The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-08-16
THE FAD BOY.
sr onosos V. pscx.

bad boy as ke cane in the s,ore looking tanned and soagA, .l do ply yoe- lun- deEsfand your tathsrS saomAch is all gone, and that he cant keep anything on t. The policeman on this beat, who comes in here afker cheese and crackerx and tells nc to keep my vegetables oif the sidewalk, says he saw your pa leaning over . fence do.n hy the lake last nigh. ing Noo Yoich' to somebody on the ether side of the fence, and that afser he got through talking, and wiped his face, ke went up the sidewaIk towards home % weak and tired that the policeman felt sony for him. guess your pa did not quif drinking minute too quick. When . man drinks hard for twenty or thirty years, his stomach must get tired. But the policeman said you were valk- ing aloag behind your pa smiling. Hos vas it ?"
 @ThAt's a no such a thing" said the bad boy. "i don't think smiled zs all, cause tried not to smile Pas stomach is all right. only on such an oc- cAsiou."
 aSuch an occasion. What do you mean !' asked the srooeyman in some indignation.
 We'll. I'll tell you. said the bad boy, as he sat down on . case of blueherries- ]" You see l have been out on the lake gsod deal lately and have learned to sail a boat splendidly. and when pa see could sail boat he thought it vas awful queer if he couldn't sail . boat, too, but you know 1t is the hardest thing in the world to sail boat unless you know how. Pa see me sailing around on the bay. and when came up to the landing he said he would get in and sail. l asked him d he knew how to sail, and he said he wished he had as many dollars as he knew how to sail, and by the way he talked about sailing concluded pa vas with Captain Kidd, as he sailed 1 didn't like the way pa took hold of the tillef, and the ropes, but l thought it was my duty to keep my mouth shut, % l lei Pa went He run her right out on the lake, and l sat there expecting when he turned her about he would swamp the boat. thought we had gone out far enough, any way 1t was farther than ever went, and the sea was becoming rough. asked pa if he hadn't better turn her around, and he said he supposed the wind would change and sail us back. Healthy old sailor, wasn't he? Well, told him to port his helm, or al least that would if was him, and jibe the main sheet, but pa looked as though he didn't know helm from a string of suckers Finally he run her right arouad broadside to the wind, and never let up on the sail, and
 she cent almost over, and filled half full of water, when pa dropped the tiller and sail and began to climb up the side and yell that we were lost. Says he Hennery, if you know anything about this boat, grab someshing and get us out of this knew she would float as long as the sail was Tapping, so pulled my legs out of the water, and sat upon my feet on the seat, and It cigarette and told pa he better sail her home, cause he knew more about it than little boy You see, he had played his superior in- telligence on me, and deceived his trust ing, guileless, innocent child, and felt as though, if he wanted me to take his place that he should ask me in man. ner that would show he had confidence in my skill. l wanted him to admit that he was no sailor. The boat was in the trough of the sea, and it rolled, and pa began to get sick. He turned white, and wanted me to stop smoking He said those cigarettes always made him sick, 90 threw the cigarettes away on one side, and pa, not to be outdone in polite ness, tossed his supper over on the other side. sat there enjoying the sail. when pa said, Hennery, your pa has got the cholera, and it is your duty to get him home, and 70 after doctos.' You'd a dide to see pa. He said the cholera run in our family, and the only cure for 1t was to ges your feet braced on land, and then he dropped down in the water in the boat, all ezcept his head, which hs kept over the side, for reasons that are plain to any man that vas ever sea-sick. lf pa hadn't told me there vas no trick in sailing boat, and that anybody could do it that could hang on, and that | thought vas smart because had not tipped over before, wsuld have taken hold and sailed her back sooner than l did. Finally pe began to talk of the hereafter, and said thaa by tomorrow the whiteksh in the lake would be nibbling at our bodies, and that it was hard to die of cholera % far away from home, where nobody else oould catch it, so l told him if he would promise to be . different man 1 would save his life. o, bless you, ne child,' said pa, as he leaned over the rail and had it, just run this solbiasaed old tub ashore, and let me ooce more breafhe the free air of heaven, vishoas throwing up my boots, aad can die happy, after get a chance to kick the stnfing ont of the man that lent you this boat.' Well, pa was sick, and 70 mistake, and feis sorry for him, but hs was to blame. So sclA him # he would appoint me the maseer of the vessel, and obey everything said, would run hsr. He said he would. so told him to gsG down on his knees On the bottom, asd bail the boat out visA his piug hat and obsy every order, CT we wsse soee. Pa gos down and began to ding water with his hal. asd pray, asd heave Josah, asd swear. thought should die langhing, because he vasshe scarsdest maa ] ever