The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-12-05
That Boy Of Saunders.

| ~ OHu you B6GGl6 Gu1b uGtlC Uul tIll5
morning, sir ?" the collector asked, in
his most insinuating tones and with his
most reassuring smile.
"Sweet little Bill2" quickly rejoinsd
the doctor "Little Bill Saunders :?
Maybe I can't, just. I'd settle with
him quick enough. Worst boy in the
world, sir. Tied my gate shut the other
night with leather thong, and then wet
the knot. Swelled 30 tight, by George,
sir, I couldn't have united it in an eter-
nifty and half. Strap was so strong q
team of oxen couldn't break it, and had
no knife. Couldn't climb picket fence,
and there it was-eleven o'clock at night
and I howiing and yelling fit to wake
the dead, trying to rouse some one up to
bring me out knife and policeman
| came along before T could make any
body understand who I was ; and just as
1 was trying to explain wife opened her
window and screamed Police ? Sister
opened another window and shrieked
Murder = Children roared Fire ! and
policeman took me off and locked me
up. Did, sir, for fact. That Bill
Saunders-has he been annoying your
neighborhood, by the way?"
"That isn't the bill I refer to-, sir,"
explained the collector, smiling, but IN
a rather sad tone of countenance, 81
meant this little account"
"Oh," shouted the debtor, reassur-
ingly, and in q tone of the brightest in
teIigence and comprehension, eyes
it's the same one that's him-Bll
Saunders. Little account enough, 1
should say. No account at all. Why,
bless you, sir, that boy is fourteen years
old, nearly three years older than my
Jim, and I don't honestly believe he
ever did a days work about his fathers
house in his life. My boy is away ahead
of him in school to-day. and does more
chores about the house in q day than
Bill does io a month. He's no account
for anything but mischief. Dropped a
live cat-a great, big, roaring Thomas
Henry cat down MacElroy's sitting
room chimney the other night. No fire
in ths stove, and cat yelled till the noise
blew out the fue. Fact. Just roared
and yelled and walled till you could
hang hat on the noise :'as it came out
the fue, and 1t cost MacElroy eight dol
lars to have the chimney cut out next
day to let the cat out; and whec the
hole Was made, sir, cat was half wild
with fright and shot out like q rocket,
and scalped the workman, clawed out
the dogs eye and jumped on MacElroy's
back and snatched pound of flesh of
his shoulder blades. It was just awful.
Why, that boy"
But the collector interrupted him to
say, in a voice that was solemn with
gravity of appre "ension, that he wasn't
speaking of any boy; he had little
matter here
"Oh, pooh, pooh Oh, pshaw," ex-
claimed the debtor, waving his. hand
with the same air of sublime reinsurance
and tranquiliziug patronage that had be.
fore marked the tones Of his voice, "not
bit of it, not bit OF it, my good sir
nothing the matter with him at all-no
more than there is with me. It's just
natural. inborn meanness. sir. I don't
know that the boy does it for pure mean
ness, either. I won't say that; but it is
wlckedness, sir; it's original sin. Why,
there amt nothing the matter with the
boy. He's healthy and he's smart; got
bright mind; thinks quicker than any
boy in this town; goes in swimming in
March. and I have seen that boy skating
on the pond in December in his bare
feet. Why, here one day last summer o
poor wretch of a blind fiddler that was
singing and playing around here lost his
dog. Lean, smart, faithful, half-starved
cur that led him around, fell into an old
we'll down by the brick yard one day,
and the old musician came near following
him. Old man nearly heartbroken, you
know, for the dog supported him more
than his singing and fiddle did. Mighty
smart dog, you know; splendidly trained,
danced, went dead, collected the money,
stood on his head and throwed all kinds
of tricks. Well, reckon the two was
about two days trying to get the dog out.
Sides of well we're dangerous nobody
would go down. Well so deep and dark
couldn't see the dog, but could hear him
moaning and bowling. Well, this Bill
Saunders said he'd get him out. Got a
clothes line and tied big steel trap to
it, tied on q good bait and let the trap
down into the dark. Pretty soon hears
sharp, muffled, half-strangled snort
and yelp from the dog, and Bill hauled
him ur, wriggling and kicking, nose in
the trap and trap holding on to him like
a boy to circus ticket. Why, this Bill
Saunders"
| But the collector broke in rather i'm
patiently to say that he had no time to
listen to stories, and he wanted to know
what he was going to do with this &C.
count of $17.85 which Tare & Tret had
against him, and which had been running
over time nearly three months now.
The debtor took the bill and looked at
it a few moments.
"Oh, yes," he said, very deliberately,
after a while, during which the impatient
collector fidgeted and danced about the
room. ooh, yes, T. W. Marmot. Yes,
T knew him. Was in tie building be-
fore I came here, and lit out only three
weeks after Icame to Burlington. You
see, my names J. q. Sinclair, I don't
owe Tare & Tret a dollar never done
any business with 'em in my life, and
never will, 80 long as there's any place
else in the market to buy. This man
Marmot is in Texas. Hes no good !;
d. b. You'll never get cent on that
bill in the world. You see, this Tom
Marmot-"
But the indignant collector snatched
the bill, and calculating" Why didn't
you tell me this before? ?" started out
the door, leaving the entertaining trades
man to wonder what in the name of sense
allied the man, and if anybody was fool
ish enough to suppose that he was going
TO pay all of Tom Marmot's old bills just
because he moved into his old stand
Darlington Ha,okeye.
How Some Women Make a Living.