Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-01-20
PECK'S BAD BOY AND HIS PA.

How the Old Man Got Rich by n Fail.
ure-rhe Boy Attends 10 His Pas
TIOtter.
"Whew," said the groC eryman,a as the
bad boy came IN and backed up against
the stove, when strong smell Of horse
filled the air and count eractei Tie smell
of decayed eggs, "you haven't gone to
work in the livery stable again, have
you?"
"No, but it is about the same. I am
taking care of pas trotter, and it is
more work than running II whole livery
stable, cause you have to rub trotter
about all the time, in one place or an
other, and blanket him, and bed him
down, ond treat him like baby" said
the bad boy, as he took leather trot-
ting bnot out Of his coat pocket, and sat
down Ly the stove to punch hole in
the strap.
"Well, by gum, that beats me-" said
the grOceryman, AS he put on his spec
tsclts and looked at the boy, and held
his nose aS the horse fumes came fresh
rom the stove. Only two weeks ago
your father failed, and now he keeps a
iTOtter, and he is member of the
church, too, in good standing,and prays
regularly. | sw0w, have lost conf.
dence in everybody"
go, you don't have to worry about
pa" said the hoy, as he buckled the
frOttiug boot around his own ankle, and
kicked his ankles together to see if II
would hurt if he interferred. "Pa knows
his business. Times were never 80 good
in our family as they have been since
pa failed, unless it was that time when
pa was selling stock in the silver mine.
Why, ia is full OF fun at home, aad ma,
she laffs, and pa gets her anything she
wants. He bought her diamond lace
pin la " eek with four big diamonds rs
big 81 hazel nuts. But ma isn't going
% wear IL here at home, where people
think pa is busted, but she is gOing to
y ait TIL they go oil travelling, and par
al.z, people at the hotels. But s'pose
"a as II. ore fun with the trOtter than
you can shake stick at. He paid
terrn!e IrIce for tue horse, 'cavse he
Mas !. armed to trOt without pulling on
+ mes. Pa goes out on the road, and
Wien any tody tries to pass him he lets
q l,ins lay on the da ,h board of the
cutter loose, aud pa sort of shuts his
~ e. IS though he was sweetly sleeping
~ q the horse just paws the snow. IL
any body comes along that belongs to
our church, pa begins to sing hymn
like he was happy, and the trotter goes
for all that is out. Some Of them think
pas mind is affected by his failure, and
that his head is weak, but they don't
want TO fool themselves much on pa. A
man who can settle with his creditors
for ten cents Oh a dollar, and stand
them of for ten censs, and nut his
MONEY in bonds, don't neeu much
sSmpathy.'
"Nell, | guess your pa will pull
through. But what Is this / hear about
you ard you chum hanging around the
police court? | heard that you aud him
ami him made up purse to pay fell
| lows fine, and save him from going to
| the house of correction. You fellows
will get TO mixing in with thieves, and
the first thing you know, you will get
pulled by hepOlce, and saltpetre won't
save you," ard the groceryman looked
wise, as though he had saved two boys
from ruin by his sage remarks.
well, sir, If We hadn't happened
down to the police court that morning,
that boy would have been ruined. The
Judge had just said five dollars fine or
ten days in the house Of correction, and
the policeman led the boy out, and as
he passed me | thought his face was
familiar, and as knew the cops sister,
he let me 60 to the station and see the
boy. He used TO live where We did be.
fore We came here, and his folks We're
rich then, but bis father failed and hi.
molber died, and the boy never learned
to do any thing, and he has been for a
wear walking around from town 10
Town, eating when anybody offered
him q meal and gong without when
they didn't. 'Tother night he struck
this town, and he was hungry and he
didn't have ambition enough to even
10 and beg q piece of bread, and he
stood leaning against an iron fence,
reaoy to freeze, when a policeman took
him in. The ambition was all chilled
out OF him, and he didn't make any de-
tense ut the charge Of vagrancy, and
was going to be sent up with thieves
and drunkards when we happened to
see him. l tell you, 1t don't make any
difference how rich boys father is,
every boy ought to learn to do some
kind of work, because the time may
come when he will have to work or
stsIve- Well, he was tickled to see me,
and cried some, and said when got out
of Jail he guessed he would go and
drown himself, cause he wasn't no
good, and be talked about his mother
dying until ii broke US all up, and then
We paid his fine and I took him up to
our house and gave him some of my
clothes, and We tried all the evening to
think OF some work he could do, but he
never learned TO do thing when his
father was rich except to walk down
town and back. Ineyer see boy 30