The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1884-10-03
The BAD Boy.
By George MPeck.

e. BY George ", Pech.
~ notice your pa is wearing a coU
pie of black eyes, aud nose iha
Seems to be a couple of degrees out o.
plumb" said the groceryman TO the
bad boy, as he came in To get couple
of raw oysters. "Has your pa been il
political rOw?'
II admit that black eyes during a
political campaign are liable to be an
evidenceOf great zeal in ward caUcuses,
and know that some of our best Citi-
zenswear black eyes during the months
of September and October of a presi-
dental year, but pas liquid black eyes
and italicised nose is not the result OF
politics. He has been in cat fight"
"a cat fightu and the groceryman
held up his hands in horror, and add
ed: "Why, I supposed your pa and
ma got along splendidly, and never
quarreled. What was it about?"
80, you are all wrong" said the
boy, as he took cold chisel and pried
of few dates. at was not that kind
of a eat fight. You see we have a dog
cat anywhere but he goes after it, and
trees it on fence, or a wood shed, or
somewhere. Pa thinks it is cunning,
anu COulu ONCI SLY "OuIN
induce pa to break the dog of the habit
of chasing cats. He says cats are no
good, and that a good cat dog is worth
his weightin gold to any neighborhOOd.
People who own cats in our neighbor-
hood have got mad and thrOwed scald-
ing water on the dog until he looks as
though he was moulting like canary
bird, and has had one leg broken by
stones thrown by cat prOprietprs, and
he came home one night with one end
of him filled with bird shot, but he
never let up on cats, and pa encOur-
ages him in it, The other day pa and
me and the dog took a walk up the
street and we saw brindle cat going
across the street right near where
there was lot of tropical plants on
the bullyvard, just outside the side
walk in front of a handsome house.
Pa called the dogs attention to the
cat, and said, Go for her, Tige.' Tige
went for the cat and she and the dog
went whooping into the bed of trOpi
cal plants, some of them as high Us
mans head. Pa looked scared when
tEA dog and cat went in amGtlgSt the,
plants, cause the man that owned'
them was out sprinkling his lawn, and
he knew the man would be mad. Pa
called the dog, but he was busy chas>
ing the cat around amongst the plants,
and it was not more than a minute
before the plant- were all broke down,
and the dog and the cat were having
q monkey and a parrot time. The
man who owned the cat was the first
to get there, and he owed pa a grudge,
and he asked pa what he set his dog
on that cat for, and pa said it was a
lilo an6 tho MON hif in fhn
side of his nose, and kicked the dog.
Pa leaned up against the fence to let
his nose bleed in peace, when the man
who owned the plants came up and
asked pa what he sent his dog into
those valuable plants for to retrieve
another mans cat, and pa said it was
no such thing, he could prove it by
me. The man asked me if my pa did
not set the dog on the cat, and as pa
had always told me not to tell lie
under any circumstances, | told the
man that pa said, go for her, Tige,
and the man was mad, and he squirt |
I'd about barrel of water onto pa,
and then got over the fence, and smOte |
1a on one cheek with his fist, and as |
"a would not turn the other cheek |
IlsO, as he had always told me to do, |
he man took pa by the neck and turn !
ID him around and gave him another
mote, and that W; what BACKED his
yes. Pa started TO run, but / stayed
md saved tho dog, and promised to
,ay Tor the plants. Pa went home
md told ma lie Ia; ID had the worst
light that ever was, and when | came
home he asked il the two men he
whipped had ~ Ell taken to the hospit-
Il. Gosh hut | was disguised with
"a for trying to make ma believe he
vas fighter, But you'd a dido tn soc
he cOmmO' ion and cat hair in that
Ded of tropical plants, and to have
cen how pas cOuntenance changed in
minute. He was laughing to see
7ige go for the cat, and spatting his
lands, but when the cat owner struck
nm Oh the nose, he stopped being
ickled so quick his watch run down,
nd his face had wOe-begone express
ion, like man who is short on wheat.
"a says there is no comfort in keeping
dog in large city, and he wants me
0 90 to the sausage factory and real
,e on him. But pa don't get left, you
ct. He was down to the headquar-
ers of his political party before night,
howing his wounds and claiming that
n his way home from the tOrchlight
recession the night before, with his
orch and helmet, he was set upon by
bout fifty political opponents, who
yere drunk, and nearly murdered, and
e wants the party to pay him dam
Ses. 1 think politics teaches a good
nan to be a etar liar, don't you?"
eyes," said the groceryman, as he
wiped his hands on piece of brown
paper, after weighing q
nackere1, "politics injure any man
Who gets into the business. But did
our father denounce you for not lying
lin out of scrape? Did he chide you
or telling the truth?"
"Well, he didn't exactly chide me,D
aid the boy, "but after we got home
Ie tried to show me that it was not
lways best to be in hurry about tell
ng the truth. He said person ought
o tell the truth, but he might use
ONE judgment about it. He said if
lad evaded the question until he had a
nance to run, and get out of the way
f the man who sm0te him / would
ave maintained my reputation for
'eracity, and at the same time saved
ny pa from being knocked silly. He
old me to think it over and hereafter
lot to be insuch COMPOUNDED hurry
o tell the truth. He said people were
ften placed in an embarrassing posi-
on by having too much truth going
:, 'und loose. Well, maybe pa is right,
n0 1 will be careful hereafter, but
lin g the truth is my best hold" and
he boy went out looking as near like
!. Washington as boy can who had
ausei his pa to get smote on the nose.
-Peck's Sun.
The novel rumor comes that the
of Pennsylvania are conf
ent of carrying the State by fusion
18th Butler, who it is reported has
II enthusiastic following there i'll