The south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1879-1883, 1883-04-24
HIS MA DE5EIvEs HIM.
Peck's Sun.

iron quick, sald the pad boy 10 the
grocery man. as he came in the groce-
ry on gallop. early one morning,
with no collar on, and no vest. He
looked as though he had been routed
out of bed in hurry, and had jumped
! iHtp his pants and boots, and put on
his coat an1 hat on the run.
II don't keep saffron" said the
grocery man, as he picked up barrel
of ax-handles the boy had tipped
over IN his hurry. "You want to go
over to the drug store on the corner,
if you want saffron. But what on
earth is the mat"
AT this point the boy shot out of
the door, tipping over basket of
white beans, and disappeared in the
drug store. The grocery man got
down on his knees OH the sidewalk
and scooped up the beans, OCCASION
ally looking over to the drug store,
and just ashe got them picked up the
boy come out Of the drug store and
walked deliberately towards his
home, as though there was no partic-
ular hurry. The grocery man looked
after him, took up an ax-handle, spit
on his hands and shouted to the boy
to come over pretty soon, as he want
ed to talk with him. The boy did
not come to the grocery till towards
night, but the grocery man had seen
him running down town dozen
times during the day, and once he
rode up to the house with the doctor,
and the grocer surmised what was
the trouble. Along towards night
the boy came in in detected sort of
a tired way, sat down on barrel of
sugar, and never spoke.
"What is it, boy or girl ?" said
the grocery man, winking at an old
lady with shawl over her head, who
was trying to hold paper over a 4
pitcher of yeast with her thumb.
"How in blazes did you know any
thing about ?" said the boy, as he
looked around in astonishment, and
with some indignation. "Well, it's
girl, if you must know, and that's
enough" and he looked down at the
cat playing on the floor with potato,
his face picture of detection.
20, don't feel bad about it, said
the grocery man, as he opened the
door for the.old lady. "Such things
are bonnd to occur. But you take
my word for it, that young one is
going to have hard life, unless you
mend your ways. You will be using
it for cork to jug, or to wad gun
with, the first thing your ma Knows
81 wouldn't touch the daru thing
with the tongs," said the boy, as he
rallied enough to eat some crackers
and cheese. "Gosh, this cheese tastes
good. l hain't had nothing to eat
since morning. l have been all over
this town trolling for nurses. They
think boy hasn't got any feelings.
But wouldn't care a gol darn, if ma
hadn't been sending me for neuralgia
medicine, and hay fever snuff all VIM
ter, when she wanted to get rid of me.
| have come in the room lots of times
when ma and the sewing girl were
at work on some flannel things, and
ma would hide them in a basket and
send me off after medicine. was
deceived up to about four o'clock this
morning, when pa come to my room
aud pulled me out Of bed to go over
on the West Side after some old wo-
man that knew ma, and they have
kept me whooping ever since. What
does a boy want of a sister, unless it
is big sistcrP don't want no sister,
unless it is big sister? l don't want
no sister that have got to hold, and
rock, and hold bottle for. This af-
fair breaks me all up" and the boy
picked the cheese out of his teeth
with silver he cut off the counter.
"Well, how does your pa take it 2"
said the grocery man, as he charged
the boys pa with cheese, and saffron,
and number Of such things.
20, will pull through. He wanted
to boss the whole concern until mas
chum, an old woman that takes snuff.
fired him out in the hall. Pa sat
there on my hand-sled, perfect pic
ture of despair and ! thought 1t
would be kindness to play it on
him. / found the cat asleep in the
bathroom, and l rolled the cat up in
a shawl and brought it out to pa and
told him the nurse wanted him to
hold the baby. 1t seemed to do pa
good to feel that he was indispensa-
BILE around the house, and he took the
cat on his lap as tenderly as you ever
saw q mother hold an infant. Well,
/ got in the back hall, where he
couldn't see me, and pretty soon the
cat began to wake up and stretch
himself, and pa said, 's-h-h-tootsy, go
! to sleep now, and let its pa hold it,
> and pa he rocked back and forth on
the hand-sled and began to sing by,
low, baby That settled it with the
cat. Well, some cats can't stand
: music, anyway, and the more the cat
: wanted to get out of the shawl, the
) louder pa sung, and bimeby / heard