Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-04-08
THE LITTLE soHooLafn,AnI.

=
.'Speakin' Of the rural regions" said
an old chap At the end Of a bar. who
had trouble in raising glass Of beer TO
his mouth with his right arm. Il might
be indooccd TO relate lcetle adventure
/ which happened to me in Injiany."
He was earnestly advised to free his
conscience OF its burdens. and be con-
tinued:
well. l had been hangin' around In
dianapolis for several weeks, and finally
the police judge advised me to leave
town. never argy with a police judge.
When they come right down to fatherly
advice accept it and git. / left the
town inside of two hours, and it didn't
take me over three hours to reach
mile-post ten miles away. About 4
o'clock in the afternoon, as was restin'
beside the highway, schoolma'am
passed. She was clipper leetle body.
weighin' about ninety pounds, and
white-faced. and when / sort o. riz up
to ak her If she didn't have bite to eat
in her basket she uttered womanish
yelp and started off on dead run. |
didn't hev my swaller-tail coat and
standin' collar on that day, and ] guess
she took me fur a tramp.
'Now. gents, when feller is ragged,
hungry, and out o. rhino, what does he
do? He makes break, in course. /
walks along fur about mile, and when
comes to a farmhouse with look of
comfort about it stops in and asks if q
poor man who has lost his hull family
in the great Chicago fire can git bite
to eat, to brace him up rs he journeys
toward the settin' sun. The motherly
old soul of farmers wife would hev set
out square meal for me, but that leetle
schoolma'am was there to prevent. l
heard 'em whisperin' together in the
next room, and by and by the old lady
came back and give me the bounce. A
tramp as has belonged to the purfesh fur
fifteen years hadn't orter fire. up over
sich trife as that, but it hit me like
a blow below the belt, and determined
on revenge.
a went into the orchard and stole
some apples, and then laid around to
watch. l found out afore dark that the
farmer was an old man, and that there
was only three of 'em in the house.
Long huff fore the lights were out l
had arranged with myself to break in.
There was chance of plunder, and l
intended to scare that leetle schoolma am
out of years growth. don't say rs /
would hev laid hands on her, but that
very thing might hev happened, you
know.
"Well, about half an hour after mid
night / begins operations by creepin'
up to the back door. 1t was shut, but
not locked, and l crept in, struck a
light, and found my way to the pantry.
There was cold meat, pumpkin pie, and
bread and butter, and it took me a good
half an hour to fill up. ! might hcv
got out then, but wanted somethin'
else. There was nobody sleepin' down.
stairs, and after pocketin' q watch
crept upstairs into the old folks bed
room. They was sleepin' as sound as
you please, and the moon shinin' in
furnished all the light needed. / went
through bureau and got a wallet, and
was searchin' the old mans pants,
when heard q step at the door an .
voice cried out: Surrender or I'll shoot!'
ut was that leetle schoolma' am. She
stood in the door in her night-dress, a
revolver pointed full at me, and could
see her eyes blaze. ! made a rush to
seize her, when crack! crack! went the
revolver, and one bullet struck me in
the right shoulder and another in the
side. went down as if shot through
the head, and up jumps the old man
and piles on to me like ton of brick.
The little schoolma'am went down.
stairs after rope, and then helped tie
me hand and foot. More'n that, she
kept guard over me while the old man
went off for an officer, and every time
| fetched groan she had that revolver
ready to shoot.
/ in conclusion, gents, permit me to
| remark that the court give me five
years for that little affair, while the
plucky leetle schoolma'am received a
| public purse of 5000. Sometimes I've
felt as if it was my dooty to hunt her
up and marry her. .n-Neao York Sun.
/ A J. L