The Lincoln County leader. [volume] (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 1882-189?, 1884-01-05
THE BAD BOY.
From PE@s Sun.

from fECR s DUN.
well, how did you pull thro'
Thanksgiving day /" asked the
g%roceryman of the bad boy, as he
came in the store looking as happy
as though there was good skating
the year round. ''Have much
funl"
Fun is 10 name for it." said the
boy, as he took a knife and scratch
ed some bees wax off the bottom of
his boots. IL thought | had seen
fun before, but that Thanksgiving
day made me tired of laughing.
You see we all went to Deacon
Perkins house to dinner. There
is two kinds of people in our
church. One kind believes that
you must never have any fun, and
always wear a long face, and sigh,
and cry easy, while the other fac
ton believes in doing up religious
chores and having q furlough.
They believe that there is a time
for dancing, and a time for all kinds
of innocent fun. Deacon Perkins
is the leader of the funny side, and
he is the %joIliest old dog you ever
saw, except when he is serious,
and then everybody lets up on any
f~oolishness, and pays attention.
The minister believes in Deacon
Perkins ideas, but he don't dare to
take sides, though he winks at the
fun and enjoys 1t. The deacon had
our folks and about a dozen other
families to dinner on Thanksgiving
and we had a boss dinner. The
deacon and the minister were just
too happy, except when the dea-
con asked tie blessing, and talked
about the poor people all around,
and then they were sad. But af-
ter they got to passing plates for
more turkey and things, there were
lots If fun a! around the board.
But the most fun was after diuner.
When it began to get dark the dea-
IN came to me and said they were
going to have a dance in the big
up stairs. They had taken
up the carpet. and he said the floor
was not Just right, and he wished |
would get a cake of heeswax and
wax the floor the way they have it
waxed down at the dancing school,
and SO me and my chum went up
stairs and waxed the floor. | guess
maybe we put on too much wax,
Gle first halt hour it stuck to peo-
Jle's shoes, but after that 1t begun
to Fget smooth, and by the time
they got warmed up, the floor was
Just like glary ice. The crowd was
all up stairs excert the minister
and two old maids that couldn't
dance. The crowd was all up stairs
except the minister and two old
maids that couldn't dance. They
wat talking politics and things, but
after awhile the minister said he
didn't mind going up to the dane.
ing room to look on, so he took the
two wimrhen on his arms and went
up. He came in the door Just as a
dance was oyer, and he started to
walk across the floor to set the
wimmen down beside the fiddler,
when his left foot slipped and
Knocked the feet out from under
one of the wimmen and she started
to fall, and the other one pulled the
other way, and both the ministers
feet slipped and the whole three OF
them went down, and | snCrted
right out. Ma looked at me kind
OF sassy, and | shut mp, bnt pa was
walking across the floor with a big
woman to form on for a quadrille.
and he said the wicked stand in
slippery places and just then one
Of the women who was trying to
get mp, hit pa in the heel with her
shoe. and his feet began TO slide,
and he grabbed the woman he was
walking with. and they went down
so the gas fixtures ratified. Pa
struck on his hip, and one foot
hit Ike minister near the watch,
pocket and he grunted, and pa was
so heavy that he kept going, and
he plowed right through the two