The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-12-08
PICKS BAD BOY AND HIS "A.
ss ososaS VI. rSck.

AUafu tuc SN3nkS tu tue staad&fu of tune would mix you up so yea would no, come"
 .o. you needn't ever be afraid tha, ~ili get leA, said the boy. as he used the can opener to open some peanuts "i would have been here sooner. only pa mel with ser,cns accident. and had to gc after plumber for him.
 Had to % after a plumber ~ said tue grocery man in amasement Are you out of your heady Why didn't yca cali doctor. What has a plum bev got to do with he practice of med Nsne s'
 Well. prepa<ed ,c call a doctor. but pa wculduf have < doctor. He told me to ge, plumeer ,o the house as quick as possible. You see we have been troubled with rats al our house, and we tried pc.son. bu, they got fat ca it. We tried cats and the rats drcvc the cats away So pa vent down and got ~cn,c steel traps and set them around cu the Aoc< ot the basement. The floor is ee- ment. and lust as ssNcoth as can be, and me and my chuw, gc down the~ and skate with our roller skstes This morn ing pa came down and wanted to put on tftt sA@NS. f<fft tttttt " ttuittu >hdtN, and ,ha, 1 shcaid think alter krs cNpe- rience at the rink isst winter, when he pulled s,sa all to p,eces grabbing at her to keep from s~lhng. that he would try some othet amusement. but he sad he knew all ae,at II, and he didn't waHt no fool boz to try Co sel h,u, anything When A wssn gets old and he thinks he kno~s t aA there IS no use trying to argue wEh him, and so l unbuekied my skAses and pulled them oil and he put ttscm oe. WeR. he wahbied around tcr a few minutes, like teller that has eccn drinking gqn. and held on to th,ass ,tl he thought he had get his bearings, when he struck out tof the back ead ct ssc basement. As he came along by the furnace one leg began ,o so over toward the nosghbors and he grabbed hold s< the corner oi the furnace. swung around behind II, ou, -of sight. and we heard an earthquake, and sosacthing snapped hke q steel nap, and px yelled Ky cvtmue. and ma came do Sn after some sAssidge for breakfast and she saw ] pa zad she ,aid Meyciiul goodness. and by thai tune me and my ehum had got there. We'll, you .d dide to see pa. He had come down like a ton of coal. right on that steel trap, and Il had sprung and caesh, a whole moathiul ol pas pants. and about pound and a half or two poands oi meat. and pa WAS grating his teeth se s'-y and stand t. n. !. ~as ,he most ridiculous position l ever sec Pa into. and he got mad and told me to unspring the trap. We turned hlm oVer and me and my chum trsed our bc-, to open the k..t .( ,k strong spnng and we couldn't Ia wac the onay ors ;i,.; could an.fssae the trap. and he couldn't go around behind his- sell in ec, at II. se told hiH, would go after doctor. bnt he sand tk,s was 4 case where doctor was no good. and he wsused plumber or blacksmith Pa waDcd ,o go nY m the pArIor ,o NJ, on the sela ~h,lc l was gone after the plxmbcr but the trap wac chained to the furnace. and we couldn't ge, ii loose, se pa had to lay thcfe on the cement floor tIll the plumber came. The plumber laarhcd al pa. and sad he had done all kinds of plumbing before. but he never had call like that. We'll. wc go, pa ou, and don't suppose ther IS maddet mas m the town than pc s but there was nobody to blame but himseli sA, do you see how l can be Named about =
 aw. they cAn', blame you sad the grocery man. a> he lt lay pipe |" i.u, this ought te be lesson io you, tha; life IS o@e continuous fai-trap, ai~ays set and baited with choose to catch the unwary The SeslDess nan goes abest his business uncOascious ,hA the rai-tfap is set where he can get into it. He estcads his bust ness, gIves ereds, and gese credit himself everything Is se,tnIng and he n sailing along as nioe ss your pA wAson the roller skates when all at once there ls a sla, k up m business. ne sant collect ~hat ls owing to hun. Aad he has to pay what he owes. ac clutches and claws al fIiends for friends to keep hun from falling. bu, friends hAse go, all they an attend 10 ,o keep en the. foet. and they do not seAth out to help him. and suddenly hIs feet go out from under hum and he strikes some thing hard, and he hnds thA, he IS m life's great ra,-'fap, and his creditors do not hurry to unspung the trap. and he .ai,s fos the plumber as your pa did and thinks what fool he has made of himself A boy gets A situation ,n a s,osc 4, i've dollars a week, and n three nsa,hs he thinks he owns the store. He IS promoted and has has salary raised. and then he begins to dress better than the propne,or. plays billiards .li the saloon eloses. goes to his cheap boarding plA1e with beer enough in him ,o star, a ne~ saloon. gets to buying vine and hiring livery ngs, and some day pizin-looking man oAlls on him and takes him up to the police sa ton, where he IS told hat his cash ar- count IS sis hundred doilars short, and A he hears the key ,arn in 'he door of hs cell he realizes 1ha, he has dropped square oe-,o lfe's fa,.,rap. wh,sh he knew vas there al ba'ed for hlm, bat he did no, have sense enough .o keep away from. An. boy, beware of the rat trap. Here, take your hand G: 2! .h=: barrel of dned apples. How do you know but there IS trap sci n there
 That's what 1 wan, to find out. sad the boy. zs he removed his hand and kank&< .nsn the t.zsr~i 4 4,