The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1883-09-19
PECK'S BAD BOY.
The Deacon will not Accept Hennery's
Reslgnativn, so he Plays Joke
and Gets the "Ager."

uC UC0VVu UVt ANVVRU AANsssssS
Reslgnativn, so he Plays Joke
and Gets the "AgeF."
"Well, swow, mere comes walking
hospital" said the grocery man as the
bad boys shadow came in the store, fol-
lowed by the boy who looked sick and
yellow, and tired, and he had lost half
his flesh. whats the matter with you?
Haven't got the yellow fever, have your"
and the grocery man placed a chair
where the invalid could fall into it.
"No. Got the ager," said the boy as
he wiped the perspiration off his upper
lip. and looked around the store to see if
there was anything in sight that would
take the taste of quinine out of his
mouth. "Had too much dreamy life of
ease on the farm, and been shaking ever
since. Darn a farm, ANYWAY"
"What, you haven't been to work for
the deacon any more, have you? /
thought you sent in your resignation"
and the grocery man offered the boy
some limburger cheese to strengthen
him.
20, take that cheese away" said the
boy as he turned pale and gagged. "You
don't know what a sick person needs any
more than professional nurse. What
want is to be petted. Jou see l went
out to the farm with my chum, and /
took the fish poles and remained in the
woods while he drove the horses to the
deacon's, and he gave the deacon my
resignation, and the deacon wouldn't
accept it. He said he would hold my
resignation until after harvest, and then
act on it. He said he could put me in
Jail for breach Of promise If 1 quit work
and left him without giving proper.
notice, and my chum came and told me,
and SO concluded to 90 to work rather
than have any trouble, and the deacon
said my chum could work a few days for
his board if he wanted to. 1t was pretty
darn poor board for boy to work for,
but my chum wanted to be with me, so
he stayed. Pa and ma came out to the
farm to stay day or two to help. Pa
was going to help harvest, and ma was
going to help the deacon's wife, but pa
wanted to carry the jug to the field, and
lay under a tree while the rest of us
worked, and ma just talked the arm off
the deacon's wife. The deacon and pa
laid in the shade and see my chum and
Inc work, dina and the deacon's wife
gossiped SO they forgot to get dinner and
my chum and me organized strike, but
We were beaten by monopoly. Pa took
me by the neck and threshed out shock
of wheat with my heels, and the deacon
took my chum and sat down on him,
and we begged and they gave us our old
situations back. But we got even with
them that night. l tell you, when boy
tries to be good, and quit playing JOKES
on people. and then has everybody down
on him, and has his pa hire him out on
farm to work for deacon that hasn't
got any soul except when he is in church
and boy has to get up in the night to
get breakfast and 60 to work, and has to
work until late at night, and they kick
because he wants to put butter on his
pancakes, and feed him skim milk and
rusty fat pork, it makes him tough, and
he would play joke on his aged grand
mother. After my chum and me had
got all the chores done that night, We
sat out on fence back of the house in
the orchard, eating green apples in the
moonlight, and trying to think of aplan
of revenge. Just then / saw skunk
back of the house, right by the outside
cellar door, and told my chum that it
would serve them right to drive the
skunk down cellar and shut the door,
but my chum said that would be to
mean. l asked him if it would he any
meaner than for the deacon to snatch us
bald headed because we couldn't NOW
hay away fast enough for two men to
pitch it, and he said it wouldn't. and 80
we got on each side of the skunk and
sort of scared it down cellar, and then
we crept up softly and closed the cellar
doors. Then we went in the house and
I whispered to ma and asked her If she
didn't think the deacon had some cider,
and ma she began to hint that she hadn't
had a good drink of cider since last
winter, and the deacon's wife said us
boys could take pitcher and go down
| cellar and draw some. That was too
much. l didn't want any cider, anyway,
so told them that belonged to tenn
perance society, and should break my
pledge if drawed cider, and she said l
was good boy, and for me to never
touch drop of cider. Then she told
nv chum where the cider barrel was,
down cellar, but he amt no slouch. He
said he was afraid to go down cellar in
the dark, and so pa said he and the dea-
con would 90 down and draw the cider.
and the deacon's wife asked ma to 90
down too and look at the fruit and ber-
ries she had canned for the winter, and
they all went down cellar. Pa carried
an old tin lantern with holes in it to
light the deacon to the cider barrel, and
the deacon's wife had taller candle to
show ma the canned fruit. l tried to
get ma not to go, cause ma is friend OF
NINE, and didn't want her to have any
thing to do with the circus. but she said
she guessed she knew her business.
When anybody says they guess they
know their own business, that settles it
with me and don't try to argue with
them. Well, my chum and me sat there
in the kitchen, and ! stuffed piece Of
red table-cloth in my mouth to KEEP
from laughing, and my chum held hif
nose with his finger and thumb so he
wouldn't snort right out. Necould heal
the cider run in the pitcher, and then il
stopped and the deason drank out OF the