“Never felt better,” Asa gruffly assured him. “Here it is. Start setting it up, Tub.”
“Whatever you say,” shrugged the printer.
“I’m running the story just as you wrote it,” Asa told Milty, “except for a few minor alterations. It’s obvious you’re capable of framing a concise report. I say capable, Milty. You have the talent for it. Now, to really succeed, you must have the inclination. Stop thinking as a literary giant. Be content to confine your descriptions to the clear facts—clearly presented. I’ve told you this before, haven’t I?”
“You’ve told me before,” Milty humbly agreed. “The trouble was ...” He shrugged self-consciously, “I didn’t have the sense to listen to you.”
“My gosh,” breathed Tub. “He’s growin’ up at last.”
“Tub,” smiled Asa, “let me have the first copy when you roll it off.”
“Do I ...” Milty eyed him beseechingly, “do I get a by-line?”
“How about that?” demanded Tub.
“He gets a by-line,” nodded Asa.
“Eureka!” whooped Milty.
“And that first copy,” said Asa, “is to be mailed to Oscar—special delivery.” He nodded affably to his protégé. “Who knows, Milty? Maybe, after reading your story, your father will reconsider his decision to—uh—keep you in exile.”
“Ah—to see New York again ...!” breathed Milty. Asa got up, ambled over to the Texans and shook hands with them.
“Great day for the Sentinel,” he assured them. “A newspaperman can consider himself fortunate when he can write a first-hand account of a Larry and Stretch adventure.”
“It was just another hassle,” drawled Stretch.
“I guess that’s all you really care about,” Larry heard Sadie saying. “Getting back to New York, I mean. You just can’t wait to quit Doone City, can you?”
“My dear,” said Milty, “I have nothing in common with Doone City—but plenty in common with its most beautiful citizen! We are kindred souls, Sadie. We belong together. Come back to New York with me ...”
“For gosh sakes,” protested Tub, “old Oscar hasn’t sent for you yet!”
“ ... as my bride,” insisted Milty. “Ah, Sadie. You’ll be the toast of the town, I promise you ...”
Larry yawned, dug an elbow into Stretch’s ribs, and remarked, “Too much sugar for my blood.”
“Me, too,” grunted Stretch. “Looks like Sadie’s gonna make out fine, so ...”
“So,” said Larry, “let’s you and me drift.”
On their way to the door, the Texans doffed their Stetsons to a radiantly happy Sadie. It took them less than twenty minutes to pack their few personal effects at the boarding house, purchase a few supplies and ready their mounts for the trail. After that, they became conspicuous by their absence.
Soon, Doone County would be naught but another memory of their nomadic past.
LARRY AND STRETCH 4:
NOMADS FROM TEXAS
By Marshall Grover
First Published by The Cleveland Publishing Pty Ltd
Copyright © Cleveland Publishing Co. Pty Ltd, New South Wales, Australia
First Smashwords Edition: March 2017
Names, characters and incidents in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information or storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
This is a Piccadilly Publishing Book
Series Editor: Ben Bridges
Text © Piccadilly Publishing
Published by Arrangement with The Cleveland Publishing Pty Ltd.
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