The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-04-13
club. and Pom said he'd take the position

club, and Pop said he'd take the position
when he got back from the Legislature.
Well, we'd come to the conclusion the
place was completely done, and Jim
Clancy proposed we should go home.
Jim had torn his hands rather badly with
Uncle Jake's gate, and didn't feel very
good, when suddenly Pop said:
Eyes, boys, of course we'll go home
pretty soon, when we're through, you
know; but we must put all the gates
back in their places again frstp
We all looked at each other aghast for
minute. "Back again" cried the fel-
lows. "Well, / guess not" "Not muchP'
"Hardlyw and all sorts of derisive refu-
sails went round.
Pop stood among us, whirling his cane,
smiling all the time and said:
"Oh, yes you will, boys, when you
think of it minute. You've had your
fun, you know; but it won't do to 60 too
far. Pm Justice of the Peace. you see,
and this innocent little racket comes I'M
der the head of malicious mischief You
could all be sent to jail; and no matter
how badly I'd feel, Pd have to act under
the law. There's where it is, you see;
people are so hard on buys they won't let
them enjoy themselves. It's too bad;
but never mind, we've had our fun any
way. Now let's go to work in earnest.
Here, we'll begin with this gate. Lift it
up there, Jim; hold on to the other side,
Bobby, my boy. Now we have it-all
together"
And as true as you live, we actually
found ourselves walking along with the
gate between u.s. From that gate we
went to another and another. l don't
know how it was, but we just plodded
along, and did what Pop said. He was
laughing, and joking and fourishing his
cane; but oh, how tired we werel How
our hands and our feet and our hearts
ached, and how sickening it all was!
The most siekening of anything was to
hear Pop laugh and carry on all the time,
as if this was the cream Of the joke. !
tell you we we're all mad enough; and
when we got to old Jake Van Couser's
we Just rebeiled. We all hated Jake,
anyhow; and Tom Jones he stood right
out in the road and said Jake was mean
old curmudgeon; and then Pop got hold
of Tom before we knew it, and down
came his cane with whack.
"Now, boys" says Pop, "fun's fun,
and Pm as fond of it as anybody, but /
don't see any use Of spelling good time
in this kind of way. Jake couldn't put
that gate back to save his life, and it
goes to my heart to hear hard words
against the poor old man. He's bent
double with rheumatism, he's old and
he's poor and he's no subject for your
fun. Take fellow like me if you want
fun. l don't mind it. Do what you
like to me, but spare poor old Jake"
Well, we Just looked at one another in
mute disgust, but we didn't care to dis
pute any further with Pop. We plunked
along that nasty old freezing road, and
we yanked Uncle Jake's gate out of the
mud, and carried it half mile, our nails
hanging off, and tears sf rage and NOR
tification rolling down our cheeks, with
Pop laughing like a good one all tht
while, declaring that he didn't see how
anybody could be 50 hard on boys; the,
would have their fun, and for his part HI
thought it did them good, and it tool
him back to his youth again; he hadn
had such spree for many year.
We groaned and looked at each other
and each of us dropped off silently ane
gloomily at our separate labors. A who'll
month has gone by without PROPOSE
ton for fun of any kind, and I'll leav
it to anybody if it amt enough to DISCUS
fellow to have Pop winking at me be
hind his hand, and telling me to coun
: him in for the next racket.