Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-03-20
mtsfeIlarsgus.
IL spy .
By BILL ME.

Dear reader. do you remember the boy
of vonr school who used to do the heavy
Ealing through the ice and was always
ahout to break his neck. but managed to
live through it all? Do you call to mind
the vouth who never allowed ANYBODY else
| to tall out of tree and break his collar
| hone when he could attend to it himself.
Every school has to secure the services
| of such boy before it can succeed. and
so our school had one. When l entered
the school saw at a glance that the board
had neglected to provide itself with boy
whose duty it was to nearly kill himself
every few DAYS in order to keep up the in
terest, so applied for the position. Sc
cured it wi thout any trouble whatever
The board understood at once from nv
bearing that would succeed And l did
not betray the trust they had reposed in
me.
| Before the first term was over had
! tried TO climb two trees at once and been
carried home on stretcher; been pulled
out of the river with my lungs full OF
water and artificial respiration resorted to !;
boen jerked around over the north half of
the county by a fractions horse whose
halter had tied to my leg and which leg
is now three inches longer than the other.
together with various other little early &C.
ce ntrlcitles which cannot at this moment
call to mind. My parents at last got SO
that long about 2 O'Clock p. m. they would
look anxiously out of the window and say:
isn't it about time for the boys to get
here with Williams remains? They gen
orally get here before two O'Clock"
One day five or six OF us were playing
81 spy" around our barn. Everybody
knows how to play Il spy" One shuts
his eyes, ard counts 100 for instance,
while the others hide Then he must find
the rest and say Il spy" so-and-so and
touch the goal before they do. If any
body beats nim to the goal. the victim has
to "blind" it over again.
Well, knew the ground pretty well,
and could drop twenty feet out of the barn
window and strike on pile of
straw so as to land near the goal touch
it and let the crowd IN free without get
ting found OUT. did this several times
and got the binder, James Bang. pretty
mad. After boy has counted 500 or
600, and worked hard to gather in the
crowd, only to get jeered and laughed at
by the boys, he loses his temper. 1t was
sc with James Cicero Bang. knew that
he almost hated me, and vet went on
Finally, in the fifth ballot saw good
chance to slide down and let the crowd in
as had done on former occasions.
slipped out off the window and down the
side of the barn about two feet when | was
detained unavoidably. There was bat
ten on the barn that was loose ut the up
per end. think was wearing my faith
er's vest on that occasion, as he was away
from home and | frequently wore his
clothes when he was absent. Anyhow,
the vest was too large. and when l slid
down that loose board ran up between the
vest and my person in such way as to
suspend me about eighteen feet from the
ground, in prominent, but very uncom-
Portable position.
remember it quite distinctly. James
C. Bang came around where he could see
me. He said: 81 spy Billy Nye and touch
the goal before him." No one came to
remove the barn. No one came to sym
pathize with me in nv great sorrow and
isolation. Every little while James c.
Bang would come around the corner and
say: "Oh, see We. You needn't think
you're out of sight up there. I can see
you real plain You better come down
and blind. can see you up there!'
tried to unbutton my vest and get
down there and lick James, but it was of
no use.
1t was trying time, | remember how
hard tried to kick myself loose. but
failed. Sometimes | would kick the barn
and sometimes would kick a large hole
in the horizon. Finally. was rescued by
a neighbor who said he didn't want to see
a good barn kicked into chaos Just to save
a long legged boy that wasn't worth over
six bits.
1t affords me great pleasure to add that
while am looked up to and madly loved
by every one that does not know me, Jas.
G. Bang is the brevet president OF a trac-
tured bank, taking lonely bridal tour by
himself in Europe and waiting for the de-
postors to die of old age.
The mills of the gods grind slowly. but
they most generally get there with both
feet. (Adapted from the French by per-
mission.)