Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-01-05
Peok's Bad Boy.


a Washington hotel, as he leaned up
against the counter with his elbows
on the marble slab, and took a hand
full of tooth picks and put them in his
vest pocket.
"Whose nibsr said the Clerk, as
he gave the boy look that would
have frozen him in any other climate.
II do not know Of any Nibs stopping
at this house. Who do you mean,
and what do you want"
"My pa. Don't you know pa I" and
the boy looked at the clerk as though
he must be poorly posted on great
men il he didn't know pa. "Pa is
that big dufler in room 40 with ma,
and 1 sleep with the help. You must
have seen pa. His nose Is red, and
kind OF itdttc, II slants sideways so,
and he looks frightened all the time,
as though he expected something was
going TO drop on him."
~, yes, l know him." said the
clerk, II thought he was western
senator, on his first trip to Washing
ton, he seemed to have such great
weight on his mind. lie was sitting
IN the office last night, thinking, and
he put up his elbow every little while
as though to ward OIL something.
thought he had the whole country on
his mind. SO your pa is not states
man !"
"NawH said the bad boy, with a
contemptuous curl of the lip. "Pa is
no statesman. He was never even
all alderman. lie is just down here
for fun, and lie is having 1t. IL IS
not the country he has on his mind.
1t is me. We came down on sleep
er from Chicago, and pa got into the
worst fix you ever see. You see he
had a lower berth, and l had the one
over him,and ma had lower one
next to our section. They have card
with the number OF the berths hung
on the curtain, and l thought what
trouble 1t would make If somebody
was mean enough to change the num-
bers on the curtains. ia got up In
the night to go out to the back end
OF the car and see II the porter was
going TO black his boots, and while
he was gone thought itwouldrt do
any hurt to change pas number TO
mas berth. There isn't no harm IN
mans getting into bed with his own
wife, Is there! Ii had been mean
would have changed the number
and put 1t on the berth occupied Dy
an old maid anu a rat terrier, next
to ours on the other side, but didn't
want no strange woman scratching
pa, and didn't want no dog chewing
pas shirt i'll the night, so l just
changed it on to mas berth. Well
you'd dide if you had been there.
Pa came waltzing down the aisle,
balancing himself against the berths,
and the cars was going offul fast. lie
| looked at the cards until he found
number eight, and he parted the cur
tains and sat down, pulled off his
slippers, and rolled in. Ma was
dreaming she was an angel, and when
| she felt crowded she woke up, and
then she found there was a man there.
Pa at the same moment found there
was woman in there, and he
thought he had got in with the old
maid. Pa was just going TO apollo
gize and say IL should not occur
again, when ma screamed, and braced
herself against the back side of the
berth, and kicked pa out on the floor.
She thought'pa was the porter, or
some total stranger and she was mad
and she called him names. Her
screams brought the porter and con-
ductor, and they took pa out into the
wash room, and told him he was an
old william, and he admitted that he
was, and one held him while the
other went IN the car and told ma to
Keep quiet, as she was in luck that
she was not robbed and murdered,
as the man who had insulted her was
one OF the worst looking Williams
they had ever seen, regular Sleep
ing car robber, and they were going
TO hold nm until they got TO Pltts'
burg and turn him over to the au'
thorities. ia sat down on marble
washstand and sighed. lie said he
knew he was a wretch, ana ought to,
die, and was willing to, but ne asked
as special favor that they bring him
his pants. All the male passenger,
got up and dressed themselves ano
went in the wash-room to see the
robber, and he was explaining "a
thGm thatlt was all mistake, anc
that he had got IN the wrong beNh
IL was now gettlng dayilght, ana ev'
: cry body got'up and had their 6erth'
made, and pa insisted on going II
the car and apologlzing 70 the Wo
man lie had got III bed With, anq
they let him. ne walked up 70 th'
old maid, and told her that when.h'
got in bed with her he had no idea
!. that she was IN his berth, ana asked
her II she didn't Know any nettel
than to go proving around Ill othel
folks beds, and that she was Ole
e enough to know better Wen, sb'
screamed, and said, take the lunati'
away and then ma, who was sitting
two seats ahead, see 1t was pa wh'
, had got into the berth with her, ant
, she told the man not 10 bother pa a
!. he had a perfect right to get into an.
berth that he paid FOR, and there wa
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