Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1867-09-18
Him Wolff, and the Tom Cats by
Mark Twain.

knew bv the sympathetic glow
upon his bald head knew by the
thoughtful look upon his face-l knew
bv tue emotional Hull, 'tp0,i the straw
berry on the end of the old free liver
nose. that Simon Whe.lcr's memory
was busy with the oldeu time. And
50 | prepared 10 leave. because ali
these were sym toms ct a reIniniscence
signs that he was EoIng 70 be dcllv-
cred Of another OF his tiresome per
sonal rxperieuces-butI was t, Q slow
he got the start Of me. As early "a
| can rec0lIcct the intliction was
couched in the following language:
We was all boys then, and didn'
care for nothin only how to shirk
school and keep up a revivIn state OF
devilmeut all the time. This var Jim
W off was talking about was the
prentice, and he was the best herted
fellow, he was, and the moss Forgivin
and onseltish | ever see-well, there
couldn't be a more butler boy than
what he was, take him how YOU would
and sorry enough | was when | see
him for the last time.
Me and Henry was always pes
term him. and plastering boss bills on
his back and putting humble bees IL
his bed and 90 on, and sometimes we'd
crowd in and bunk with him, IL
spite of his growing, and then we'd
let Oh TO get mad and fight acrost him
so as to keep him stirred like. He
was nineteen, he was, and long and
laDk~ and basbful, and we was fifteen
and sixteen. and tolerable lazy and
worthless.
SO that night yga know, that IN
sister Mary gave the candy pullin
they started Us off to bed early, so a:
the company could have fell swing
and We rung In on i'm 40 have some
fun.
Our winder looked oat INTO the
roof Of the ell, and about ten o'clock
couple Of old tomcats got to rairin
and chargin around on it and carrvin
on like sin. There was four inc r.:
Of snow on the roof, and it was trozt
80 that there was a right smart crust
OF ice on It, and the moon was shining
bright. and we could see them cat.
like daylight. First they 4 stand of
and e-yow-vow-vow, Just the same a.
if they was cussin' one another, busI
. up their tails and swell around an,
spit and then all of sudden the gray
cat he'd catch Ia ndful of fur off the
vallcr cat ham, and spin him arounc
like button on = barn door But, the
WALLER cat was game, and he'd come
and clinch. and the way they'd goug,
and bite, and howl, and the way they (
make the turf fly was powerful.
q" Well, jim, he got disguised Will
! the row, and lowed he'd climb on
/ there and shake EN- off that roof
| He hadn't RELY no notion of doin' it
! likely but we everlastin'ly doggc,
him and bullyragged him, and lowe
! he u always Dragged how he wouldn
take a dare, and 50 on, TIL bimeby h,
histed up the winder, and, 10 and be
/ hold YOU, he went-went exactly a
| he was-nothin' on but a shirt, and j
was short You ought to seen hin
cre-e-pin over that ice, and diggin
his toe-nails and his finger-nails in 70
to keep him from slipPin; and, boy,
/ all, YOU ought to seen that shirt flap
/ pin IN the wind, and them long, ridij k
Ious shanks of his'n a gIistenin in tn,
moonlight
" Them company folks was down
! there under the caves, the whole squat
OF EN-, under that emery shed Of dea,
/ Wash'ton Bower vines-all settin
/ round about two dozen sassers of no
candy, which they'd sot in the snow
to cool. And they were laughin' an,
/ talkin' lively; but. bless you they die
/ not know nothin' about the panorama
! that was goin' on over their heads
4 " ell, Jim, he went sneakin' and Z
! sneakin up, unbckuowns to them tom
/ cats-they was swishin' their tail.
+ and vow-vowin' and threatenin' te
/ ciinch. you know and not pawn any
/ attention-he went Il sueakin and Z
sneakin right up to the comb Of the
/ roof, till he was in foot and a hal
I Of EN- and then, all of a sudden, h,
made a grab for that waller cat. But
/ by gosh he missed fire and slipped
his holt, and his heels flew up and he
| Topped on his back and shot ofl"n that
roof like a dart went smashin
and crashin' down through that ole
rusty vine, and landed right IN tn,
/ dead enter of all of them company
people - sot down like vearrh
/ quake in them two dozen sassers o
red hot candy. and let off howl that
was bark from the tombs, Them
girls-well. they left, Won know
They see that he warn't dressed for
company, and so they left. All done
in a second; it was Just one little wal
whoop. and whisht of their dresses
and blame the wench Of them was il
/ light anywhere
jim, he was in sight. He wa.
/ gormed with the bilin' hot molasse.
candy clean down to his heels. anC
had more busted sassers hangin' to hin
than If he was Iniun princis: and be
came prancing up stairs Just whoop
in and a cussjn'; and every Jump he
made he shed some china, and every
squirm he fetched he dripped some
candy.
4 N I,1--.--F - H.