The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-12
A PRECOCIOUS YOUTH.
How a HoOsier Edition of Peck's Bad Boy
Made Things Pleasant.

A suit before Judge Taylor, the other day.
came to a rather sudden stop. The plaintiff Thy
his next friend) was q ffteen-year-old boy, the
defendant the Eagle Machine Works. 1t seems
that, something more than two years ago, the
boy, then thirteen years old, had been in
dentured to the defendant for four years to learn
the trade Of machinist, but that after keeping
him little more than two years he had been dis
charged. TIL suit was for the money
he would have earned in the remainder
of the time for : which he was in
dentured. A very staid, solemn and
substantial jury was in the box, and the pro-
ceedings began with due decorum. With the
examination of the first witness, it began to
break upon judge, jury and attorneys that the
young plaintiff was a Hoosier edition Of Peck's
bad boy, and as one prank after another was de-
tailed, ripples of laughter breaking into strong
outlaws rolled over the courtroom. Really the
boy didn't look it. His round, moon-like face
and solemn eyes were no index to the
rich vein of mischief to which witness after
witness testified, as manifested In numerous
practical jokes. when did the deyilment be-
gin?" said one witness. ssThe day he came, and
he kept it up the whole time, never missing al
day" !
One of his pranks was changing the bits ia the
planes, the bit Of the jack-plane being put into
the smoothing, plane, to the annoyance Of the
workmen and the injury of the work.
The boy was a mimic along with
his other accomplishments, rand made life
a burden for several of the workmen, after hav-
ing learned their peculiarities and weaknesses,
Teuton, who had a screw-driver of unusual
length. This the boy would take and show to
other workmen, and facetiously comment upon
its many excellences. Another workman was
one day telling. of having been to a performance
at Dickson's Opera-house the day
before, evidently an unusual thing with
him. He was not gifted in descriptive power
and about the-best he could dc. to enlighten his
hearers as to the merits of the Show was to say
with great emphasis that it was "a good play"
The bad boy caught upon this expression, and
for weeks afterward, wherever he would meet the
unfortunate workman, he would shout, "Ha, hal
good play" until the damnable iteration became
unbearable.
Witness after witness took the stand. each
with a new story, which, strange to say, not one
saw a particle of fun in. One old man, who bad
been at the Eagle machine works for thirty-two
years, was placed on the stand. He told of hav-
ing had to climb to the third story, being told by
the boy that the foreman wanted to see him. He
waited until the foreman was at leisure to
find out that he wasn't wanted, hadn't
been sent for, and returned to his work in no
very good humor. He was asked when this took
place. Let me see," said he, trying to think.
II believe it was about this time last spring.
Yes. it was in April Now, I think of it, I re-
member it was on the LIST of April" The old
man stepped down, with judge and jury in a
broad grin.
There are several foremen at the works, and
there is a system of signals by which they can
be called from the different departments
to the Office. Whistlers are located in
the rooms of the foremen, and are
blown by means of wires from the
| office. Tho wires run under a stairway and
at this point the mischievous youth had placed
a strip Of wood so that in running up stairs he
could kick it and ring a bell. For a month the
different foremen were kept busy running to the
Office on fools errands and the boy was meta
phorically rolling in high clover. At last dis
coyery was made and his discharge followed.
When this eE.terprising piece of mischief came
out in the testimony the attorney for the plain
III told the judge he would have nothing further
to do with the case. The judge rose, jury was
dismissed. and the bad boy 'by his next friend
was led out of court by the ear.