The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1900-05-05

Il kin swim.
Like a brick"!" asked the gas man.
Not on your miniature" returned
the fall, JUS before the water got
cold"
Say" said the gas man. sternly.
"ain't L seen you at Coney Island
every summer for four years, wen you
couldn't swim no further than a
bullet in n peer bottle? Say. if you
want to lie. why don't you lie like
That's right"
Say" said the stereopticon man.
'"did you see me at Coney Island las
summer? I guess mott"
That's right" admitted the gas
man. Il didn't. You was in Ohio last
summer. Least you says you was"
That's right. | was in Ohio. l was
dom two-week stands with a movin'
pi'ture machine. an a string of pat
-ent medicine ads. an there's where
the thing happened al made me learn
to SWIM"
sheriff chase you into the river"
lsneered the gas q
1t wasn't the sheriff" the stereop-
ticon man went on. patiently. The
sheriff don't live AT could scare me
like I was scared then. 1t was in
Toledo" said the s~tereopticon man,
where all the men wear their pants
short. SOS to keep 'em up. outer the
dust. | had a fine stand on Summit
stree, an was Il shown fight pic
lures to big crowds every night. But
course | was loafin' days. an n day
l walks out along a crack in the
ground them Ohio gazabos calls a
river. They call it the Maumee river.
Well. | walks along in the sun. till |
feels pretty dusty myself. an then
las down under a big maple tree, an
watches the traffic up an Town the
crack in the ground. an the clouds
dom hard-walks up in the sky. an the
grass wavin' an the leaves rus:lin an
sporty lookin' sparrers scrapin' over
"A worm. | falls asleep an dreams I'm
barkin' for a Snakc-shop on the Bow
cry. an l must u slept a long time.
cause it was five o'clock when woke
ND. and the sun was come in under
the maple tree and burnt the skin off
nv nose. so it looked like a picked
beet on a free-lunch counter.
well. the show wasn't opened be-
fore half-past eight o'clock, so | just
locks around to see what's in sight.
But there wasn't much. only 4 COW
that had broke into Il timothy field
an Il couple of crows sittin' on n
fence. But just then. | looks a little
way up the crick and there's a boy
fishin' off the end of an Of scow. Well,
/ climbs along till | comes to my
boy. an then gets on the scow.
Flows luck?!
Paint worth a hurrah.' says the
boy.
What you caught? says I.
Not a dod-binged thing says the
boy. AN | bin here all day.
We'll 4 /. your language is
pretty strong-for a boy says |.
10y otter hear dad says the boy.
an he puts Il new green g~rasshopper
on his hook. an goes on fishin' 'thout
,sayin' another word. That's the
kinder kids they raise out west, in
Ohio.
But he was a poor-lookin' boy, an
he had lathinstead of fishin'rod. He
was settin' on the stern of the scow,
with his legs hangin' oTer. The bow
was high an dry. but where the boy
was the water looked bout 40 feet
deem. 1t was black lookin' water. and
YOU couldn't see an inch in under it.
But the boy don't get a nibble. so 1
gets tired watchin'. an | says to the
boy
Gimme the line. I'll show you
how t ketch fish, | says.
An did he give We the line??" asked
the gas man.
Cert" said the stereopticon man.
~'Why wouldn't he"?"
Say. you're a cold bluff" said the
gas man. Say. if there was a fish at
was old. an'easy. an starvin' t death.
an ready to commit suicide-you
wouldn't know how to catch m. An
the boy give you the line?'
Sure. An 1 hadn't no sooner let
in the hook than l ketches a fish,"
Jaw, say" said the gas man, that