Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1883-11-01
A BOYS WATERMELON APOLOGY.

DU1>S NAlERMELON AIOLUU1 .
Talking about apologies said Will
Van Leaf, '.did / ever tell you about
my watermelon apology?" 81
You never told me, replied Ned
Morningstar. "You may have told some
Of the other fellows ,rL #1E 10
"You never told me,' chorused the
"othcr fellows" -,. ga.
Come to think, might have known
hadn't" said VIII, " cause I've only
been back to school three DAYS, and in
those three days You fellows have
scarcely given me chance to get a
word in edgeways,' as my grand,
mother says; you We had so much to say
yourselves.
1t was fine day in October. School
was just out and the boys were linger-
ing on the school-house steps. They
had been listening attentively with the
exception of Win Van Leaf, who list
ened inpatient y-to something Frank
Smith was telling them, when ut last
VIII found an opportunity of intro
duc:ng his story of the season. He had
not returned to school until month
after the fall term began, and since his
return, though he had been fairly in
undated with accounts of summer-vaca-
ton adventures and fun. he himself, to
quote his own quotation, had scarcely
"found chance to get in word edge
ways" But now his chance came in
this way: Frank smith, describing a
wonderful squirrel he had seen in the
woods one day, declared its tail was
four feet long. 81 refuse to believe it. -
said Ned Morningstar. 81 never saw
noreinyented squirrel with tail
longer than three feet and a half, and
I'll bet I've seen and invented more
squirrels than ever, you have -s-y-r
"Ah, ha. so YOU accuse me of false
hood" said Frank Smith. placing his
hat on the eXtr, me back of his head
and throwing himself into fighting
attitude, ''and that is something my
proud spirit can not and will not stand.
So come on, or make an apology" yr,.
Then il was that VIII Van Leaf sad:
Talking about apologies, did ever
tell you about my water me lon apology?"
And receiving a unanimous negative,
followed by a unanimous request to 'sgO
on he went on: "Well. you know,
orr folks spent most of last summer at
Uncle Johns; he owns n Zig farm on
Staten Island, and there was lot of
boys boarding up on the hill ut Widow
PrAts, and of course | soon got ac-'
quainted with EN-. And didn't we
have Jolly times, boating and swimming,
and playing ball, and acting theatricals,
all made up by Yourselves; you bet. -
: "Well, just halfway between Uncle
John and the boarding. house was,old
Bartholomew place. old Bear most
everybody called him behind his back,
cause he had such shaggy ha'r and eye
brows and growled instead Of speak.
ing. and was so awfnlly ugly in every
way. And he had the biggest water
melon patch for niles around. And
one day three or four of the hill chaps
and me-
land T. corrected Ned Rowe, called
by his comrades ..Grammar Ned. - F..
L''"Oh, bothern said Win; '.let me 90
ons with my story in my own way.
Grammar Ned; you can saIe up the
mistakes and give 'em to me when I'm
through but he accepted the correc-
ton all the same. IL ~
swell, three or four of the hill chaps
and were standing one morning peep
ing through crack in the fence at Old
Bears watermelons. and oh. we did
feel such a longing for 'em, they were
SO Jolly ripe and fat, when along came
Serious Dick"
WHO was Serious Dsck?'" asked
Frank Smith. EEN ~ |
"A fellow bout sixteen wears old. |
who worked for Uncle John. and ALWAYS
looked and talked as though he was
preaching" explained Will. "Wen.
he came along and, he stopped and |
peeped through the crack in the fence.
too. and then he says very solemn:
'Ain't them beauties Don't YOU cor
rect again. Grammar Ned Dick said |
them, 1 didn't. Amt them beauties,
SAYS he, and there's dozen of 'em SO |
ripe they're ready to burst and ought |
to he picked this minute They won't
be no good in day or two. And won't
1t be sin and a shame to see 'em a
rottlnS, for Old Bear don't go to market
till day after tomorrow, and he
wouldn give one away, no, nor sell |
one to anybody round here, no matter
what happened Lsay. boys, SAYS he.
4 wouldn't blame You bit if YOU Dor
rowed few of them melons tonight
IT You do, save me one. and I'll do as
much for you sometime or other and
then he winked and walked of, looking as
serious as ever. Well. that set the ball |
a-rolling, and we boys talked it over
and agreed that it acould be a shame to
let those melons rot on the vines, and
50 that night We pried board off the
fence and crawled in and borrowed a
dozen of 'em. Eleven of 'em we ate on
the spot, and the twelfth we saved for
Serious Dick. I carried it home-pretty
heavy 1t was, too-and slowed itaway
IN the corner of the barn under the hay.
And the next afternoon--I didn't see
him before cause he'd gone to New
York with load of cabbages-I saw
serious Dick going into the barn and /
ran out and whispered to him: Your
melons In there in one corner under
The hay But Dick started back and
folled.up his eyes. and acted as though
ne was half scared to death. And saws
ne. let it stay there. l wouldn't touch
Il for nothing why, what's the mat.
ter?' says l. There's dreadful row
bout them melons, says Dick, speak
ing very slow and deep, a dreadful
row. Old Bears missed 'em, and he
swoer ) they was the choicest ofsthe lot.
and he marked EN- himself, cause thew
was to be sold this very day for dol
lar apiece. And he says. in langwidge
Il would make your blood run cold to
bear. that he'll find and punish the
thieves if it costs him twenty dol
lars'