Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-03-31
That Bad Boy Again.
Peck's Sun.

ChhTSeu TIE cueese W the Doy latneI,
rad picked up mis- cigar stub which he
had left ON the counter, and which the
hoy had rubbed OH the kerosene barrel.
No sir, that whistle would scare any
uog that heard it. Say, what was
Your pa running after the doctor in his
shirt-sleeves for last Sunday morning.
lie looked scared. Was your ma sick.
again?
"Oh no, ma is healthy enough now
abe has got a fur lined cloak. She
played consumption on pa, and coughed
50 she liked to raised her lites and liver
and made pa believe she could not live
and got the doctor to prescribe fur
lined circular, and pa went and got
me, and ma improved awfully. Her
cough is all gone, and she can walk
ten miles. / was the one that was
sick. You see, wanted to get pa in.
To the church again and get him to
top drinking, so | got boy to write
u letter to him, in female hand, and
sigued the name of a choir singer pa
was mashed on, and tell him that
she was yearning for him to come
back to the church, and that it seemed
blank without his smiling face and
benevolent heart, and to please come
back for her sake.
"Pa got the letter Saturday night
and it seemed to tickle him, but |
guess he dreamed about it all night, and
sunday morning he was mad, and took
me by the ear and said l couldn't
come no DAISY" business on him a
second time. He said he knew
wrote the letter, and for me to 90 up
in the store room and prepare for the
almightiest licking a boy ever got, and
he went down stairs and broke up a
barrel and got stave to whip me with.
Well | had to think mighty quick,
but was enough for him. l got q
dried bladder in my room, one that
me and my chum got at a slaughter
house, and | bowed it partly up, SO as
to be sort of Aat-like, and put it down
inside the back part of my pants right
about where pa hits when he Furnishes
me. / knowed when the barrel stave
hit the bladder it would explode.
Well, pa came up and found me cry.
ing.
Il can cry just as easy as you can
turn on the water at faucet, pa took
off mis- coat and looked sorry. l was
afraid he would give up whipping me
when he see me cry and | wanted to
20 on with the bladder experiment, SC
looked kinder hard, as if | was de-
living him to do his worst; he took me
Ivy the neck and laid me across g
trunk. | didn't dare struggle much
tor fear the bladder would loose itself
aud pa said: Now, Hennery, l am
going to break you of this dam foolish
hess, or will break your back anG
he spit on his hands and brought the
barrel stave down on my best pants
Well, you'd died if you'd heard thu
explosion. 1t almost knocked me of
the trunk. 1t sounded like fire
cracker away down cellar in a barrel
and pa looked scared. | rolled offer
the trunk on the floor and put som,
flour on my face to make me look pale
and then kinder kicked my legs like
fellow who is dying on the stage aftel
being stabbed with peice of lath, anC
groaned and said: Pa you have
killed me, but | forgive YOU and theI
rolled around and frothed at tn,
mouth, cause l had piece of soap il
my mouth to make foam. Well, III
was all broke up. He said Great
God, what have Idone? l have broker
his spinal column. o my poor boy
do not diep l kept chewing the soal
and fOaming at the mouth, and drew
my legs up and kicked them out, anC
clutched my hair and rolled my eyes
then kicked pa in the stommick as h
bent over me and knocked his breatl
out of him. and then my limbs began
to get rigid, and | said, Too late, pi
] die at the hand of an assassin, go fol
the doctor Pa throwed his coat owe
IDe aud started down the stairs on a run
saving, i have murdered my brav,