The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-04-13
THE DAILY STAR
POPS IDEA OF FUN.

IN the ribs, and winked, and whispered
behind his hand, "Any more sprees ON
hand, Bobq' was disgusted, and didn't
say anything. If he'd been a boy of my
.ize just then, things would have been
different; but Pop is kind of man it
isn't pleasant to offend. l smiled in a
sickly way, but / was never more dis
gnsted in my life. Any more spreesl l
should think not I'll leave it TO any
one if this kind of sprees pays. Count
he in for the next racket, Bob,' he said
at the breakfast table, and then ne
winked again. l declare l was that sick
] let my buckwheat cake get cold.
Here's the way it was. We live in
nobby kind of place, you see. Almost
everybody owns his own house and
grounds, and spends all his spare time in
fixing up. Most of the gentlemen 60
over to new York to business every day,
but before they 60, and after they come
back they're always fussing around,
making little alterations and what they
call improvements. 1t makes 'em awful
mad if the place is out of order the sew
entieth part of an inch. The ladies raise
flowers, fix baskets and roses, and all that
kind of gimcraeks and the men go pot
tering about, making more fuss over
their plots of ground than big farmer
out West does over his thousands OF
acres. Well, we boys get together some
times and arrange everything to suit our
selves. In single night it'll be like a
transformation scene at pantomime-
maybe not so pretty, but every bit as
funny. Fun! We've laughed ready to
split our sides to see the poor old barber
come limping up for his pole in front of
the doctors, and the doctor go buster
ing down there for his hitching-post; a
lot of paving stones against the door OF
tire real estate office, and the cows and
chickens running loose about town.
But this particular lark was what we
called speciality. Only gates were to
lie touched, and these were to undergo a
regular tribulation. The weather was
about right-muggy-and the mud in
some places knee deep. We arranged all
the preliminaries at recess, and Tom
Jones was to 90 around about 9 o'clock
and let us know if the coast was clear;
but he wasn't to give our regular call
all the place knows that. 1t goes some
thing in this way, 'Ki-yuah yuah,
yoo'o," with prolonged howl at the end.
We always drop it when anything Sc
cret's on hand. 1t was agreed upon that
.nom Jones should go to each house, if
Il was right, and have coughing and
sneezing spell that wouldn't arouse sus-
picion then we were to creep out, when
the folks were gone to bed, and go to
work. And it happened to be work that
time, you'd better believe.
We we're all sitting around the table
when the clock struck nine. Pop had
lis spectacles on and was reading an edt
torial to ma, the girs were busy with
their lessons, and l had finished my last
example, when all at once we heard a
terrible coughing and sneezing out in
the street. That was the worst of Tom
Jones-he always overdid his part. Ii
he'd had pneumonia, whooping-cough,
asthma and bronchitis, and had been
hired to go round with cough medf
cine to cure 'em, he couldn't have turned
himself further inside out. Of course
Pop began to notice it, and ma looked
up in alarm.
'"Why," said ma, "that boys got ter
rible coldw
"Fearfulp said Pop, with a queel
twist of his under lip; and when Ton
Jones, like big donkey, went across thu
street to Jim Clancy's house, and begal
the whole thing over again, Pop wantet
to know why that boys cold was lik
the paper he held in his hand. We al
gave it up, and Pop said because it wa
periodical. Ma and the girls looket
mystifed, but | was afraid then he'c
tumble to something, and couldn't hell
getting red to save my life. That's tn
worst Of my plagued skin-it's SO thil
the blood shows right through it.
There were no more of the boys house
in our avenue, and pretty soon we al
went to bed. slept in the little room
on the second floor off the hall; it wa
an easy thing to climb out of the wir
dow, and down by the Virginia creepe
to the front garden. l went around t
our place OF meeting, and there they a
were. The wind had sprung up prett
brisk, and there was thin coating of ic
over the mud; but that was all the bette
for the gates we wanted to bury. We owe
a grudge to old Jake Van Coulter, an
we made up our minds he'd have mic
time getting his gate back, The miser'
BE old caboodle was rusty, and nearI
tore our nails off, but wet got it loose &
last, and hauled it off to marshy 10
where we sunk it in the mud. Then "
changed the doctors gate to the judge
and to avert suspicion we took our ow
gates off with the rest. We were gettin
pretty we'll tired out and ready for hom
and had laid my gate up against neigl
boring fence, when who should be stan'
ing right there in the shadow of the wa
but Popl We were ali so thunderstrut
that we didn't move, and to my surpri
Pop began to laugh and beckon to tt
boys to come closer. They were not
be caught by that bait, and stood {
pretty considerably, when Pop whispers
over to us, in quite jolly tone of voic
Don't be afraid, boys. I like to see "