The Owosso times., 1881-08-12

--IHdtUUdD)0GS J0ttfItdt.
NICODEMUS DODGE.
Dental surgeons suggested doctors
doctors suggested death, death suggest
ed skeletons, and so, by illogical process
the conversation melted out of one of
these subjects into the next until the
topic of skeletons raised up NichOde-
mus Dodge out of the deep grave in my
memory where he had lain buried and
forgotten for twenty-five years. When
l was boy in printing Office in Mis-
souri,, a oOse-jointed, long-legged, tow
headed, jeans-clad, countrified cub of
about sixteen lounged in one day, and
without removing his hands from the
depths Of his trOwsers pocket or taking
off his faded ruin of slouch hat whose
broken brin hung limp and ragged
about his eyes and ears, like bug eat.
en- cabbage leaf, stared indifferently
round, then leaned his hip against, the
editors table, crossed his mighty bro
gans, aimed at distant fly from crev-
ice in his upper teeth, laid him low
and then said with cOmposure: r,...
"Whar's the boss ?" ~ 49,
81 am the boss" said the editor fol-
lowing this curious bit of architecture
wonderingly along up to its clock-face
with his eye.
,iaI'Don't want anybody fur to learn
the business, 'tain't likely?' rs- r.r
"Well, L don't know. Would you
like to learn it?" frr-rs-- r,i-..l...
"Pap's so pO' he CANT run me no NO.
so Iwant to git show somers if kin,
tain't no ditfunce what,-Im strong
and hearty, and don't turn my back
on no kind of work hard nrr soft"
do yOu think you would like to
learn the printing business?" ~
"Well, Idon't tre'lyk'yer adurn what
i do learn, SOS i git a chance fur to
make my way, I'd jist as soon learn
print'n s anything" eav ~
"Canyou read?" &- o.
"Yes,-middlin."
"Write?"
CN swell, I've seed people could lay
over me thar w FN
40 Cipher ?" & 90
~ "Not good enough to keep store. 1
don't reckon, but as far as twelve
times-twelve 1 amt no SLOUGH. 10th
er side of that is what gifts me-"
"Where is your home?"
I'm FIN old Shelby" Erar
"What's your fathers religious de-
nomination !" a.
q "Him? o, he's blacksmith" ta
"NO, nO-I don't mean his trade.
What's his religious denomination P"
"O-I didn't understand you befo'.
He's a Freemason."
"No-no, you don't get my meaning
yet. What 1 mean is does he belong
to any church % M
E"Now you're talkin! Couldn't make
! out what you was tryin' ia git through
yo' head no way Belong to church!
Why boss he's been the pizenest kind of
a Free-will Babtis' for fo ty year. They
amt no pizener ones'n' what lie is.
Mighty good man, pap is. Everybody
says that. If they said any diffurunt
they wouldn' sayit whar I wuz mot
much they wouldn't"
~ what is your own religion?"
We'll, boss, you've kind O got me
thar; and yit you hain't got me so
mighty much nuther. I think It if
feller helps another feller when he's in
trouble, and don't cuss, and don't do
: no mean things, nur nothin' he amt no
business to, an don't spell the Savior's
name with little g, he amt runnin'
no risks-he's about as saift as if he
belonged to church,
But suppose he did spell it with a
little &, what then?
ttWell, if he done it a-purpOse. reck-
OH he wouldn't stand no chance, he
Oughtn't to have no chance anyway,
. I'm most rotten certain bout that
,,f'What is your nameT s7a
T. 'Nicksdemus Dodge 4 ,-i 5,.,-
Il think maybe you'll do, Nicodemus
Wen give you trial anyway
All right
when would you like to begin?'
Now & Is PHt
So, within ten minutes after we had
first glimpsed this nondescript he was
one of U.S., and with his coat off and
hard at it.
DcyOuu tudt cllu VI OuI coJdDlioiiiClo
which was farthest from the street,
was deserted garden, painless, grown
with the bloomy and villainous "jimp-
SON. weed and its common friend the
stately sunhower. In the midst of this
mournful spot was decayed and aged
little frame house with but one room,
one window, and no ceiling-it had
been smoke house generation be-
fore. Nicodemus was given this lone
ly and ghostly den as bed-chamber.
The village smarties recognized a
treasure in Nicodemus, right away-a
, butt to play jokes Oh. 1t was easy to
see that he was inconceivably green
and confding. George Jones had the
glory.of perpetrating the first joke on
him; he gave him cigar with a fire.
cracker in it and winked to the crowd
to come; the thing exploded presently,
and swept away the bulk Of Nicode-
mus eyebrows and eyelashes. lie SIM
ply said .E-C.A. .lygg,r
=, II consider them kind of seeg'yars
dangersome'-and seemed to suspect
nothing. The next evening Nicodemus
waylaid George and poured bucket OF
ice water over him.