'd go up to Gophertown and bust the bank.

MAY STILL JOIN TERRIERS

"His friends tried to dissuade him, The War Office has decided that because they knew he'd come back men betweer. the ages of twenty clean, and they knew that what re- and twnty-one who become liable to mained of his $2000 was all the money he had in the world. But the red eye had made Al belligerant and stubborn, That very night he set out for Gopher town. We sighed and shook our heads and waited.

compulsory military training shall still be accepted for the Territorial Army. They will still be liable for militia service