Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-07-19


1t begun. A big boy-he was visiting
our room-he give me n book and
nodded for me to hand it across the
aisle to Alice. Alice, she's the preach
er's girl, and when she took It, lot
of things fell out of the book onto
the floor, and teacher she heard it,
and came and picked 'em all up, and
they was bad pictures, and had folks
naked on 'em.
And they found some more, in the
corner Of my desk, but 1 never saw
one Of 'em before, hope to diel And
Alice she cried, and nobody wouldn't
believe me, and teacher she took and
locked me up till the superintendent
come back from the other school.
house, and he wouldn't believe me
neither, and they had the whole
school board into It, and they turned
me out of SCHOOL, And 1 never laid
eyes on their old pictures, till 1 saw
the teacher pick them up, after Alice
dropped 'em.
But pa, he wouldn't believe me,
and he beat me with a cane, till ma
she made him stop, and he never
done it before; and ma, she cried all
night, and when sister came home
she wouldn't let me be in the same
room, and she said if 1 wasn't made
an example of her room would cut up
worse than ever.
"And Alice was sick and had to
stay out, and when she went the girls
wouldn't speak to her. and after
awhile her pa-the preacher. you
know-he had to move away to a new
church, where they didn't blame
Alice, cause some of the scholars
said that she broughS the pictures to
School.
But I know she didn't. cause Tom,
my chum, he risked lickin' to come
up in our barn - see me, and he told
how that big boy had visited our
room, he bought cigarettes, and the
candy-htchen woman she tore 'em
open and dropped roll of pictures
on the floor, cause she dast'ent to
sell EN-, and the boy he snealxed
around and picked 'em up, and put
some in the book he got me to hand
TO Alice, and when he see the teacher
was a-coming he just tucked the rest
into the corner of my desk, and Tom
saw it all.
And ma she come in the night, and
she put some cool stuff on the big
welts where pa licked me, and she
cried some more, and she said: Now.
George, and she wouldn't call me
George! no she wouldn'tI"-(here
the tears came)-"but she said:
Now, George, If you will only tell
me the truth, and confess where you
got those shameful pictures, will be-
heve you, and try to forgive you, and
you can kiss little sister again flor
she'd kept me away from the baby,
as II was SO bad I'd black off onto
her)' and 1 couldn't say nothing but
just what l had said, to the teacher
and all the board, and so said:
Why, ma, have told you all I know
about it. That boy that went away
the next day, he gave me the book
10 hand TO Alice, and / never knew
anything was in the book And Tom
saw him stick the rest in my desk,
but bis ma won't let him mix up in it
But ma, she just cried some more.
and said: oh, George, If could only
set you to confess, maybe your
rather wouldn't send you awayl'
Away says I. Yes ma says, he
is going to send you away, to get YOU
out of bad company, to his brothers
on the farm, for you can't GO TO
school here, you know, and your poor
sister Is afraid she can't keen hev
place IL you stay
$50 pa he wrote a letter TO Uncle
All, and / don't know what was In it
but he wrote back, and then 1 had to
go. And ma, she felt so bad she
wouldn't let the baby kiss me good
by, and the baby stretched out her
little hands and cried after me, and I
guess I'd a died, only ma run after us
and give me one good hug. But pa.
he just blowed his nose, and said the
train was there, and must be n good
boy and work hard, and then the
train started.
Uncle ALI begun hard on me first
off. and he made me work early an5
iate' and l never stayed any on
farm before, and he expected me to
know it all, and got so lame and
sum- ana let the horse step on my
foot, and he wouldn't let me stoD
work, and l guess I'll always linn.
and the hired man that slept with
me- he was mean to me, and l didn't
have a thing to read, and all the time
Aunt Jane had kept the children
away from me as if was pison. and
got so homesick I thought I should
die, and one night I just got up and
started nome but Uncle Aft he heard |
me, and he took after me with ;,
rawhide and said he'd teach ms e.,
run away. See that-that's where
the end of it cut me! That was a
week ago, but it seems a year. and
early yesterday morning hid in
place l found, and when tbev wse
all out a-lookin' for me, I crawIed
put ana run for life, and here 1 be,
and I've just got to get home, even
u can't go to school, and I'll inst
nang onto my ma, and mako bar r.