The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-11-07
The Bad Boy Gets a Black Eye.

"Well, 1 see you have got another
black eye" said the grocery man to the
bad boy, as he came in with a kerosene
can and sat down by peach basket.
while the grocery man drew the kerosene.
g How did you get it Have fight, or
did your pa knock you down with
chair 2"
"Got it trying to be angelic, said the
boy, as he fumbled around the mosquito
bar over the basket of peaches to see if
there wasn't place where peach might
fall out. "You know that blind woman
that grinds the hand-organ down on the
corner Well, person would think that
poor blind woman who has to support
herself and five children grinding out
the awfulest music ever was would be
the last person in the world to have
tricks played on her, but this morning |
found couple of dudes dropping lozen-
ges in the cigar box that is on her organ
for pennies. The first time they dropped
in one the old lady smiled and took it
and eat it, and l wasn't very mad,
cause 1 thought the dudes would
surprise her by dropping in five-dollar
gold piece for nickel, and make her
feel good But the next time they
dropped in a cayenne pepper lozenger,
and they got behind a peanut-stand to
see how it worked She bit it, and then
she opened her mouth and blowed cold
wind on her parched tongue, and almost
| laffed at first, she made such face, but
when / see the tears begin to pour out of
her poor old blind eyes, and roll down
her withered cheeks, and she took the
corner of her apron and wiped the tears
away, as she stopped right in the middle
| of Annie Laurie, and the organ drew
long breath, and when | looked at those
two dudes laffing at her, got crazy.
Somehow | felt as though that poor
old woman was my ma, and before l
knew it, jumped right in among those
dudes, and knocked one of them through
the peanut stand on the hot chestnut
roaster, and kicked the other where it
hurt, and he ran, and the other one said
What you got to do about the old
woman, don'tyo know and / said she
was a friend of mine, cause she was
blind, and then the Italian hit me in the
eye with hard peach, and a policeman
came along and the dude told him
l was terrier, and the policeman jerked
my coat-collar off, but when l told him
what it was all about, he gave me back
my coat-collar and chased the dude, and
the old lady thanked me with her tremb-
ling lips that were smarting from the
lozenger, and 1 went home to get my
collar sewed on, and pa was going to
take it out of my hide. l guess if
hadn't told him about the blind woman,
he would have been kicking me yet
Sometimes l think it don't pay to be toe
good. For instance, now in this row,
all the friend l have got is this blind
woman, and she will not know me wher
she sees me. The two dudes and the
Italian will lay for me, and the policeman
will, very likely, be told by the dude
that it was me who fired the lozenger in
there, and have got to wear this
black eye for two weeks, just for having
heart in me. Do you think it pays to
be good or didn't you ever try it ?"
You bet it pays" said the grocery
man, as he stuck the nozzle of the kero-
sene can into potato, and ripped off the
mosquito bar and told the boy to help
himself to peaches. "You have got a
friend in me, and you can call on me for
a certificate of character at any time. a
boy that protects the poor and unfortu-
nate is thoroughbred, if he does get a
black eye occasionally. ."-MilOaukee Sun.