Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878-19??, 1883-10-20
the BAD BOYS PICNIC.
He Mischievously Profits by the Pre-.
cepts OF His Pastor.

Say, you think Of about everything
mean there is going, don't your said
the grocery man to the bad boy, as he
came in to show that his black eye had
beea cured. "The minister explained
TO ne yesterday how you caused him
and your father to lay and soak in the
water for about three hours, one hot
day last summer, in the lake, and they
both blistered their backs. The min
lister says the skin has not stopped
peeling off his shoulders yet. What
caused You to play such mean trick
ON thesaS"
"Oh, 1t was their own fault" said
the boy, as he looked with disdain on
a watermelon that was out of season,
and had no charms in October. "You
see, the night the seciable was at our
house, the minister and some of the
deacons were up in my room, which
they used that night for smoking
room, and while they were smoking
they were telling stories about what
fun they had when they were boys,
and remember one story the minis
ter told about finding some girls in
swimming once, and stealing their
clothes, and making them wait till
night, and then a girl had to fix her.
self up with newspapers and 60 home
and send a wagon after the rest of the
girls. The minister thought it was
awful cunning, so when the church
had the picnic last summer on the
bank of the lake l remembered about
it. Beats all, don't it, how boy will
remember anything like that? Well,
after dinner I saw pa whisper to the
minister, and they took a couple of
towels and piece of soap, and started
off up the lake about half mile,
and knew they were going in swim
ming. Well, it don't take me very
long to catch on. l got an overdress
that one of the girls had been wearing
to wash dishes, and shawl, and stole
hat belonging to the soprano of the
choir, and red parasol that a girl
left under tree, and went down in
the woods and put on the clothes over
my pants and things and when pa and
the minister had got in the water and
were swimming around, l put up the
parasol and tripped along the shore
like girl picking flowers, and when
came to the stump where they put
their clothes l didn't look towards the
water, but acted tired and sat down
on the stump and began to fan sysclf.
You'd dide to see pa look. He
crawled up on the beach in the shall
low water and said, Elder, do you see
that?' The elder looked, with hisseli
all under water except his head, and
said: 'Merciful goodness, squire, we
are in for it. That interesting female
is going to sit there and read novel
through before she goes away ]
peeked through the fan and could see
all they did while pretended to read a
novel. They swan around and made
noise, but l was deaf and l thought
it wasn't any worse for me to sit on
the stump than it was for the minis
ter, when he was good little boy, tc
steal the clothes of the girls, | stayed
until got tired, and didn't hear them
when they hollered to n,e to go away
and after awhile they got water-soaked
and had to do something, so the min
lister broke off a piece of a tree and
dressed himself in it, and came up tc
me and said, Madam, excuse me foi
troubling you, but if you will go away
while get my clothes will take il
as a favor / pretended to be in,
suited, and got up and walked off very
indignant, and went back to the pic.
mic and returned the clothes, and
pretty soon they came up, looking as
red as if they had been drinking, and
the picnic was ready to 60 home
Somebody told pa it was me, but
don't know who it was that gave il
away. Anyway, he chased me clear
out of the woods with a piece of sap
ling. That was the first timo l toli
you l was too tired to ride, and walked
home from the picnic. Pa has for
given me, but ! believe the ministe,
ever will. Don't you think some O
these pious folks are awful unfor
giving"
"Oh, people are not all as good al
you and l are" said the grocery man
as he watched the boy making a sneal
on bunch of grapes.--Peck's Sun.
A ,yrifar in TIM Nau, YorL T,;b,,r,