The Copiah signal. (Hazlehurst, Miss.) 1882-1883, 1883-04-13
THE BAD BOY

THE BAD BOY
"Say can't I soil yoa somo stock
in . silver mine"l asked the bad boy
OF the grocery man, as be came in
the store and pulled from his breast
pocket document painted on parch-
ment paper. aud representing several
thousand dollars stock in o silver
mi,e. q $
"Lookahere." says The groc cry man
as he turned pale, aud thought Of
telephouius 10 the police station for
detective, "you haven't been stealing
your. falh ers mining stock havo your
Great heavens, it has CONS at last !
I have known all the time You would
turn out to be q burglar. or q robbor,
or o deiaulter OF some kind. Your ia.
ther has tho reputation Of having q
bonanz. in o silver mine, but IL you
60 Juggling his silver stock around
he will soon be ruined. Now you 60
right back homo aud put that stock
in y,ur pas safe. like good fellow,
"Put it in the safsl o. no. we keep
j. in q box stall now,in the barn.I will
sell thousand dollars in stock fortwo
heads of lettuce, and get p, to sign
it over to you, il You say so. Pa told
ms / could have the whole trunk
full il l wanted it, aud the hired girl
is using the silver stock cleaning win.
DOVE, and to kindls fires, and pa has
quit the church and says he wont be
long to any concern that harbors
bilks. What's q bi'k' said tho boy,
as he opened candy jar and took
ont four sticks OF hoarhound candy.
"A bilk," said the grocery man, rs
he watched the boy, "is a fellow Who
plays fellow for candy, or money,or
anything, and don't intend to return
an equivalent. You are small sized
blk. But what's the matter with
your pa aud The church, and what
has the silver stock niue to do with
i,?"
"Well 5ot remember that exhort-
er that was here last fall, that used to
board around with the chur ch people
all the week, and talk about Zion,
and laying up treasures where the
moths wouldn't gnaw thom, and they
wouldn't get rusty, md whore thieves
wouldn't pry off the hinges' he was
the one that used to go home with
ma from prayer meetings, when pa
was down town, and who wanted 10
pay OF the church debt iu solid sill.
YER bricks. He's the blk. I guess il
pa should get him by the neck be
would jerk nine kind, OF revealed re-
ligion out of him. o. pa is hotter
than lie was when the hornets took
the lunch of Of him. When you strike
q pious man op the pocket book, it
hurts him. That fellow prayed aud
sang like nm angel, and boarded ar
ound like o tramp. Ha stopped at
our house over o week, and he had
specimens Of rovk that wore chucked
full OF silver and gold, and he and pa
used to sit up nights and look at it.
You could pick pieces OF silver ont OF
it as big os bucksho.. and he had
some silver bricks that were bearti-
fu.. Ho had been out in Colorado
aud found o hill full Of silver rock. {.
aud he wanted to form q stock com-
pauy and dig ont millions Of dollars.
Aud he said he did not want
anybody but pious men, that belong
cd to tho church, in tho company, and
1 think that was one thing tha: caus.
ed pa to unite with the church 90
suddenly. l know he was as wicked
as could be o few days before he
joined the church, but this revivalist'
with his words about the beautiful
beyond, where all shall dwell togeth'
er in peace, and sing praises, and his
description OF that Colorado noun
tain where the silver stuck out 50
you could hang your hat on it, con.
verted pa. Tust mans scheme was
to let oil the church people who were
in good standing, aud who had plen.
ty Of money, into the company, and
when the mine begun to return div.
idens by tho COR load, they could give
largely to the church, and pay The
debts Of all the churches, and put
down carpets, and fresco the ceiling
The man said he felt that he hat
been steered on to that silver mine
by q higher power. and his idea wa;
to work it for the glory OF the eau Be-
He said he liked pa. and would make
) i'm vioe.president Of the company
Pa be bit like o bass, and I guess ht
| invested FIVE thousand dollars in tht
stock, and ma she wanted to come il