The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-07-09
JOHNNYS VISIT.

whole neighborhood 10 get me out. In
sorry Tor Aunt Lizzie, cause she's beer
having Mysteries two or three times al
hour ever since, betcher life. Now sh'
won't have anything TO do with me, ans
| says IT was all my fault. But il WASH
anc that's the way girls blame things o.
a feller
We've got an old well down at III,
bottom of our garden. and just 'caus,
Aunt Lizzie believes everything she hears
l says for her and me TO play the wei
was coal mine. l said l would get IL
the bucket and she could lower me and
then wind me up again, like they do Al
the shaft of truly coal mine. Course
! L didn't mean IL, but she said TO me
Johnny, don't You ever think of such q
| thing
That's all right, If l tumbled out
the bucket 1 could climb UP the sides
/ says, and so l could, cause all the
stones stick out.
''She looked at me for a minute like
| she couldn't make out if l was in earn
/ est, with her eyes wide open, and then
she says. kind of desperate, as if she
didn't want to tell me, oh. OH she says.
| Johnny. didn't you ever hear of the little
old man that lives at the bottom of the
Well? He's a little old crooked man, and
II yon tumbled out he would never let
You come UP again. Think how terrible
that would be
Gee, that made a fizzle of fooling Aunt
Lizzie. 1t set me thinking, too, cause
lots Of times I'd thought it would be
bully fun to climb down the well on the
stones that stick out of the sides. Guess
/ mustve been crazy, and | made up
my mind / wouldn't do it now. though.
And betcher life 1 promised Aunt Lizzie
over and over L wouldn't even get into
the bucket. Guess not. with that little
old crooked Teller down there waiting.
all ready to grab me.
Il waited till Aunt Lizzie went up to
the house, cause she's awful funny and
won't let me do blamed thing. Then l
went over to the we'll and looked down.
just looked and looked and holered a lit
tie. but nothing happened; so l climbed
over down on the ledge where the bucket
rested
Il waited for a long time, still as a
mouse, with my legs hanging over the
ledge, cause l wanted to see if 1 could
catch that litteold crooked Teller climbing
about down below. Once L thought l
saw him. and l made ready 10 climb out
side in a hurry. But it was only my
reflection in the water way down there.
and then l thought it would be bully
fun to jump down into the water and
scare him into a jelly. Tell you what,
that would make a splash. But just
about that time l made up my mind there
wasn't any little old crooked man down
there at all, and that Aunt Lizzie had
been telling me tara-diddles.
Just to make sure, though, / showed
the bucket off the ledge. and it went down
ker-smash' all by itself. 1t was full of
water, and il went down pretty fast, and
the windlass made a terrible racket as
the handle went round and round like
sixty.
Then I thought 1 was done for, cause
awful happened. Twas the |
most awful screech 1 ever heard. Betcher !
life l climbed over that well-box like a |
shot, guess l did, and l didn't stop run |
ming till l got to the barn, all the time |
that little old crooked fellow |
was right after me.
Then all at once I saw I had nothing |
to be afraid of. but the screeches were /
still going off at full blast, and l guessed /
terrible must We happened up I
At the house, cause it was Aunt Lizzie |
that was hollering. She was racing about
the house screeching like mad and l got
so scared 1 couldn't move. and pretty soon
she came tearing out with paw and nav,
oOking mighty wild, flying after her.
They made for the old we'll down in
he garden like it was Il race. May, she
lad -.old of paws arm TO help her along,
md he was trying to shake her off, but
Aunt Lizzie, she got to the well first
md soon's she got there she grabbed the
handle that was still going round, and
hen she just hung on and screeched and
creeched.
I saw paw grab the rope and haul up
he bucket hand over hand like he was
n a hurry, and NAV she leaned over the
veil and yelled, Johnny, Johnny John
~. Course, l didn't know what she
wanted. and fore l could get down there
o see what was the matter some people
anne running in from the road, and
retty soon there was a crowd round the
veil.
When 1 got there to see what the trou-
lie was al about they were all talking at
nee. Everybody was real excited like,
nd they were saying: Poor little feller
How did it happen?' His poor, poor
lother.' and things like that, till 1
bought something awful had happened
'aw he was yanking up the bucket and
Obody took any notice of me- so l just
ung around 10 see what it was all about.
hey were all as quiet as mice when ]
lW jerked the bucket out and dumped the
'ater on the ground. Then he looked
round and held the bucket up for every
II up a groan that made me SILVER. {
Some of the women grabbed nav and s
llled her away from the well when paw
cid up the empty bucket. and 1 was :
surprised to see NAV wilt,
ause she's generally head over heels into
that's going on; then some :
re yelled, Here comes the ladder and
ley showed it down the well. and I be
an 10 crowd up closer, cause now l
new what il was all about. {
Course. they were going down the well =
catch that little Old crooked man. and
was great. 1 squirmed through till 1 |
IT close to the well, and then 1 grabbed | J.
Did Of Aunt Lizzies arm and gave her Z
Snake TO make her stop screechiug,
ID then. l says to her: Say, Aunt Liz q
e, do you spOse he'll make much Of a Z
yht?'/
She looked at me for a minute with q
r eyes and mouth wide open. and stop q
d squslling all n once. and then she y
.arly smothered ne. and everybody yell I;
and hurrahed like they had gone crazy. y
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