The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1888-03-24
JUST A LIVELY BOY.


NOTES OF A to-YEAR-oLD'S ExEcu-
TloN OF AN ERRAND.
Doings of an Everyday New York hoy
with Only the Ordinary Excess of AMI
NAL Spirits-A Reporters Notes elf His
Franks.
There was nothing peculiar about tho boys
appearance. He seemed just an ordinary
lo-year-old boy ilr knickerbockers, shoes,
stockings. jacket and polo cap, the latter
worn on the back of his head as most other
boys wear theirs He was starting out of
house on Lexington avenue with gallon tin
can, new. smooth, bright vessel, very
strongly made, and carried by means of u
handle of wire at the top. In turning tho
corner of Fiitieth street the boy suddenly
came upon large black dog asleep in front
of the grocery. Just before he reached the
d"., he IL; so his hold on the can and launched
it sluarey beside the sleeping animal. 1t
struck tn" tagging, ratified off its cover,
bounded Ill the air, and sent the dog out of
his sleep with leap and u yell of terror
lhc dog ran away, and the boy gathered up
the can and its cover, fastened the two to-
grthrr, and went on. There are iron palings
i'll front "f the houses on Fftieth street, and
the boy found much sport ill holding tho can
firmly against them as lie walked along
Tins made II prodigious noise, and caused
til" can TO bob inccssantly from paling to
pali''-. '!''ii; in:, it ut every bounce
Tia 'f'H was temptel to desist from this
eN"a"'" hr the sight of frowsy woman
pit ;:i"mg the street with uncertain
Ste with half yard of her RUSTY
b; dragging on the pavement. The
90. i" her with II modest and kindly
ar nor ii She would not like somo
hcci. rrilied uiiirmatively with brighten
in, :.
"i''e,@"y me" said the boy.
lie led hcr to Il gate i'll high brown
ralniHd fence, opened it, waited until the
w"illla was in the gateway, and then gently
showed her i'll, slammed the gate. and hung
on the top of the fence with his head lust
over lh" edge, shouting to her that there was
Il savage dog i'll there, and that She had bet
ter look ont.
He dropped to the sidewalk an instant
later, tired of this conccit, and seeing a Third
avenue car bowling along, waited until it
had passed the corner, and then yelled and
whi>tlel for it to stop 1t stopped and he
ran after it. When close to it he shouted:
"All right; let her CO." The car moved, and
he flung his gallon can on the platform. AT
TIL" sanc moment lie boarded the car. He
had thrown the Gun in such a way that it
went on at one side and off at the other into
the street. The conductor pulled the bell to
stop the car. "Nevcr mind; I'll get it," said
the boy, us he plunged off the cur after the
can. The car stopped, and tho boy got his
can. He picked it up, and then continued
walking hastily away from the car precisely
us if lie had never dreamed of wanting to
ride on it. The conductor was furious but
he did not seem to be aware of the mans ex-
istence.
AT the moment that he reached the side
walk he encountered a young playmate, who
asked him what lie was doing with the can
Got it to play shin loo with. Don't YOU
know how to play it! It's the boss game
out"
Without apparently taking time to think
what he was about to say, he explained to
the boy, who was two years younger than
himself, all about the game, which he would
have been Obliged to admit he had never
heard Of before, but which he now said con-
sisted in pitching pennies ut the can, the rule
l'cing that all the coppcrs the little boy put
IN the can were Counters and all that Ii,
failed to get i'll were "loscrs" The little boz
had three cents and threw them at the can,
which the bigger boy had set up as II mark.
All the little boys coppers rolled away from
the can, and the big boy picked up them and
the can After spending a moment over an
expression Of sympathy for his friend, and
promising to give him another chance to-
morrow" he strobe off, whistling light heart
cdly.
A little further down the street he noted
the fact that candy store was in charge of I,
little girl. He opened the store door and
went in. "Hello, little grill" said he, ASSUME
ing wicked appearance, 81 am going to
leave this thing behind tho COULTER, and as
soon as have gone away it will burst up
and blow the whole store over to Hobolcn,
and you'll be killed and your mother will be
pulver"-
At this instant the stout German woman
who kept the store opened the lace curtainrd
inner doorway to the household apartment
II the back and entered the store The boy
ceased teasing the child His face looked
lank and innocent, though the little girls
,ountenancc expressed considerable alarm.
'Fenny's worth er chewing gum," said the
~. III I'm in n hurry"
..r got the chewing gum and started to re-
" In his haste he opened the door 50
ra. lily with one hand as to knock the gallon
ca rat Of his other hand. 1t banged on the
its lid rolled off, and there was noise
',.ld all estimate. The little girl had been
cting an explosion and screamed with
..t. dropped my can,n said the boy
~ once squatted on the floor, spread his
Us wide as possible, and described an nrc
nth one and circle with the other as he
nlscl first for the can and then for it's lid.
y bale of little red wooden wagons was dis
Engaged from the nail it hung on and fell
with crash that brought the German wo-
man around the corner of the counter just as
the boy had gathered himself and his belong
ings and was dartng out of tho door.
In his flight he made Il pretended dash at
pile of apples on an Italian fruiterrr's
stand, but neither touched the fruit nor
stopped his flight. He did not take the
trouble to look around in order to note the
consequence of what he had done He lost
something by that, for the Italian in charge
of the stand had almost leaped out of his
coat in his haste to defend his goods. The
boy ran until he came to the stairs Of IN
with only three falls, by reason of one of
which he was obliged to chase his gallon can
down to the foot, where it had gone with u
series of bumps and bounccs that aroused all
the pleasure the boys eyes had power to
express
He made believe to forget to put his ticket
in the box, and when the gatcnlnn asked
him for it he pretended to indulge in a weari-
some search through all his pockets. The
man discovered the ticket in the boys
mouth, took it away, and offered to cuff the
lads ears, but was not half quick enough
In the elevated car he had rare fun. He
put the now battered and dirty can bottom
up between his knees, and to n tune wl. ,tlcI
between his teeth in that grating, d:,col,lant