The Lincoln County leader. [volume] (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 1882-189?, 1884-03-01
THE BAD BOY.
From PECK SuN.

"Say, what you got IN your
mouth, a base ball p asked the
groceryman of the bad boy, as he
came in the store WITH both cheeks
sticking ,ut, and looking red.
ri oct you rave got your mouth
full of benzine, or something, and
you are going to play some joke on
me, by squirting it on the stove"
"No, l amt got nothing in my
mouth" said the boy, in a voice
that sounded as though he was try
ing to talk with a hot potato in
his mouth. This is my Sunday
school lesson. | was smote on one
cheek and | turned the other, and
nearly had my neck broke. Not
any more turning the other cheek
for Hennery."
so, 60 way said the grocery
man. "You wasn't such a blamed
fool as to turn the other cheek,
when you got hit, was you z" And
then, examining the boys checks,
and finding them swelled up, he
added, "by.jingo, | believe you did.
How was it, anyway :"
"Well, it WAS in the Sunday
school lesson" said the boy, ''and
my teacher SAID it was the greatest
triumph in the world for a person
to be able to turn the other cheek
when smote on one cheek. asked
him if people ever did that, and he
said our best citizens did. He said
it required a great deal of patience,
but a person should always turn
the other cheek also. | asked pa
about it and pa said the teacher
was right, and that it was the duty
of every citizen to turn the other
cheek when smote on n cheek,
and he should always do so. Well,
sir, | want to be good, and | just
longed for somebody to smite me
on one cheek so | could turn the
other also, but it seemed as though
the smiters were not on the war
path, and for two days | had to go
around without being smote. But
Wednesday afternoon | was down
by the theatre, where they were
having a matinee, and there was a
lot OF boys sliding on a smoothe
piece of ice in the gutter, and |
rushed on to slide, and | rushed
against a boy, and he hauled off and
famed me one on this cheek. O.,
gosh, but | did see stars. Nm !
But didn't he smite. | was going
to pick up a troze cat that was in
the street, and hit him, when | hap
pened to think Of turning the other
cheek, and I turned my face to-
wards him, and he gave me anoth-
er, right here. o! O! But it
was ten times bigger than the 9th
er smote, and | guess it made me
orazy. Anyway, | shall plead in
sanity to get out of it?"
"Get out of what!" asked the
groceryman. ''You don't haye to
get out of anything. If he hit you
a couple o ftimes, and you stood it,
you don't have to get out of any
thing"
eyes, but / didn't stand it,
said the boy, as he felt Of his swell
ed cheek. "When he hit me the last
rap, it knocked all the meekness
and pious out Of me, and | went at
him and we had a nawtul fight.
He wouldn't turn his other cheek,
cause | guess he was a heather,
that never went to Sunday school,
so ! turned his other cheek for him,
and | warmed him so he hollered
enough. But ! was sorry afterwards
and felt as though | would be
ashamed to meet pa or my teacher,
So | thought would see how those
good men would stand being smote,
and | found a Teller that wanted to
earn two shillings, and hired him
to smote pa and the teacher, just tc
see how they would turn the other
cheek. The teacher keeps books
in a store, and goes to lunch in q
restaurant, and when he came
along the Teller | had hired went
up to him and slapped him on the
cheek, not very hard, but Just hard
enough to make him feel as though
he was hit. | looked tor the teach.
er to turn the other cheek, but,
gosh, he turned pale and run down
the alley back Of the store, and his
coat-taiIs stuck out SO you could
play marbles on them. | yelled
to him to turn the other cheek, but
he run faster, and the next morn
ing the papers told about a dast
ardly attempt at high way robbery
and assassination on the street, il
broad daylight, one of our most re