The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-19
THE BAD BOY.
tn~eks saa.,

IRecks Saa.l
 "Say. 1 thought you was going to try to lead different life." said the grocery man b the bad boy. as the youth came in with his pockets fuil of angie-worms. and wanted so borros a bakins-powdsr can to put them into. while he weas iisA. ing, and he held long angie-worm up by the ta,l and les 1t wiggle Q n fright cned q girl that had come in afker two cents worth of yeast. so she dropped her pitcher and went out of the ~Er0cevy as though she was chased oy an anacoudA.
 :" am going to lead q different tic. but boy can't change his whole course of life in minute. can heg Grown persons have to go on probation for six months. before they can lead a different life. and half the time they iose their cud before the six months expire. and have to com- mence again. When itis so ail6red hard for man that is endowed with sense, 10 break cf being bad. you shouldn't ex- pee, too much from boy. But am doing as we'll as could De expected ain't half 50 bad as was. Gosh, why don't you burn rag. That yeast that the girl spilled on the floor. smells like i, was sick. should think ,ha, bread that vas raised with that yeast would smell like this cooking butter you sell to hired girls
 Well. never you mind tha, cooking butter. know my business. lf people wan; Ia use poor butter when they have company. and then blow up the grocer before folks. can stand it if you can. Bu, wha, IS this hear about your pa fighting duel with the minister in your back yard. and wounded him m the lex. and then trying to drown himself in the cis,ern. One of your new neighbors was in here this morning and told me there was murder in the ar at your house last night. and they were going to have the police pull your place as disordcrly house. think you were at the bottom of the whole business"
 70. it's all darn lie. and those neigh. bors will ind the, better keep still about us. or we will lie about them little. You see, since pa go, tha, blacking on his face he don't go out any. and 10 make il pleasant fsT him tua invited tn few trends ,o spend the evening. Ma has go, up around. and the baby is daisy oniy Il smells like goat, on account ot drinking the goat milk. Ma invited the minister. among the rest. and after sup per the men went up into pas library Ia talk. 0. you think l am bad. don't you. but of the nine men at our house last they were when they were boys. l got in the bathroom to un,Angle my t,sh line. and Il IS next 10 pas room, and could hear everything they sad. bu, 1 went away cause l thought the conversation would hurt my morals. They would all steal. when they were boys. but darned if ever stole. Pa has stole over a hundred wagon loads Of water .mclons, one deacon used to rob orchards, another one shot tame ducks belonging to farmer. and another tipped over grndstones in front ef the village store, at night, and broke them. and run. another used to steal eggs. and 20 out in the woods and boil them. and the minister was the worst of the lot cause he took z seine, with some of the boys, and went to stream where a neigh Dor was raising brook trout, and cleaned the stream out. and to ward of suspicion, he went to the man the mex, day and paid him dollar to let him fish in the stream, and then kicked because there were no trout, and the owner found the trout were stolen and lad |, to some Dutch boys. 1 wondered, when those men were telling the'r experience. if they ever thought of II now when tse, were preaching and praying. and taking up collections. should think they wouldn't say boy was going To hell right of cause he was a Iit- tie wild now days, when he has such an example. Well, lately. somebody has been bursling T chicken cook. and pa loaded an old muxkei ~i,h rock salt. and said he would i'll the fellow full of salt II he caught hum. and while they were talking up stairs ma heard a rooster squawk. and she went to the stairway and told pa there was somebody in the hen-hoase Ia jumped up and told the visisors to follow him. and they would see a man running down the alley. full of salt. and he rushed out with the gun. and the eiowd follow cd him. Ia n shorter than the rest. and he passed under the first wire elo,hes-lne in the yard all right. and was going for the hen-house on a jump. when his neck caught the second wire cio'hes-line. just A the minister and two of the deacons caught their necks under the other wire. You know how a wire. hitting a man on the throat. will set him back. head over appetite Well. sir. 1 was looking out ofthe bark windos, and l wouldn't be positive. but l think the, aiiturned double bAa and struck on their ears. Anyway. pa did, and the gun must have been cooked. or II struck the hammer sn a stone. for it went off. and it was pointed towards the house. and three of the visitors got saised- The minister was hit the worst. one piece of salt taking him in the hind leg, and the other in the back. and he yelled zs though il was dynamite. lsuppose when