The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-04-18
rnx BAD BOY.
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hoy of the grocesyman, as he pointed con. tempeaoasly at . box of oranges in front of tAe store
 Florida eranges.s said the grocery. man. should think you would know ElcIda orAnges, Atter being la Florida all Sinses. WAats the matter with sAem, anyways"
 70, nothing, only thought tAey were wilted base 6als with the juice ali knocked out. Pa telephoned yoa to send up some Florida oranges last night, and we had them tor breakfast this morning, had just as soon eat piece of sponge. Say, do you know .'ou could be arrested tor obtaining money under false pretenses, when you sell such things for Florida oraogesP You can't fool us on oranges any more. The real Florida oranges are"
 o. give us . rest" said the grocery man. You arc getting too particular, ff these oranges don't suit you all you have got to do ss to pay your bill and go somewhere else, People who have al- ways lived here buy these oranges aud think they are the best, and dant want any customers that kick on my oranges Here, cat that one and say it is good, or 1 will kick nine kinds ot Florida sand out sf your pants;' and the groeesyman handed the boy an orange of the vintage oi 1884, The boy took out little silver knsss and began to remove the peeling carefully, laying A handkerchief across his lap, and was working as delicately as a surgeon would GU; out cancer, when the groceryman, aiter watching few minutes, said:
 " The time has been when you would grab an orange, rip open the side and run your face in clear up to your eyes, and dig out all the juice and pulp, like A hog smelling an car of corn, aud then ca. the skin, but since you have been to Florida you arc too nice. Look out, oy you wiil get q drop of juice on your deli cate fingers. Here, let me pass the finger bowl" and the groceryman brought an old tin wash.basin full of soap suds and sat It down in front of the boy, who went on with hts orange peeling, until the grocerymAn saw he could no, embarrass the youth, so he said, "Wetl, how did your pa get along with the rebels down southf Did he have any chance to pull his revolver on any of themr He was loaded fer bear when he went away"
 "Ncver saw . rebel" said the boy, as he placed piece of the old dry orange in his mouth. "There aint any rebels down south, unless 1t Is JeH. Davis. and we didn't see JefL Pa wanted to get in quarrel with some cid rebel, guess, and get thumped, so he could have a chance to be a martyr, and tell when he got home what narrow escape hc had. When he would see man on the cars with slouch hat on, after we got into Tennessee. he would scrape aa acquain- tance with him, and talk about the war The first man he struck looked hard and pa thought the man was regular fire. eater. and he throwed out some remarks to lead him on, but pretty soon pa tefs the man and came back to where 1 sat was tickled to sec pa back, cause ex pccted the floor of the car would be GOV. cred with gore. Pa looked disgussed, and said, "He ain't no rebel. He is from Massachu usetts, and runs q soap-tactory at Chattanooga" Pa couldn't realize that the war was over when he went south, and expected that when the peo. pie found he was from the north, they would elbow him, or look sassy, like the pictures he had seen during the war. He expected to see young sousherneIs come through the cars. drunk ard swaggesing, with revolvers, like he reads of in the pa. pers sometimes, but nothing of the kind ever occurred, and pa was disappointed. At Atlanta pa got acquainted with uice old gentleman, who did him several fa- vors, and he vas so kind to pa that pa was mashed on him, and invited him to come and see us up north, and before pa left him he found that his friend com manded confederate battery during the war. Pa was surprised to ind that those who were called rebels twenty yeass ago did not have horns on. Well, after that pa never looked for any more rebels, but he had courtesies extsnded to him by many of the bes. people of Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Flerids, and when he found that most of them were once confederate sol- diers, who believed they were doing right in defending their homes, pa weak ened. The llss ] heard pa say on the rebel question vas when be was guest of a minister near Charleston. The min isser was a regular nobleman, and when he told pa he was . rebel during the var and recited to pa . history of the times preceding the war, and how it was as natural for southern people to take the side of the coniederacy as t was fos northern people to take the other side, pa slapped the minister on the leg and Id We'll, h had lived in the south I'd been . rebel, too, and demme n wouldn't have been proad of it, too, the same ss you ielloSs are" thoaght ps was falling from grace, and told him VI bstter be starting home, but he saad hs didn't care If ke stayed all summes No, sir" said the boy, as hs Anishet the orange and looked up ai the grocery
 man, as meaa . man as you are, 70, could travel through the south and neve
 bs in any danger as ali, unless the, should hang you on suspicion, and the,
 wonld be just ss liable to do that in tha
 nosth."
 The gTocsryman smiled ss the doubt
 fui compliment, passed the finger bow