Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1883-04-19
His Ma Decelyes Him.

Peck's Sun.
"Give me ten cents worth of saffron
quick" said the bad boy to the grocer,
man, as he came in the grocery on
gallop, early one morning, with N,
collar on, and no vest. He looked a
though he had been routed of bed in ,
hurry, and had jumped into his pant
and boots, and put on his coat and ha
on the run.
II don't keep saffron" said the gro
Gerry man, as he picked up barrel o.
ax-handles the boy had tipped over in
his hurry. "You want to go over to the
drug store on the corner, if you
want saffron. But what on earth is the
at
At this point the boy shot out of the
door, tipping over basket of white
beans, and disappeared in the drug
store. The grocery man got down on
his knees on the sidewalk and scooped
up the beans, occasionally looking over
TO the drug store, and just as he got
them picked up the boy came out of the
drug store and walked deliberately to-
wards his home, as though there was no
particular hurry. The grocery man
looked after him, took up an ax-handle,
spit on his hands and shouted to the
boy to come over pretty soon, as he
wanted to talk with him. The boy did
not come to the grocery till towards
night, but the grocery man had seen
him running down town dozen times
during the day, and once he rode up to
the house with the doctor, and the
grocer surmised what was the trouble.
Along towards night the boy came in
in detected sort of tired way, sat
down on barrel of sugar, and never
spoke.
"What is it, a boy or girl" said the
grocery man, winking at an old lady
with shawl over her head, who was
trying to hold paper over pitcher
of yeast with her thumb.
"How in blazes did you know any
thing about it,, said the boy as he look
ed around in establishment, and with
some indignation. "Well, its girl, if
you must know. and that's enough"
and he looked down at the cat playing
on the floor with potato, his face a
picture of detection"
80, don't feel bad about ii" said the
grocery man, as he opened the door
for the old lady. "Such things are
bound to occur. But you take my word
for it, that young one is going to have
hard life, unless you mend your ways.
You will be using it for cork to a jug,
or to wad gun with, the first thing
your ma knows"
II wouldn't touch the darn thing
with the longs" said the boy, as he raj
lied enough to eat some crackers and
cheese. "Gosh. this cheese tastes good
/ haint had nothing to eat since morn
ing. l have been all over this town
trolling for nurses. They think boy
hasn't got any feelings. But / wouldn't
care gol darn, if ma hadn't been send
ing me for neuralgia medicine, and hay
fever snuff all winter, when she wanted
to get rid of me. have come in the
room lots of times when ma and the
sewing girl were at work
on some flannel things, and
ma would hide them in basket and
send me off after medicine. l was de-
ceived up to about four o'clock this
morning, when pa came to my room
and pulled me out of bed to go over on
the west side after some old woman that
knew ma, and they have kept me
whooping ever since. What does boy
want of sister, unless it is big sister
| don't want no sisters that have got
to hold, and rock, and hold bottle for.
This affair breaks me all up" and the
boy picked the cheese out of his teeth
with silver he cut off the counter.
"Well, how does your pa take it,"
said the grocery man, as he charged the
boys pa with cheese, and saffron, and
number of such things
30. pa will pull through. He wanted
to boss the whole concern until mas
chum, an old woman that takes snuff,
fired him out into the hall. Pa sat
there on my hand-sled, a perfect picture
of despair, and | thought it would be a
kindness to play it on him. | found the
cat asleep in the bathroom, and i
rolled the cat up in a shawl and brought
it out to pa and told him the nurse
wanted him to hold the baby. 1t seemed
to do pa good to feel that he was indis-
pensable around the house, and he took
the cat on his Jap as tenderly as you
ever saw mother hold an infant.
Well, / got in the back hall, where he
couldn't see me, and pretty soon the
cat began to wake up and stretch him
self, and pa said, 's-h-h-tootsy, go to
sleep now, and let its pa hold it., and
pc he rocked back and forth on the hand
sled and began to sing by, low, baby.
That settled it with the cat. WE'LL some
cats can't stand music, anyway, and the
more the cat wanted to get out of the
ohovl tho louder M etIpU and himaby
heard something rip, and pa yelled,
scat, you brute, and when L looked
around the corner of the hall the cat
was bracing hisself against pas vest
with his toe nails, and yowing, and pa
fell over the sled and began to talk
about the hereafter like the minister
does when he gets excited in chu:ch,
and then pa picked up the sled and
seemed to be looking for me or the cat,
but both of us was offul scarce. Don't
YOU think there are times when both
bows and cats are kind of few around
their accustomed hauntsp Pa don't look
as though he was very smart, but he can
hold cat about as well as as the next
man. But / am sorry for ma. She was
Just ready to go to Florida for her neu-
ralgia. and this will put stop to it,
cause she has to stay and take care OF
that young one. Pa says L will have
nice time this summer pushing
the baby wagon. BY the great horn
spoons, there has got to be ~ dividing
line somewhere, between business and
pleasure, and strike the line at wheel
ing a baby l had rather catch string
of perch than to wheel all the babies