The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-10-24
THE GRAB-BAG.
THE BAD BOY At A SOCIAELR OUT
WEST.
Ills Ma Appointed IA Committee 10 t:et FNR
Grnb-Iiau-Iie aud His Chum. III itnpdS
Cnuse n C0mm0ti0n ut ihc.rocinh,c,
From tllaMifSsukec SUM-

lrIuli lipf DlNhuh'c QUIZ
"You SEQ, Una was appointed n com
tsittee. to fix upa grabbing" said the
bad boy to the grocery man. "Mc and
my clum were diggina6tait that morn.
ing to go fishing, When pa came outara
said, 'Hennery / don't believe anyhi &
buthard work will reform you. l wait
you to spade up the ground under the
currant bushes / asked him il he
wanted hump backed, disfgured boy,
made 20 by hard work. Pa said he
would risk the hump, and told me to
pitch in, and then went down town.
My chum said no would help me, and
me and him got the job done before two
o'clock. When we got done | came in
and found ma had finished the grabbing,
and had il all loaded with the top
fastened with a puckering string, and
hung on the back Of chair. Ma was
upstairs getting her Sunday clothes on,
to go to the sociablc, 80 it didn't take
me and my chum long to empty the bag
ant get first choice. Then / got our
mouse trap and took it TO the barn, and
caught two nice big fat mice and
put em in n collar box with holes cut in
1t 10 give EN- air, and dropped that in
the bag. Then my chum remembered
big swapping turtle he had in the swill-
barrel, and me and him got that and
wiped it M dry as We could, and tied
it oil up but its head and put that in
just M tho dcacOn's hired man came to
take tho bag over 10 the sociabc. Me
and my chum went down TO his house
and waited till the people got over tc
tho sOoiablo and then We went over and
got up IN tree where we could see
through AL open window, and hear all
that vas going on. PA, no stood over
by the bag and shouted, 'Ten cents
grab; don't let any body DO backward
in good cause Three or four had
put up their ten cents and made Il grab
when an old maid from Oshkosh, who
had been to tho springs for Mysteries,
got in he, work on the colar-box,
When she got the cover of, one Of the
mice that knew his business, jumped on
her shoulder and crawled down her
neck, aud the other dropped down on
the floor aud started around 10 meet the
other one. You'd dide TO seen her flop
and scream. The leacon's folks thought
1t was another attack Of hystcria. and pa
and the deacon got her on the sofa and
held her while they poured parcgoric
and cayenne pepper down her, When
she got loose she scrcamcdall the harder
Then one Of the other women see the
mouse md got up in chair and shook
her skirts. just then the bottom Of tho
char broke and let her fall over on mn
and tore her bangs all down. Ma called
her hateful thing and told her she
ought TO be ashamed Of herself. Finally
they got things in order, but no one
wanted to tackle the bag, and IA hero
wns where the profits came in, pa braccd
up and said he'd like 10 know why every
body acted 10 'spicious, he'd like to see
grab.bag that would give him the hys-
tcrics, and said women are always get
:ln' scared at nothin' He then put
down ten cents and damned his hand
way down in the bottom Of the bag, but
hc didn't keep it there long He gave
II jump and ynnkcd his hand ont, yell
ing fhundcrl Then lac swung 1t over
his head 10 shake il oil, and brought il
down ON tho dcacon's head, and smashed
his specs. Then he swung it the other
way, and struck the woman president o
the sewing society in the stomach M,
knocked her down in the dcacon's lap
After pa had hollorcd himself hoarsc
and .humpcd half the people in til,
room, the turtle let go, and pa said h
could lick the man that put that atoC
trap in the grabbing Then pa and m
got mad. and everybody began to jaw
and they all went home. / guess y
won't have n hump.backod boy, but l.
get even with him, you just SEQ if
don't"
And tho boy went ont and took assign
Warranted Fresh" from tho frlli
stand, and hung it ON n blind horse thu
wcs hltchcd to garbage wagon in from
Of tho store.