The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1883-09-18
PECK'S BAD BOY.
He Gets His Pa Arrested for Steal
ing Chickens.

"Well, well, remarked the grocery.
man as the boy came into the store
and sat upop the edge of the counter,
''you loom up well for a boy with the
ague. [ thought you couldn't get out
OF bed, you havn't been around for
nearly week"
20, the ague's played out. Iguess
they run out of quinine in this town
while l was sick, Any how they fired
nearly barrel of it Gown my neck,
replied the boy, helping himself to an
apple;
81 heard your father was arrested
last Saturday. What's the trouble ?"
asked the groceryman as he closed a
new gate at the end of the counter ne
had had made to keep the boy away
from the sugar bin.
"Well. he did come near being RIM
In, sure, and / guess he would if it
hadn't been for me. You see ma has
been sick ever since she went into the
deacon's cellar to draw cider and met
the skunk, so she told pa if he would
get a couple of good fat hens she would
try and make a pot-pie for Sun'ay.
as she felt her health failing, and if
her appetite didn't improve soon she
would 60 hence, whatever that means.
So that evening pa started out for
hens. He was too late to get dressed
ones, 80 he got two live ones from the
market and started home. Me and
my chum were layin' for him, and
when he got about half way home it
commenced to rain and lie started
on a run go as to not get wet. We
followed and met a policeman and
told him we saw man steal two
hens, and pointed pa out as the man.
The policeman started after him and
yelled at him TO halt, but pa did not
hear him. Pretty soon pa saw some
one was chasing him, and thought it
was robber, SO he ran all the harder.
Then the policeman pulled out his re-
volver and fired in the air to scare pa,
just as one of the hens got her wings
loose and topped it in pas eye. Pa
dropped with groan and said. Pm
shot. Tell my wife l died happy
Then a crowd got around him and
was agoing to hang the policeman,
bnt he swore the shot came across the
street, for he saw two men run, and
said he didn't carry q revolver, any
way, and the crowd might search him.
But I saw him throw it over in q yard
and me and my chum got it the next
morning. When pa found he wasn't
dead, be called for a stretcher to be
carried home to die with his family.
While one of the crowd went for the
stretcher, the rest began to examine
him to see where the bullet went in,
and when they couldn't find it he got
up and offered to lick any man that
said he was shot. Just then another
policeman came up and said he recog-
mixed pa as Chicago Bill q notorious
safe-robber, and that q reward was of.
fered for him. Pa said hs was an
honest man, and agreed to 90 back
to the market with the chickens and
be identified. They found only one of
the chickens, but the market man
knew pa and fixed it, and then the po-
liceman began to beg pas pardon, and
pa gave him SIS to keep still about it.
When pa got home he told ma how
be had helped catch a safe-blower, and
when he got his share of the reward
she could have a new seal-skin sacque."
"Your fatherll kill you some day.
But what about that fuss at the social
at the deacon's night before last p
asked the groceryman, as he picked
the fly specks off from lot of maple
sugar he was putting away for new
maple sugar pext spring. 81 heard
the whole church was mad at each
other over a erab-bag, and the presid-
ing elder had all he could do to quiet
things down."
That don't amount to much, replied
the boy. There's always something
turns up when the sociable season
first starts in. You see, ma was ap-
pointed committee to fix up a grab
bag. Me and my chum were diging
bait that morning to 60 fishing, when
pa came out and said, Hennery, /
believe you put up that chicken job
on me, and don't believe anything
but hard work will reform you. I
want you to spade up the ground un-
der the current bushes. asked him
if he wanted a hump-backed, disfgur-
ed boy, made SO by Lard work. Pa
said he would risk the hump, and
told me to pitch in, and then went
down town. My chum said be would
help me. and me and him got the job
done before 2 o'clock. When We got
Aoun II .~ al Ii