Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-10-12
THE BAD BOY.
The Boy Works on a Farm for a Deacon
He Knows when He has got Enough
The Deacon Makes Him Flax Around

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the bad boy to the grocery man, as
he stopped at the door of the grocery
dressed in blue wamus, his breeches
tucked in his boots, and an old hat
on his head, with hole that let out
his hair through the top. He had
got out of democrat wagon, and
was holding the lines nitched to a
horse about forty years old, that
leaned against the hitching post to
rest. 'Only a shilling apiece"
20, go way" said the grocery man.
Il only pay three cents apiece" And
then he looked at the boy and said,
"Hello. Hennery, is that you! Ihave
missed you all the week, and now
you come on to me sudden. disguised
as a granger. What does this all
mean"
1T means that I have been the
victim OF as vile conspiracy as ever
was known since Caesar was stabbed
and Mark Antony Grated over his
prostrate corpse in the Roman forum,
to an audience of supes and scene
shifters," and the boy dropping the
lines on the sidewalk, said, "Wha,
gol darn you," to the horse that was
asleep, wiped his boots on the grass
in front of the store and came in,
and seated himself on the old half
bushef. There, this seems like home
again"
What's the row, Who has been
playing it on you?" and the grocery
man smelled a sharp trade in cab
baRes, as we'll as other smells peculiar
to the farm.
well, I'll tell you. Lately our
folks have been constantly talking of
the independent life of the farmer,
and how easy 1t is, and how they
would like it if would learn to be a
farmer. They said there was nothing
like it, and several of the neighbors
joined in and said had the natural
ability to be one of the most success
full farmers in the state. They all
drew pictures of the fun it was to
work on farm, where you could get
your work done and take your fish
pole and 60 off and catch fish. or a
gun and 60 out and kill game, and
how you could ride horses, and Fitch
hay, and smolE the sweet perfume,
and 60 to husking bees and dances,
and everything, and they got me all
worked up so l wanted to 60 to work
on farm. Then an old deacon that
belongs TO our church, who runs q
farm about eight miles out of town,
he came on the scene and said he
I wanted n boy, and if 1 would 60 out
and work for him he would Be easy
on me because he knew my folks. and
we belonged to the same church.
can see it now. 1t was all a put up
job on me, just like they play three
card monte on a fresh sti anger. /
was took in. BY gosh, l have been
out there week, and here's what
there is left of me- The only way l
got chance to come to town was to
tell the farmer l could sell cabbages
to you for shilling piece. Iknew
you sold them for fifteen cents and 1
thought you would give a shilling.
So the farmer said he would pay me
my wages in cabbages at shilling
apiece and only charge me dollar
for the horse and wagon to bring
them in. So you only pay three
cents. Here are thirty cabbages.
which will come to ninety cents. r.
pay a dollar for the horse, and when
get back to the farm I owe the
farmer ten cents, besides working a
week for nothing. U, is all right. II
don't kick, but this ends farming for
Hennery. ] know when I have got
enough of an easy life on farm. II
prefer hard life, breaking stones on
the streels, to an easy, dreamy life on
farm" >.
"They did play it ON you, didn't
they" said the grocery man. But
wasn't the old deacon good man to
work for7"
"Good man nothin'," said the boy,
as he took up piece of horse radish
and began to CRATE it on the inside
of his rough hand Il tell you there
a heap of difference in a deacon in
Sunday school, telling about sowing
wheat and tares. and deacon out on
a farm in hurrying season, when |
there is hay to get in and wheat to |
harvest all at the same time / went
out to the farm Sunday evening
with the deacon and his wife, and
they couldn't talk too much about
the nice time We would have. and the
fun; but the deacon changed more
than forty degrees in five minutes
after we got out to the farm. He
jumped out of the wagon and pulled |
off his coat, and let his wife climb |
out over the wheel, and yelled to the
hired girl to bring out the milk pail,
and told me to fly around and un
harness the horse, and throw down a |
lot of hay for all the work animals,
and then told me to run down to the |
pasture and drive up a lot of COWS. |
The pasture was half mile away, |
and the cows were scattered around
in the woods, and the mosquitoes were
thick, and l got all covered with mud
and burrs, and stung with thistles. |
and when l got the cattle near to the |
house. the old deacon yelled to me
that l was slower than molosses in
the winter, and then l took club
and tried to hurry the COWS, and he
yelled at me to stop hurrying, cause
l would retard the flow of milk. BY
gosh was mad. I asked for a mos
quito bar to put over me next time l
went after the cows, and the people
all laughed at me. and when 1 sat
down on the fence to scrape the mud
off my Sunday pants. the deacon
yelled like he does in the revival,
only he said, come, come, procrastin
alton is the thief of time. You get
up and hump yourself and 60 and
feed the pigs He was SO darn mean
that could not help throwing
burdock burr against the side of the
cow he was milking, and it struck
her right in the flank on the other
side from where the deacon was.
Well. you'd dide to see the cow
jump and blat. All four of her feet
were off the ground at time, and l
| .,uacc moCt ~ fbop, bif tho daacOp on