The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-06-07

[Peek's SUM-
'Ah ha, you've got your deserts at last,
said the grocery man TO the bad boy, as he
came in with one eye black and his nose
peeled on one side, and sat down on board
across the coal scuttle, and began whistling
as unconcerned as possible. whats the
matter with your eye?s'
BOY tried to gouge it out without asking
my consent" and the bad boy took dried
herring out of the box and began peeling it.
He is in bed now, and mis- ma is poulticing
him, and she says he viii be out about the
last of next week.
20, you are going to be prize fighter,
amt you" said the grocery man, Disguised.
sWhen boy leaves job where he is work
ing, and goes to loafing around, he becomes
a fighter the first thing. What your pa
ought to do is to bind you out with a
farmer, where you would have to work all
the time. wish you would go away from
here, because you look like one of these fell
lows that comes up before the police Judge
Monday morning, and gets thirty days in
he house of correction. Why don't you go
out and loaf around slaughter house,
where you would look APPROPRIATED and
the grocery man took hair brush and
brushed some loose sugar and tea, that was
on the counter, in.o the sugar barrel.
swell, if you have got through with your
sermon, / viii loot little on my horn"
and the boy threw the remains of the her
ring over behind barrel of potatoes, and
wiped his hands on a coffee sack s'If you
had this black eye, and had got 1t the way
did, it would be more priceless gem in the
crown Of glory you hope to wear, than any
gem you can get by putting quarters in the
collection plate, with the holes filed with
Lad, as you did last Sunday, when / was
watching you. o, didn't you look pious
when you picked that filed quarter out, and
held your thumb over the place where the
lead was. The way Of the black eye was
this: / got job tending q soda fountain,
and last night, just before we closed, there
was two or three young loafers in the place,
and girl came in for glass of soda. Five
years ago she was one of the brightest schol-
ars in the ward school when I was in the
intermediate department She was Just as
handsome as peach, and everybody liked
her. At recess she used to take my part
when the boys knocked me around, and she
lived near us. She had heart as big as
that cheese box, and guess that's what's
the matter. Anyway, che left school, and
then 1t was said she was going TO be married
to fellow who is now in the dude business,
but he went back on her and after while
her ma turned her out. She tried hard to
get sewing to do, but they wouldn't have
her, guess cause she cried so much when
she was sewing and the tears wet the cloth
she was sewing on. 1t seemed tuff TO pass
her on the street, when she had tears in her
ewes as big as marbles, and not speak to her
when know her so well, and she had been
so kind TO me at school, just cause a dude
wouldn't marry her, but wanted to obey
pa, so | used to walk around block when
see her coming, cause didn't want 10 hurt
her feelings. Well, last night she came i'm
the store, looking pretty shabby, and wanted
glass Of soda, and gave 1t to her, and 0,
how her hand trembled when she raised the
glass TO her lips, and how wet her eyes were
and how pale her face was. / choked up so
/ couldn't speak when she handed me the
nickel, and when she looked up at me and
smiled just like she used TO, and said / was
getting to be almost man since we went to
school at the old school house, and put her
handkerchief to her eyes, by gosh, my eyes
got SO full couldn't tell whether it was
nickel or a lozenger she gave me. just then
one of these loafers began to laugh at her,
and he made fun of her until she cried some
more, and / got hot and went around to
where he was and told him If he said anoth-
er unkind word to that girl | would maui
him. He laughed and asked if she was my
sister, and told him that poor friendless
girl who was sick and in distress, and who
was insuted, ought to be every boys sister,
for minute, and any boy who had spark
of manhood should protect her, and then he
laughed and said ought to be one of the
Little Sisters of the Poor, and he took hold
of her faded shawl and pulled the weak girl
against the show case and said something
mean to her, and she looked as though she
wanted to die, and mashed that boy right
on the nose. We'll, the air seemed to be tull
of me for few minutes, cause he was big
ger than me, and he got me down and got
his thumb in my eye. guess he was going
to take my eye out, but 1 turned him over
and got on top, and / mauled him until he
begged, but l wouldn't let him up till he
asked the girls pardon, and swore he would
whip any boy that insulted her, aud then
let him up, and the girl thanked me, and ]
told her If anybody ever insulted her SO she
had to cry, that | would whip him If / had
to take a club. / told pa about It, and
thought he would be mad at me, but, by