Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1884-03-27
Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa.
THE BOY SAVES HIS PAS LIFE.-THE
OLD MAN MAsHEs THE WRONG
GIRL ON THE CARS.

OF MS Ooots sa'u the BrOceFyman 10
the bad by as lie look up handful
of hickory nuts and began cracking
them between a couple Of five pound
weights ON the counter.
"What do you meauY Who told
you pa had been scared p asked the
boy as he put his thumb in his mouth,
after knocking the nail off with n
weight. 81 didn't know as anybody
knew anything about it but me and
the girl"
20, a brakeman that runs on the
Chicago train was in here this morn
ing and he told me your pa came up
on the train las. night, and along
there about Kenosha he went through
the train as though he had been kick.
ed, and got into the postal car and
crawled under lot of mail sacks and
rode all the way to Milwaukee, sweat
iag like a butcher, and as pale a.
ghost. What was it all aboutY You
haven't been playing another trick on
him, have you ?" aud the groceryman
picked up the hickory nuts the boy
had left and threw them in the basket,
while the boy wrapped handkerchief
around his thumb and looked mad
mo, didn't play anything on him,
but | saved his lie. He is an old
smarty, and got himself into scrape.
You see pa aud me went down TO
Chicago on a pass pa got somehow in
politics. We took in the battle Of
Gettysburg, where a fellow can See all
about war without getting shot in the
back. We came back on the five
o'clock train, and of course pa couldn't
set with me, but had to 90 and sit
down in the seat with girl that was
alone Pa hasn't got any more sense
than COW about such things. A girl
don't want an old dufier to sit with
her. What she wants is a young fel.
Ter, that has got bears oil on his hair,
and smells sort of drugstore like.
But pa thinks he is just as entertain.
ing as when he was young, aud il be
went into a car where all the seats but
one was vacant, and that one bad n
girl in it, he would go up to her in his
insinuating way, and take of his plug
bat and show bis bald head and say,
Miss, is this seat engaged ? aud be.
fore she had time to say anything he
would sit down With her and begin
talking about something she didn't
care any more about than she would
about the process of embalming Egyp.
tian mummies. Well, pa sat down by
a girl who was knitting, and he began
70 talk sweet. He said he was trav-
cling man, getting six thousand dol.
lars a year and share of the profi's
lie found fault with the railroads, the
cars, the hotels, and everything, and
to hear him talk you would ihiak he
was reared in a palace, always travelled
on special cars, and was worth eleyea
million dollars. sat behind him.
and heard what be said, and it was all
| could do to keep from asking him il
be thought ma would be expecting us
home tonight, but have had expert
ence enough with pa 10 know that
when he is engaged in business that
causes his brain to expand and throb,
that the safest way IS to keep still.
He told the girl she was purity, and
asked her all about herself, and if she
was going far, and be put his arm on
the back of the seat, and acted as
though he was going to hug her. but
he didn't, cause just as his arm began
to get real near to the girls small Of
her back, | initiated the brakeman
and shouted, Lake Forrest, and pa
thought the brakeman was right be.
hind him, and he drawed his arm
away so quick he hit the funny bone
Of his elbow on the back Of the seat.
and it hurt him like everything. The
girl LATED, and pa blushed, and in
little while he had bis arm there again.
The conductor aud the brakeman
watched pa, and just As he got close to
the girl, and was whispering to her,
the conductor touched him on his
shoulder and asked him what the
number of his pass was. Pa had to
take his arm away to get his pass, and
then he put it back again, and was
commencing where he left off, to give
the girl some tafy, when the brake.
man touched pa on the shoulder, and
asked him If it vas his dog in the
baggage car, chewing the hinges off
the trunks. Pa said he didn't have
no dog. and the brakeman went away.
The girl was real disgusted with pa,
and I could see she wanted to have a
rest. just before the train got to
Waukegan the girl said she wanted to
send q dispatch to Racine, and pa
gave her some paper and che wrote a
message aud asked pa to send it for
her. Pa didn't want to leave his seat,
50 he said to me, Here, little boy, you
get off at Waukegan and send this
message for the beautiful young lady
aud be gave me the dispatch and a
dollar. ! went out at Weukegan, aud