The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-12-07
NlcOdemus Dodge.

ingly along up to its clock face with hi,
eye.
"Dont want anybody fur to learn the
business, 'tain't ikely2"
"Well, | don't known. Would you lik,
to learn it2'
'Pap's 30 po' he can't run me no., so
want to git show somers if I can: tain
no difference what--I'm strong and hearty
and don't turn my back on no kind oi
work, hard nur soft"
"Do you think you would like to lcarr
the printing business2"
'Well, I don't rely k'yer durn what
90 learn, SOS git chance to make my
thing"
'Can you rcad2"
"Yes-middlin'.
| "Write?"
"Welp I've seed people who could lay
over me thar"
"Ciphor2"
mot good enough to keep store, don't
| reckon, but rs fur as twelve times twelve
amt no slouch. 'Tother side of that is what
| gifts me-"
"Where is your homca'
'1'm from old Shelby"
"What's your fathers religious denomi-
natlon2"
"Him9 Oh, he's blacksmith"
mo, mo- don't mean his trade. What's
his religious denominstion?"
''Oh-I didn't understand you befo'.
Hes Freemason.
mo, no-yoH don't get my meaning yet.
What mean is, does lie belong to any
church2'
''Now you're talkin'. Couldn't make out
what you was trying to git through yo' hoad
no way. B'long to church, Why, boss,
he's been the pizenest kind Of Freewll
Baptis' for forty years. They aint no pize.
ner ones'n he is. Mighty good man pap is
Everybody says that. If they say any
different they wouldn't do it where l waz
hot much they wouldn't"
what Is your own religoni'
"Well, boss, you've kind O. got me thar
and yet you hain't got me 50 mighty
much nuther. think t if a feller hc'ps
another when hos in trubble, and don't
cuss, and don't do any mean things, nor
nuthln' he amt no business to do, and don't
speiI Inc OoSioui-s iiaiIlU u,,L - 49,.
amt runnin' no res's-he's ABOUT as saift as
if he belonged to church."
'tBut suppose lie did spell it with little
g-what thcn2"
swell, if he done 1t purpose l reckon
he wouldn't stand no chance; he ought mt
have no chance, any way, Pm most rotten
certain about that"
"What is your nanle?"
"Nicodemus Dodge"
81 think maybe you'll do, Nicodemus.
Wen give you trial, anyway"
"All right"
"When would you like to bcgin2"
"Now."
So, within ten minutes after he had first
glimpsed this nondescript, be was one of us,
and with his coat off and hard at it.
Beyond that end of our establishment
which was furthercst from the street, was
a deserted garden, pathless, and thickly
grown with the gloomy and villalnous
'jimpson" weed and it's common friend
the stately sunHower. In the midst of this
mournful spot was a dccayed and little
frame house with but one room, one win.
dow and 10 ceiling. 1t had been smoke
house generation before. N;codemus
was given this lonely and ghostly den as
bcd-ct amber.
The village smarties recognized a trca-
sure In Nicodemus right away--a butt TO
play jokes on. 1t was easy to sec that he
was inconcelvably green and contlding.
George Jones had the glory of perpetra-
ting the drst joke on him. Tic gave HIM
cigar with tire-cracker III it, and then
winked to the crowd to come; the thing OK.
ploded presently and swept away the bulk
of .Nicodemus' eyebrow and eyelashcs. He
simply said:
aA"I consider them kind of sceg'yars dan
gersome," and ecemed to suspect nothing.
The next evening Ni"odelnus waylaid
George and poured buckoL of ice-watcr
over him.
One day, while Nicodemus was in swim
ming, Tom McElroy "ticd" his clothes.
Nicodemus made abontire OF TOMS by way
of retaliation.
A third joke was played upon Nlcodemus
day or two later-he walked up the mid
die aisle Of tic village church, Sunday
night, with startling hand bill pinned
upon his shoulders The joker spent the
rest of the night, after church, in the cellar
of deserted house. and Nicodemus sat Oh
the cellar-door till toward breakfast time, to
make sure that the prisoner remembered
that IL any noise was made some rough
treatment would be the consequence. The
cellar had two feet of stagnant water in it;
and was bottomcd with six inches of soft
mud.
But wander from tho point. It was the
slbjcct of skeletons that brought this boy
back to my recollection. Before long
time had elapsed the village smartes began
to feel an uncomfortable consciousness of
not having made very shining success of
their attempts on the simplcton of ''Old
Shelby" Experiments grew scarce and
cbary. Now the young doctor came to the
rescue. There was delight and applause
whom he proposed to them the plan OF
frightening Nicodemus to death, and cx-
plaiLeI how he was going to do 1t. Ho
had noble new skcleton-the skeleton Of
the late and only local celebrity, Jimmy
Finn, the village drunkard-a grisly piece
of property he had bought Of jimmy Finn
himself, at auction, for fifty dollars, under
great competition, when Jimmy lay very
sick in the lanyard fortnight before his
death. The fifty dollars had gone prompt.
ly for whiskey, and had considerably hur-
ried up the change of ownership in the
| skeleton. The doctor would put Jimmy
Finns skeleton in Nicodemus' bed.
This was done-about half. past ten in the
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