The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1873-10-30
our sins if We ask him ?'i

"Never follow my example, Jack, my
| boy Remember your mother was
prayin' woman"
Those were the last connected words
any one ever heard him speak. After
that the mig bit came on-the donble night
of darkness and of death. Once or twice
the woman who acted as nurse, bonding
over him, heard him mutter. The
| 'leventh hour. Jack - and afterwards
she wondered whether it was not pre-
sentiment. for it was just eleven clock
when he died.
Jack had been sent to his bed little
before, and when he got up In the morn
ing, he knew he was all alone in the
| world
After the funeral Deacon Small took
him home. He wouldn't be Of much use
for two or three years to come, the deacon
said. Maybe he could drive up the cows,
and ride the horse to plough, and scare
the crows away from the corn, but he
couldn't earn his salt for number of
years to come. However. somebody
must take him, and he guessed he would.
1t would be a good spell before the
"creetur would come of age and the
last part of the time he might be smart
| enough to pay off old scores.
But surely Jack Ramsdale must have
eaten more salt than ever boy of ten
ate before, if he did not work enough to
pay for it, for it was Jack here and Jack
there, all day long. Jack did every
body's errands; Jack drew Mrs. Small s
baby grandchild in its little covered
wagon Jack secured the knives; Jack
brought the wood Jack picked the ber-
ries; Jack weeded fower-beds. From
being an idle little chap, in everybody s
way, as he had been in his fathers time.
he was pressed right into hard service,
for more hours in tie Gay than any man
that worked about the place. Now work
is good for boys. but all work aud no
play-worse yet, all work and no love-
is not good for any one. Jack grew Bit
ter, and where he-dared to be cruel he
was cruel where he dared to be insolent
he was insolent. Not toward Deacon
Small, however, were these qualities dis
played. The deacon was hard master,
and the boy feared, and hated. and obey
ed hin. But as the years went on, five
of them, he grew to be generally consid-
cred bad boy. At fifteen he was strong
of his age, man almost, in weight and
size.
His scho cling had been confined to the
short winter terms, and he had always
been the terror of every successive school
master.
When he was fifteen, a new teacher
came,-a handsome, graceful young man,
just out of college. He was slight rather
than stout, well-dressed, well-mannered,
fit, you would have said, for lady s
drawing-room, rather than the country
school house in winter. with its big boys.
tough customers, many of them, and
Jack Ramsdale the toughest customer Of
all. After Mr.. Garrison had passed bis
examination, one Of the committee, i'm.
pressed by what he thought certain fine
gentlemanly air in theyoung man, warned
him of the tough times in store for him,
and in especial of the rough strength aud
characterization of Jack Ramsdale. Ralph
Garrison smiled calm smile but uttered
no boasts.
He had been week in the schools
before he had any especial trouble Jack
was taking his measure. The truth was
the boy had certain amount of taste,
and Garrison gentlemanliness impressed
him more than he would have cared to
own. 1t is possible that he might have
gone on. quietly and obediently, but that
cow his bad name began to weigh him
down. The boys who had looked to him
as leader in evil grew impatient'of his
quiet submission to rules.
SCOT your match, Jack 2" said one.
"Goin TO own beat without giving it
a try ?" said another.
And Jack began to think that the evil
laurels he had won, as the bravo and
bully of the school, would fall withered
from his brow if he didn't make some
effort to fasten them.
So one morning, midway between re.
cess and the close of the school, he took
out an apple and began pairing it with a
jack-knife and eating it. For moment
Mr. Garrison looked at him; then he re.
marked, with omnibus quietness. in a
tone lower and much more gentle than
usual.-
Jack, this is not the place or time
for eating
My place and time to eat are when |
am hungry Jack answered with cool
insolence, cutting off a mouthful and car,
rying it deliberately to his mouth.
You will put up that apple instant
ly, if you please
Still the teacher spoke very gently,
and turned little pale. The persuasive
words and the slight paleness mis-led
Jack. He thought his victory was to be
so easily won, there would be no glory in
it. He smiled and ate, quite at his ease.
"You will come here whether you
please or not" was the 2ext sentence
from the teachers desk. Jack cut of
another mouthful and sat still.
Then, he never knew how it was, but
suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, he
found himself puiiiei from his seat out
into the middle Of the floor, while knife
and apple flew from his hand He kick
ed, he struggled, he tried to strike; but
an iron grasp held his wrists. The strong
muscles Of the stroke oar at Harvard did
good service. The handsome face was
pale, but the lips were set like steel, and
the cool eyes never wavered as they fixed
and held those of the young bully. Then
suddenly he whipped from his pocket a
ball of strong fish line and bound the