Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-10-20
CHAPTER XXVI.
;ARDrNI>,i rNprR DIFFICULTIES.


IS" here. X'u coon. Won get ont Cf
here sud thu grocery man TO the bad
hoy as h" came III the store with his face
black and shining. Il don't want anvrul-
orcl boys around here. White boys
break me up bad enough"
"Oh. philopene," said the bad boy As he
put his hands on his knees and laughed
So the candy Jars ratified on the shelves.
You didn't know me. am the same boy
tnat comes in here and talks your arm
off, and the boy opened the cheesebox
and cut off piece of cheese so natural
that the grocery man had no difficulty in
recognizing him.
what in tn" name of the seven sleep
inG sisters have you got on your hands
and face" said the grocery man as lc
took the boy by the ear and turned him
around. You would pass in colored
prayer meeting, and no one would think
yon were galvanized. What you got up
in STch -: outiandish rig for:"
We'll. I'll tell you if you keep watch
at the door. If you see baldheaded
colored man coming along the street
with club, You whistle. and will fall
down cellar. The baldheaded colored
man will be Pa. You see, we moved
yesterday. Pa told me to get vacation
from the livery stable, and we would
have fun moving. But don't want any
more fun. know when 1 have got
enough fun. Pa carried all the light
things, and when it came to lifting he
had crick in the back. Gosh, never
was so tired as was last night, and I
hope we have got settled, only some Of
the goods haven't turned up yet. A
drayman took one load over on the west
side and delivered them to house that
seemed to he expecting a load of house
hold furniture. He thought it was all
right if everybody that was moving got
a load Of goods. Well, after we got
moved Pa said we must make garden,
and we said we would go out and spade
up the ground and SOW peas and radishes
and beets. There was some neighbors
lived in the next house to our new one
that was all wimmen, and Pa don't like
to have them think he had to work, so he
said it would be good joke to disguise
ourselves as tramps, and the neighbors
would think we had hired some tramps
to dig in the garden. 1 told Pa of boss
scheme to fool them.
Il suggested that we take some of his
shoe backing that is put on with a
sponge and black our faces, and the
neighbors would think we had hired an
old colored man and his boy to work in
the garden. Pa said it was immense,
and he told me to 60 and black up,
and If it worked he would black his
self. So I went up and put this burnt
cork on my face, cause it would wash
off, and Pa looked at me and said it was
wack and for me to fix him up too. So
I got the bottle Of shoe backing and
painted Pa SO he looked like q colored
coal HEAVIER. Actually when Ma saw
him she ordered him off the premises,
and when he laughed at her and acted
sassy she was going to throw billing
water on Pa. But told her the scheme,
and she let up on Pa. Oh. you'd a. died
to see US out in the garden. Pa looked
like Uncle Tom. and looked like Topsy,
only I amt that kind Of colored per.
son. We worked till q boy throwed
some tomato cans over the alley fence
and hit me, and piled over the fence
after him and left Pa. 1t was my chum,
and when had caught him we put up
job to get Pa to chase us. We throwed
some more cans, and Pa come out, and
my chum started, and after him, and
Pa after both of US.
He chased US two blocks, and then VA
got behind policeman, and my chum
told the policeman it was a crazy old
colored man that wanted to kidnap US,
and the policeman took Pa by the neck
and was going to club him, but Pa said
he would 60 home and behave. He was
offul mad, and he went home, and we
looked through the alley fence and saw
Pa trying to wash off the blacking. You
see that backing won't wash off. You
have to wear it off. Pa would wash
his face with soapsuds and then look
in the glass, and he was blacker every
time he washed, and when Ma LATED at
him he said the offulest words, some
thing like Sweet spirit, hear my prayer
then he washed himself again. Tango
ing to leave my burnt cork on, cause if
wash it off Pa would know there had
been some smouging somewhere. Iasked
the shoe store man how long it would
take the backing to wear off, and he said
it ought to wear of in o week. Iguess
Pa won't go out doors much unless it is
in the night. I am going to get him to let
me 60 off in the country fishing till mine
wears off. and when get out Of town I
will wash up. Say, you don't think
little backing hurts mans complexion,
do you, and you don't think man ought
to get mad because it won't wash off, do
your