Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1858-02-11
KENOsHA. WIS. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY H. 1858

|
! draw from Mr.. Robinson pretty dlrec
answer. He had thought first on making
some simple inquiry about the weather
!, but he now felt convinced that, witt
; Mr.. Robinson, the weather was Yer,
, copious subject. He had also severa
!, times thought of asking some question
in relation to the beverage they wert
t drinking; such as, whether Mr.. Robin
/ son preferred flip to hot sling, And a
/ first he could hardly perceive. if q ths
lquestion were put directly, how it could
J, fail to bring out a direct yes orno. But
+ the .discursive nature of Mr.. Robinson's
eloquence on flip had already induced
him to turn his thoughts in another di
rection for a safe and suitable question
I At last he thought he would make his
inquiry in reference TO Mr.. Robinson's
lameness, He would have asked the
4 cause of his lameness, but the thought
occurred to him that the cause might
not be clearly known, or his lameness
might have been produced by compli-
cation of causes, that would allow toe
much space for reply. He resolved
therefore, simply to ask him whether his
i lameness was in the leg or in the foot
That was question which it appeared
to him required short answer. For il
it were in the leg, Dir. Robinson would
say it was in his leg; and if it were il
his foot, he would at once reply, in his
4 foot; and if it were in both, what could,
/ be more natural than that he should say
in both ? and that would seem to be the
end of the story.
Having at length fully made up his
mind as to the point of the attack, he
prepared for the charge, and taking a
careless look at his watch, he gave the
doctor a sly wink. Doctor Snow, with
out turning or scarce appearing to move
drew out his watch from beneath his
wrapper so far as to see the hour, and
returned it again to his pocket.
Mr.. Robinson, said the major, IF !
may presume to make the inquiry, is
your lameness in the leg or in the foot?
! 'Well, that reminds me- said Mr..
Robinson, taking sip from the tumbler
which he still held in his hand, that re-
mindsme of what my old fathersaid to me
once when I was aboy. Says he, Jack,
you blockhead, don't you never tell
where anything is, unless you can first
tell how it come there The reason OF
his saying it was this Father and ]
was coming in the steamboat from New
| York to Providence; and they was all
strangers on hoard-we didn't know one
of 'em from Adam; and on the way, one
ofthe passengers missedhis pocket book
and began to make great cutlery about
it. He called the captain, and said there
must be search. Q The boat must be
searched, and all the passengers and all
on board must be Searched. Well, the
captain he agreed to it; and at it they
went, and over hauled everything from
one end ofthe boat to t'other; but they
couldn't find hide nor hair of it. And
the hands, but they couldn't get no
track ont. And the man that lost the
pocketbook took on and made great
fuss. He said it wasn't so much on ac-
count of the money, for there wasn't a
great deal in it; but the papers in it were
OF great consequence tc him, and he of
fered to give ten dollars to any body
that would find it. Pretty soon after
that, | was tixin' up fathers berth a lit
tie, where he was going to sleep, and
found the pocket book under the clothes
at the head of the berth, where the THE
had tucked it away while the search was
going on. So took it, tickled enough
and run to the man, and told him ha6
found his pocket book. He catched i
out of my hands, and says he, 'Whert
did you find it? Says |, Under tho
clothes in the head of my fathers berth
In your fathers berth, did your says
!, he, and he give me look and spoke 81
) sharp, ! jumped as if l was going on
) Of my skin.
Says he, show me the place.
SO | run and showed him the place.
Call your father here says he SO
run and called father.
, Now Mister says he to father, 6
should like to know how my pocket-bo
came in your berth
Il don't know nothin' about it, say
= father.
: Then he turned to me and says be
e Young man, how came this pocket-bool
s in your fathers berth?'
S Says |, Il can't tell. I found it Their
AMI that's all l know about it,
: Then he called the captain and aske'
! him ifhe knew us. The captain said h
a didn't. The man looked at us might
sharp, first to father, and then to me
+ and eyed us from top to toe. We WASH
5 neither of us dressed very slick, and W
d could tell by his looks pretty well wha
= he was thinking. At last he said h
d would leave it to the passengers whetl
e er,under all the circumstances, he shout
/ pay the boy the ten dollary or not
i looked at father, and his face was as re
n as blaze, and | see his dander begu
It to rise. He didn't wait for any of tn
passengers to give their opinion about
d but says he to the man, 'Dod-rot you
r money! if you've got any more than yo
d want you may throw it into the sea 70
d what care; but if you offer any of it t
S my boy, I'll send you where streak {
t lightning wouldn't reach you in 81
o months
= That seemed TO settle the business
h the man didn't say no more to fathel
h and most of the passengers begun t
e 'ook as if they didn't believe father wa
e guilty. But number oft times after tina
o ON the passage, / see the man that los
$ the pocket book whisper to some of tn
1 passengers, and then turn and look {
Il father. And then father would loo
It gritty enough to bite board-nail off,
{ When we got ashore, as soon as we &c
Il little out of sight of folks, Gather catcl
|, ed hold of my arm and gave it a mos
r awful jerk, and says he, Jack you bloch
o head, don't you never tell where an
r thing is again, unless you can first te
l. how it came there