The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-02-07
THE BAD BOY.
fPeck's Sun.I

crackers over to the hospital, quick" said the bad boy to the groceryman, as he came in with his face all mufled up, walking like person who has been sick unto death.
 "What hospital ?" asked the grocery man. as he began t0 do up the crackers.
 "Why, over to our house, of course," 1" said the boy, as he took a few crackers out of the scales and began to nibble them. "We are the sickest crowd you ever see. Pa has been of hls feed for about a month, and he hired the doctor to recommend a trip to Florida. The doc told ma con6dendally, that unless pa got out of this climate pretty soon he would not live till spring, and ma didn't want to lose pa right in the indictment season, so she sigh. d and began to mend up his summer drawers, and fix things so he could endure tropical climate. Pa seemed resigned to his fate, and has looked awful sick. found three other fellows down town, chums of pas, who were going south too, and heard pa and them talking about how they would paint things red down there and have a high old t.me, and when spoke of it at the table pas appetite began to improve, and he looked as though he could eat me without any horse-radish. After dinner he called me into the wood shed and said ought to have more sense than to trifie with the feelings of sick man in that way. He said he supposed he was on his last legs, and he wanted to go away in peace, and try and add few moments to his life, and he didn't want no kicking about his going. He gave me dollar and said for me not to make no more remarks, and then he winked at me. The next day ma had some company, and the wimmen got to talking about the south, and asked ma why she didn't go with pa, and ma said she was well and hearty and didn't have to go. Then the wimmen whis- pered a spell, and ma went to the tele- phone and telephoned to her doctor, and he came, and prettysoop ma was in bed with her lungs bandaged, and her head tied up, and hot water bags at her back and feet, and when pa came home he was scared. The doctor had such mournful look on his face, and seemed to be SO anxious, that pa took him in the bathroom and said, Now, doc, want you to tell me the worst. Is she danger ousr The doctor said it was not his na- ture to unnecessarily frighten anyone, but he said doctors often had a duty to perform that they would prefer to trans- fer to other shoulders. He said he would prefer to wait before expressing an opin- ion, but he thought it was safe to say that unless the patient had a change of climate at once he should ask to be al- lowed to withdraw from the case, as he did not like to be held responsible for what seemed to him to be slow murder in keeping a delicate woman in climate that was forty degrees below zero half the time, by penurious husband. Pa was touched. could see that much through the key hole. The doc said pa would have to approach the matter delicately, and not let ma know she was dangerous, or she wouldn't go, but just go in the room sort of cheerful, and laugh, and say, Hannar, if yon will hurry nr and get better, and pack up, you can go with me to Florida The doc said ma would probably refuse to go, but pa must insist Well, pa went in with laff he had borrowed guess, cause it didn't sound like his at all, and he said what the doc told him, and ma was better right of. She said she didn't want to go so far away from her dear boy, but if pa thought it best she would get up and pack up her grip. Pa went out and told ma she had played it pretty fine, most as fine as pa did, and I was going to tell pa about the wimmen putting the idea into her head, and she said that would spoil all, and then told her wasn't feeling very well myself lately. Ma smiled and asked me what my symptoms were, and 1 told her when I skated all the afternoon my legs ached like the toothache, and when slid down hill all the evening my ears rung, and l had night sweats, and my hands were chapped, and felt faint before breakfast, and had a corn on one toe, and my lungs felt as though they wanted greasing with fresh orange juice, and cold chills came over me about nine o'clock, when the school bell rung, and my mem- oyy was failing so l forgot to split the kindling wood, and told her if 1 had time could think of twice as many things that allied me as she and pa both. Ma said was evidently in a bad state, and she wanted me to go, but she didn't want to spring too much on pa at once, so better go into a decline, and nope around, and shiver, and then sec doc tor and get the doctor to go to pa in con-
 idence and ask him if he didn't want to save the life of his little boy. So went and see a horse doctor that works at the livery stable, whe saved our COW when she got carrot stuck in her throat and he said he would see pa about me. Pa and the horse doctor worked the same ward in politics last fall, and got pretty familiar, and when pa ceme home and found me soaking my feet in mustard water, and looking like the last run of shad, though never complained at all, pa said he guessed better go down to the store and get a new pair of pants and go with him and ma to Florida. Then knew the horse doctor had been getting in his work on pa."
 "And so you are all going south, whole family of frauds, eh," said the groceyman, as he bit of the string from the paper ot crackers.
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