Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1883-11-10
TILE GRAB-BAG.
TIE BAD BOY At sOCIABIR OFT
WEST.
lii- Ma Appointed n Committee 10 Cet.,.
t.rnb-Baz-fle and His Chum Fix 4t and
tan>e tommotion al the ~ociabIe.
From the Milwaukee SUM-

From the Milwaukee SUM-
'1ou see, ma was appointed COM
m ttee to fix up grab-hag." said the
bad boy to the grocery man. "AIe and
n: chum were digging bait tha. morn.
Ing TO go fishing. when pa came ont and
said, 'Hennery l don't believe ANYTHING
btt hard work will reform you. l want
yc1 TO spade up the ground under the
currant bushes. I asked him if he
wanted hnmp-backed, disfgurcd boy,
made SO by hard work. Pa said he
would risk the hump, and told me to
pitch in, and then went down town.
Ny chum said he would help me, and
me and him got the job done before two
o'clock. When We got done / came in
and found ma had finished the grab bag.
and lad it all loaded, with the TOP
fastered with a puckcring string. and
hung on tAe back of chair Ma was
up-stsirs getting her Sunday clothes on.
to go to the sociable, SO it didn't take
me AMI my chum long to empty the bag
and ct first choice. Then / got our
! nous. trap and took it to the barn. and
caught two nice big fat mice and
put en- in a collar box with holes cut in
it to give EN- air, and dropped that in
| the bag. Then my chum remembered
a big swapping turtle he had in the swill-
barre, and me and him got that and
wipeC it as dry as we could, and tied
it all up but its head and put that in
Just as the dcacons hired man came to
| take The bag over to the sociable. Me
and nv chum went down to his house
and waited till the people got over to
/ ln ND !
! got I'D in tree where we could see
through an open window, and hear all
that was going on. Pa, he stood over
by tie bag and shouted, Ten cents
grab don't let any body be backward
in a good cause Three or four had
| put up their ten cents and made grab
when an old maid from Oshkosh, who
had been to the springs for Mysteries,
got i'll hey work on the collar-box,
When she got the cover off, one of the
mice that knew his business, jumped on
her shoulder and crawled down her
neck, and the other dropped down on
| the floor and started around to meet the
other one. You'd dide to seen her flop
and scream The deacon's folks thought
it was another attack of hysteria, and pa
ana the deacon go. her on the sofa and
held her while they poured paregoric
and cayenne pepper down her. When
size got loose she screamed all the harder.
Then one Of the other women see the
mouse and got up in chair and shook
her skirts. Just then the bottom of the
chair broke and let her fall over on ma
and tore her bangs all down. Ma called
her a hateful thing and told her she
ought to be ashamed of herself. Finally
they got things in order, but no one
wanted to tackle the bag, and as here
WIS where the profits in, pa braced
np and said he'd Ike to know why every
lolv acted so 'spicloTs, he'd like to see
crab bag that would give him the hys-
te,ics, and said women are always get
.n' scared at nothin'' He then put
down ten cents and jammed his hand
way down in the bottom of the bag, but
he didn't keep il there long. He gave
:, Jump and vankeo his hand out, yell
inc thunt.r,' Then he swung it over
lis head to shake if off, and brought it
slnwn on the deacon's head, and smashed
lis specs. Then he swung it the other
uav. and struck the woman president OF
he sewing society in the stomach and
knocked her down in the deacon's lap.
After pa had hollcrcd hlEself hoarse,
nj thnmped half the people in the
room, the turtle let go, and pa said he
could lick the mau that pnt that steeI
rap in the grab-hag. Then pa and ma
got mad. and everybody began to jaw
md they all went home. | guess pa
won't have hnmp-backcl boy, but II
ret even with him, You just see if
ion't"
! And the boy went out and took a sign
Warranted Fresh,' from the fruit
stand, and hung it on blind horse tha
was hitched to garbage wagon in from
Of the store.