The Lincoln County leader. [volume] (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 1882-189?, 1883-07-28
Lincoln County Leader.
Saturday, July %, 1883.
THE BAD BOY.

man tOtne, q DOy as ne came III the
store all broke up, the morning after
the Fourth of July.
''What catl" said the boy, as he
leaned against the zinc ice box to
cool his back, which he had been
having trouble with a bunch offire-
crackers in his pistol pocket. ave
haven't ordered any cat from here.
Who ordered any cat sent TO our
house! We get our sausage at the
market" and the boy rubbed some
cold cream on his nose and eye
brows, where the skin was off.
Eyes, that is all right enough"
said the grocery man, ''but some
body who knew where that cat
slept. in the box Of sawdust back
of the stove, filled it full of fire
crackers. Wednesday afternoon,
when | was ont to see the process
sion, and never notified the cat, and
touched them off, and the cat went
through the roof of the shed, and
hasn't got enough hair on her to put
IN tea. Now, you didn't show up
all the forenoon, and | went and
asked your ma where you was, and
she said you had been setting up
four nights straight along with a
sick boy in the Third ward, and
you was sleeping all the forenoon
the Fourth of July, if that is so,
that lets you out on the cat, but it
don't stand to reason. Own up
now, was you asleep all the fore
noon, the Fourth, while other boys
were celebrating, or did you scorch
my cat!" and the grocery man look
ed at the boy as though he would
believeevery word he said, if he
was bad.
"Well," said the bad boy, as he
yawned as though he had been up
all night, Il am innocent of set
ting up with your cat, but | plead
guilty to setting up with Duffy.
You see, | am bad, and it don't
make any difference where l am,
and Duffy thumped me once, when
we were playing marbles, and |
said | would get even with him
some time. His ma washes for us
and when she told me her boy
was sick, with fever, and had no
body TO stay with him while she
was away, | thought that would be
agood way to get even with Duffy
when he was weak, and | went
down there to his shanty and gave
him his medicine, and read to him
all day, and he cried, cause he
knew | ought to have mauled him,
and that night ! sat up with him
while his ma did the ironing, and
Duffy was so glad that | went down
every day and stayed there every
night and fired medicine down him,
and let his ma sleep, and Duffy has
got mashed on me, and he says [
will be an angel when | die. Last
night makes five nights | have sat
up with him, and he has got so he
can eat beef tea and crackers. My
girl has gone back on me cause she
said | was sitting up with some 9th
er girl. She said that Duffy story was
too thin, but Duf,y's ma was wash
ing at my girls house and she
proved what | said, and | was all
right again. | slept all forenoon
the Fourth, and then stayed with
Duffy. till four o'clock, and got a
furlough and took my girl to the
Soldiers Home. had rather set
up with Duffy though"
so, get out. You can't make
me believe you had rather stay in
a sick room and set up with a boy,
than to take a girl toa Fourth of
July" said the grocery man, as he
took a brush and wiped the saw
dust off some bottles ofpeppers sauce
that he was taking ont of a box,
"You didn't have any trouble with
the girl did youl"
"No-not with her" said the
boy, as be looked in the littleround
zinc mirrorte SEQ if his eyebrows
were beginning to'grow: "But her
pa is so unreasonable, think a
man ought to know better than to
kick a boy righl where he has
had a pack Of f%re-crackers explode
in his pocket. You see when
brought the girl back she was a
wreck: Don't you never take a girl
to the Fourth of July. Take the adj
vice of a boy who has had expert
ence. We hadn't more than got to
the Soldiers Home grounds before
some boys who playing tag
grabbed hold of my girls crushed
strawberry polonaise and ripped il
off. That made her mad, and she
wanted me TO take offence at it,
and | tried to reason with the boys