Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1876-08-18
WHITEWASH.
Tom Sawyer's Discovery in
Human Nature.

WIZ s"u6 6"'uS eIOCh Ol Oil tue DOyS 8S
they anne past and saw him set TO work
like "nieger. But great inspiration
burst in upon him, and he went tranquil
" to work. What that inspiration was
will appear from what follows. One Of
the boys, Ben Rogers, came BY and p,us-
-. eating a particularly fire apple Tom
does not see him. Ben stared q moment
aud then SAID:
'Hl-yi! You're up a stump, amt you?"
No answer. Tim surveyed his last
touch with the eye IF an artist, then he
gave another gentle sweep, and surveyed
the result ss before. Ben. ranged up
alongside of him. Tom e mouth watered
for the apple, but he stuck to his work.
Ben Aaid:
Hello. old chap. You've got to work,
he,!'
why, it's you, Ben. l wasn't motto
ing
Say. I'm going in a5swimlning. I am.
Don't you wish you could? But, of
course, you'd druther work, wouldn',
you! Course you would.
Tom contemplated thej boy s..bat, and
said:
What do you call work.
Why. amt that work p
Tom resumed his whitewashlng, a, d
answered carelessly:
We'll, may be it is, and nav he it Amt.
All ] know is, it suits rom Sawysr.'
%, come now, you don't mean to le.
on that you like lt?'
The brush continued to move.
Like 1t? Well l don't sre WHY ]
|Oughtnt 10 like It,. Does q boy get y
chance to wh,tewash a fence every DAY /?
This put the thing in . new light.
Ben stopnsd aibbliag his apple. Tom
swept his brush aa;n.;,y .,..k aud forth,
stepped back to note the effect; added q
touch. here and there, criticised the Fl. CT
again, Ben watching every move, and
getting more and more interested, more
and more absorbed. Presently he said:
Say, Tom, 1T me whit wash little
Tom considered was about to consent
but altered his mind.
No, no, l reckon it wouldn't do, Ben
You se1, Aunt Polly's awful particular
about this fence right here on tho street,
you know but If it was the back tence
I wouldn't mind, and she wouldn't.
Yes, she's awful particular about this
fence. It's got to be done very careful
I reckon there ANT one boy in q thous
and, may be two thousand, that can do j
in the way it's got to be dome
'No-is that so? Oh, come now; le,
me just try, only just little. I'd let yet
If you was me, T0m.'
Ben, I'd like to. honest Injun; bu
Aunt Polly-wcll, Jim wanted to do II
but she wouldn't lei him. Sid wan Cd
to do it, but she wouldn't let Sid. Now,
don't you see how Tn fixed! If yor
Was to tackle this fence and anything wa,
to happen to it,
oh, shucks. I'll be just AS careful
Now, ]emme try. Say III give you th.
core of my apple
We'll. here. No, Ben, pow don't
I'm afeared'-
.l'll give you all of it,
Tom gave up the brush with reluctanc,
in his face, but alacrity IN his heart. Ant
while Ben worked and sweatrd in th'
sun, the retired artist sat on barrel il
the shed close by, dangling his legs
munchine his apple, and planning tn
slaughter of moro iunocents. Their
was no lack Of material boys happened
along every little while; they came t
! ieer. hut remained to whitewash. BY tn
time Ben was tagged out, Tom had trad
I'd the next chance to Billy Fisher for I
kite in good repair; aud when he playrt
out, Johnny Miller bought in for . deat
ret and = string to swing 1t with; and q
|on hour after hour. And when the mid
die of the aft. .rnoob came, from being ,
poverty stricken boy in the morning
Tom was literally rolling in wealth. HI
had, beside the things have mentioned
twelve marbles. part of . Jewshsrp.
piece of blue bottle glass to look through
. spool cannon, key that wouldn't nm
lock anything. fragment OF chalk.
lglass stopper Of decanter. tin soldier
. couple of tadpolrs, six fire crackers.
Kitten with only ono eye. brass doc
knob, dog collar-but no dog. the han
die of . knife, four pieces Of orange pee
spd dilapidated old window sash. Il
had nice. gooi, idle time oil the while
Iplenty OF compsny-snd the fence ha
three coats Of ~hitewash on IL! If b
hadn't run out Of whitewash. he woul
haye bankrupted every boy in the viilagt
! Tom said to himself that it wasn't sue
ID hollow world after all. He had dti
covered . great law of human actiO
without knowing It, "emely. that 10 OF
der TO make man or boy csvet thing
,s ia only necessary 70 make the thin
ILi6iculs to attain. II he had been
great end wise philosopher, like Il
writer Of shts bosk. he would now hsS
Icomprehended that work consists
Whatever . body b obliged to do, and tn
lplay consists OF wbaiever body is ~
} lubIigeal TO do. And shis would help hi
el,0 u,ssiesstand why oonstrucllnx srtincs
l0ovegs q performing a . GsadmAu