The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-08-29
THE BAD BOY AND HIS GIRL.
uE TAKES HER ON AN EXCURSION
TO THE SOLDIERS HOME.

IltI6, COHu6luu YOU, YOU Will pay /
for that cat," said the grocery man to
the bad boy as he came in the store all |
broke up the morning after the 4th of
July.
"What cat?' sad the boy, as he
leaned against the zinc ice-box TO cool |
his back, which had been having
trouble with bunch of firecrackers
in his pistol pocket. 1--WE haven't |
ordered any cat from here. Who or
dered any cat sent to our house? We
get our sausage at the market" and
the boy rubbed some cold cream on his
nose and eyebrows, where the skin was
off.
"Yes, that is all right enough" said
the grocery man, "but somebody who
knew where that cat slept, in the box
Of sawdust back of the store, filled
it full of firecrackers Wednesday fore
noon, when / was out to STE the pro-
cession, and never notified the cat, and
touched them off, and the cat went
through the roof of the shed, and she
hasn't got hair enough left on her to
put in tea. Now you didn't show up
all the forenoon, and L went and asked
your ma where you was, and sine said
you had been setting up four nights
straight along with sick boy in the
Third ward, and you was sleeping al
the forenoon the 4th of July. If that
| is so, that lets you out on the cat, but
| it don't stand to reason. Own up now,
was you asleep all the forenoon, the
4th, while other boys were celebrating,
or did your scorch my cat?" and the
grocery man looked at the boy as
though he would believe every word
he said, if he was bad.
"Well," said the bad boy, as he
yawned as though he had been up all
night, 81 am innocent of sitting up
with your cat, but L plead guilty of
sitting up with Duffy. You see, l am
bad, and it don't make any difference
where L am, and Duffy thumped me
once, when we were playing marbles,
and said would get even with him
some time. His ma washes for us, and
when she told me that her boy was
sick, with fever, and had nobody to
stay with him while she was away, l
thought it would be good way to get
even with Duffy when he was weak,
and 1 went down there to his shanty
and gave him his medicine, and read
to him all day, and he cried, 'caus he
knew l ought to have mauled him,
and that night l sat up with him
while his ma did the ironing, and
Duffy was so glad that went down
every day, and stayed there every
night, and fired medicine down HIN,
and let his ma sleep, and Duffy has
got mashed on me, and he says will
be an angel when l die. Last night
makes five nights have sat up with
him, and he has got so that he can eat
beef tea and crackers. Ny girl went
back on me cause she said l was sit
ting up with some other girl. She said
that Duffy story was too thin, but
uffy's ma was washing at my girls
house and she proved what | said, and
l was all right again. l slept all the
forenoon the 4th, and then stayed with
| uffy till o'clock, and got furlougll
and took my girl to the Soldier
Home. had rather set up with Duffy,
though"
"Oh, get out. You can't make me
believe you had rather stay in sick
room and set up with a boy, than to
take a girl to the 4th of july" said
the grocery an, as he took brush
and wiped the sawduSt off some bottles
Of peppersauce that he was taking out
o. q box. "Yo ou didn have any trouble
with the girl, did you?'
"NO-nOt with her." said the boy
a5 he looked into the little round zinc
mirror to see if his eyebrows were
beginning to grow. "But her pa is SC
} unreasonable. | think man ought
to know better than to kick boy right
where he has had pack of iirecrackers
explode in his pocket. You see, when
brought the girl back home, she was
wreck. Don't you never take girl
to the 4th of July. Take the advice
;, of a boy who has had experience. We
hadn't more than got to the Soldiers
Home grounds before some boys who
, were playing tag grabbed hold of my
, girls crushed-strawberry polonaise and
| ripped it off. That made her mad, and
she wanted 100. to take offense at it,
and l tried to reason with the boys
and they both jumped on me, and
| see the only way TO get out OF
it honorably, was to get out
real spry, and got out Then We
sat down under tree, to eat lunch
, and my girl swallowed a pickle the
wrong way, and pounded her on the
back, the way ma does me when
choke and she yelled and policeman
: grabbed me and shook me, and asked
me what l was hurting that poor girl
! for, and told me if l did it again hC
, would arrest me. Everything wenl
wrong. After dark somebody fred 4
Roman candle into my girls hat, and
= set it on fire, and l grabbed the hat
md stamped on it, and spoiled her hail
l That her ma bought her BY gosh,
thought her hair was curly, but when
/ the wig was off, her own hair was a