The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-11-16
The Daily Bulletin.
WILL VAN LEAFS WATERMELON
APOLOGY,
A Story for the Boys.


Morningstar. You may have told some
Of the otherfellows."
"You never told me-" chorused the
"other fellows.
"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
word in edgeways,' as my grandmother
saws; you've had so much to say your
selves"
1t was a fine day in October. School
was Just out and the boys We're linger-
inc on the school house steps. They
had been listening atten,ively-with the
exception of viii Van Leaf who listened
impatiently-to something Frank Smith
was telling them, when at last viii
found an opportunity of introducing his
story of the season. He had not return
ed to school until a month after the fall
term began, and since his return, though
he had been fairly inundated with ac-
counts Of summer-vacatlon adventures
and fun, he himself to quote his own
quotation had scarcely found chance
to get in a word edgeways.' But now
his chance came in this way: Frank
Smith, describing wonderful squirrel
he had seen in the woods one day, de-
clared that It's tail was four feet long.
Il refuse to believe it, said Ned
Morningstar. Il never saw nor invented
a squirrel with tail longer than three
feet and half, and I'll bet I've seen and
invented more squirrels than ever you
have"
"Ah! hal So you accuse me Of false
hood said Frank Smith, placing his
hat on the extreme back Of his head and
throwing himself into lighting attitude,
"and that is something my proud spirit
cannot and will not stand. So come on,
or make an apology.
Then it was that VIII Van Leaf said:
Talking about apologies, did ever
tell you about my watermelon apology?'
And receiving unanimous negative,
followed by a unanimous request to Ego
on he went on: "Well, you know,
our folks spent most of last summer at
Uncle Johns; be owns big farm on
Staten Island, and there was lot OF
boys boarding up on the hill at Widow
Pratt's, and OF course | soon got &C.
quainted with EN-. And didn' we have
Jolly times boating and swimming, and
playing ball, and acting theatricals, all
made up by ourselves; 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 hair and eye
brows, and prowled instead of speaking,
and was SO aw.ully ugly in every way.
Aud he had the biggest watermelon
patch for miles around, And one day
three or four of the hill chaps and me-
And l." corrected Ned Rowe, called
by his comrades Grammar Ned" ooh,
bother!' said Will, "let me go on with
my story in my own way, Grammar
Ned: you can save up the mistakes and
give EN- to me when I'm through" but
he accepted the correction all the same.
"Well, 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 EN-, they were
so Jolly ripe and fat, when along came
Serious Dick. ,"
WHO was Serious DickP" asked
Frank Smith
"A fellow bout 16 years old, who
worked for Uncle John, and always
looked and talked as though he was
preaching" explained Will. well, he
came along and he stopped and peeped
through the crack in the fence, too,
and then he says very solemn, Amt
them beautiesr Don't you correct
again, Grammar Ned Dick said them
1 didn't. Amt them beautiesp' says
he, and there's dozen of EN- so ripe
they are ready to burst and ought to be
picked this minute. They won't be no
good in day or two. And won't it be
sin and shame to see EN- a-rotting,
for Old Bear don't 60 to market till day
after tomorrow, and he wouldn't give
one away, no, nor sell one to ANYBODY
round here, no matter what happened.
say, boys. says he, i wouldn't blame
you bit if YOU borrowed few Of them
melons tonight. If you do, save me
one, and I'll do as much for you some.
time on other, and then he winked and
walked off, looking as serious as ever
Well, that set the ball a-roling, and We
boys talked it over and agreed that il
W0u}d be shame to let those melon,
rot on the vines. and so that night We
pred board off the fence and cra%led
into the patch and borrowed dozen Of
'em, Eleven of 'em we ate on the spot,
and the twelfth we saved for Serious
Dick. | carried it home-pretty heavy
it was, too-and slowed it away in one
corner of the barn under the hay. And
the next afternoon--I didn't see him be.
fore cause he'd gone to New York with
a 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 rolled up his eyes, and
acted as though he was half scared to
death. And says he, let stay there.
wouldn't touch it for nothing why,
what's the matterp' says l. There's a
dreadful row bout them melons, says
Dick, speaking very slow and deep, "a
dreadful row. Old Bears missed 'em
and he swears they was the choicest OF
the lot, and he marked 'em himself