Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-25

but the dripping Of water from theeaves,
and the stir and rustic Of wrestling
boughs above them. Then the men be-
came uneasy, and whispered suggestions
and suspicious passed from one to the
other. "Resikon she's csved in his head
the first licEs ~ ''Decoyed him inter the
tunnel and haired himup, likely" SCOT
him down ard sittin' on him." "Prob'ly
bilin' suthin' to heaveO on US; stand clear
of the door boys!n For Just then the
latch clicked, the door slowly opened,
and voice said, "Come In out o. the
wet"
The voice was neither that Of the old
man nor his wife. 1t was the voice of a
small boy, its weak treble broken by
that preternRtuFai hoarseness which only
vagabondage and the habit Of premature
self-assertiOil can give. Itwas the face of
a small boy that looked upon theirs-One
that might have been pretty, and even
refined, but that Il was darkened by evil
knowledge from within, and dirt and
hard experience from without. He had
blanket around his shoulders, and
had evidently just risen from his
bed. "Come i'm he repeated,
'and don't make no noise. The
old mans in there talking to mar be
continued, pointing to an adjacent room
which seemed TO be a kitchen, from
which the Did mans voice came in de-
precating accents. "Let me be,u he
added, querulously to Dick Bullen, who
had caught him up, blanket and all, and
was affecting to toss him into the fire
''let go of ME, you old fool, dye hear?"
Thus abjlIred, Dick Bullen lowered
Johnny to the ground with a smOthered
laugh, while the men, entering quietly,
ranged themselves around a long table
of boards which occupied the center of
the room. Johnny then gravely pro-
ceeded to cupboard and brought out
several articles which he deposited on
the table. .'Thar's whisky, and crack
ers, and red herrin's, and cheese" He
took bite Of the latter on his way to
the table. 'sAnd sugar" He scoOped
up mouthful en- route with a small and
very dirty hand. "And terbaeker.
Theirs dried appils, too, on the shelf,
but don't admire 'em. Appils is swell
lin. Thar" he concluded, "now wade
in, and don't be afeRred. I don't mind
the old woman. She don't b'long to me.
.S'l0ng."
He had stepped to the threshold of a
small room scarcely larger than closet,
partitioned of from the main apart
ment, holding in its dim recess a small
bed. He stood there a moment looking
at the company, his bare feet peeping
from the blankets, and nodded.
"Hello, Johnny Ye amt agoin' to
turn in again, are ye?' said Dick.
eyes, areu' responded Johnny de-
cidedIy. -
Why, wot's up, old fellow?"
"Hm sich.n
"How sick?1
"rve got a fever. And chiIlbIains.
And roOmatiz," returned Johnny, and
pause he added in the dark, apparently
from under the bedclothes, "And biles.n
There was an embarrassing silence.
The men locked at each other and at the
fire. Even with the appetizing banquet
before thern it seemed as if they might
again fall into the dependency Of
Thompson's grocery, when the voice of |
the Old Man, incautiously lifted, came |
from the kitchen:
Certainly That's so. In course |
they is. A gang o lazy, drunken loaf
eTs, and that ar Dick BulIen's the or /
LAaAA ACGL Va dA44s OAUll HAVE HI LlOIE
sd6e than to come round var, with sick |
ness in the house and no provision. /
Thet's what l sed: Bullen, SEE I, it's /
crazy drunk you are, or q fool SEE 7, |
TO think Of such a thing tStaples, |
SEE ara you a man, Staples, and /
spect to raise the devil under my roof, |
and inval1ds lyin' roupd?i But they |
would cOme-they WOULD. That's what /
-n,ryg ~ To-
,ound the BAR"
owed this unfortunate exposure.
it was overheard in the kiteh-
IN, or whether the Old Mans irate COM
1anion had just then exhausted all other
nodes of expressing her contemptuous
Indignation, cannot say, but a back
lOOr was suddenly slammed with great
-iOlence. A moment later and the Old
Ian reappeared, haply unconscious of
he cause of the late hilarious Outburst,
nd smiled blandly.
1.-THE old woman thought she'd Jest
un over to Mrs. McFadden's for a So
ial call, he explained, with jaunty in
.itierenE2, as he took a seat at the
,oard.
Oddly enough, it needed this unto
nent that was beginning to be felt by
he party, and their natural audacity re-
urned with their host. l do not pro-
'Ose to record the eonvivialities Of that
VeniDg. TIE inQuisitive reader will ac-
ept the statement that the converse
ion was characterized by the same in
exultation, the same cautious
the same fastidious delieacy,
hn rbafofriraa1 I
anne lO2ical and coherent discourse
later in the evening, which
listingu Sh similar gatherings of the
masculine sex in more civilized lOcali-
les, and under more favorable auspices.
10 glasses were broken in the absence
f any; no liquor was uselessly split on
he floor or table in the scarcity of that
rticle.
iyiles were interrupted. "Hush, y said
Dick Bullen, holding up his hand. 1t
vas the oluerulOus voice Of Johnny from
is adjacent closet: 80 dad!n
The Old Man arose hurriedly and dis
ppeared in the closet. Presently he {
CHS rheumatic is coming {
n agin bad" be explained, aand he
7ants rubin" He lifted the demijohn {
AAoHAy AAOAAA NAC 0eADAF anu oLOOh H.
was empty, Dick Bullen put down {
is tin-cup with an embarrassed laugh. S
o did the others. The Old Man exam
ned their contents and said hopefully, {
| reckon that's enough; he don't need |
luch. You hold on all o. you for a
bell, anc III be back" and vanished i
] the closet with an old flannel shirt
nd the whisky. The door closed but |
nperfecEly, and the following dialogue
as distinctly audible:
Now, sonny, whar does she ache
orst?' 5
Sometimes over var and sometimes /
nder yer; but it's most powerful from I
er to yer. Rub yer, dad"
A silence seemed to indicate brisk I
lbbing. Then Johnny:
"Hevin' good time out yer, dad?'' r
eyes, sonny l.
''To-morrow's Chrismiss-ain't it?'' t
Eyes, sonny. How does she feel l
ow?" 8
Better. Rub a little furder down.
lots Chrismiss, anyway? Wot's it
| aboutPD
80, it's a day.n