Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-10-10
pscws BAD BOY AND MS PA.
He Breaks Hia Pa OF MashinR Fe-
male Clerks.
[Psck's sun.l

(Psck's SUM-
"What Is this l hear about
your father creating panic in O
dry goods store?" said the grocery
man to the bad boy, ns he took q
butter fryer and ran it into q
pumpkin a few times. "They tell
me that be had about 100 fe-
male Gle, ks treed on the shelves,
ard on the counters, and all Of
them screaming bloody murder,
and that a floor walker bit him
over the head with roll of paper
cambric, and somebody turned
on a fire alarm. How was il2"
"Well, il you will keep watch
for pa, at the door, l will tell you
all about it, said the boy.
Somebody has told pa that l
was OF the bottom Of the whole
business, and whom q man loses
confidence in his boy, and rolls
up a trunk strap and carries it
habitually, it stands q boy in hand
to keep his eye peeled. You see,
pa has been in habit lately Of
going to the store a good deal
and lallygagging with the girl
clerks. Any girl that will smile
on pa, and look sweet, catches
him, and he would sit on a stool
in front of the counter ten hours
a day, pretending to want to buy
some kind Of fringe, or corsets,
or something. and ho would fair
ly take the arms of the girls.
Ma didn't like it at all, and she
told pa he ought to be ashamed
of himself, cause the girls was
only making a fool OF him, and
oil the people in the store was
laffng at him, but pa said for Der
to shut up her yawp, and he kept
on trying TO find excuses to go to
the store. Ma told me about it,
and she felt real sorry, and b,
jinks it made me mad to see an
old man, old enough to have the
gout or paralysis, going round
mashing clerks in n store, and /
told ma If she would let me !
would break pa up in that sort of
business, and she told me to go
ahead and make him jump like n
box car SO 'tother day ma give
pa a piece Ct ribbon to match
and corset to change for larger
size, and pair Of gloves to re-
tnrn because tho thumb of one
Of 'em ripped of, and told him to
buy four yards of baby flannel,
and see how much it would cost
to have a seal-skin coat re-lined
and to sec if her new hat was
done. Pa acted as though he
didn't wantto go to the store, but
ma and me knew that he looked
upon it as a picnic. and he black
ened his boots, and changed ends
with his cuffs, and put on his new
red necktie, and shaved hisself,
and fixed up as though he was
going to get married. l asked
him to let me 60 along to carry
the packages. and he said he
didn't mind il did go, You
have seen these injy rubber rats
they have at the rubber stores,
haven't you? They look so near
like natural rat that you can't
tell the difference unless you
offer the rubber rat some cheese.
I got one OF those rats and tied n
fine thread to it, with a slipnoose
on the end, and when pa got into
the store ! put the slipnoose over
the hind button of his coat-taii
and put the rat on tho floor. and
it TO lowed him along, and l swow
it looked so natural l wanted to
kick it. Pa walked along smil-
ing, and stopped at the ribbon
counter, and winked at a girl,
and she bent over to see what he
wanted, and then she saw the rat
and she screamed and crawled up
on tho shelf where the boxes were,
and put her feet under her, and
said, take it away, kill it, and
she trembled all over Pa thought
she had gone into fit cause she
was paralyzed on his shape, and
he turned blue, and went on,
'cause he didn't want to kill her
dead; aud as he walked along
the rat followed him, and just as
he bowed to four girls who were
standing together talking about
tho fun they had at the exposi-
ton the night before they saw
the rat, and they begun to yell,
and climb up things One OF
them got on a stool and pulled
her clothes tight around hei
aukles, So live rat couldn't have
got in her stocking. let alone a
rubber rat, and the girls all
squealed just like when you tickle
them in the ribs. Pa he looked
scared, as though he was
afraid he was breaking then
all up with his shape, and
he kept on, and another flock o
girls saw the rat, and they jump
ed up on the counter AMI sa
down on their feet, and yelled
rat Then the Others yelled
rat, and in q minute about /
hundred girls were getting up OF
things aud saying shoe, and on
of them got on pile OF blankets
and the pile fell off on the 400
with her, and the men had 10 dis
her out. Pas face was study
He looked on one girl, and thel
another. and wondered what wa
the matter, and finally the foo
walker came along and see wha
it was, and he took pa by th
collar and led him out doors. nnJ