Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-10-20
FRECKIES SET MICE
AND HIS PACKAGE BROKE UP
DONATION PARTY.
Story Of the Tragedy, as Told by an
Eyewitness-Why Staid and Elder
iy Members of the Community For
got Their Dignity.

got neir Oi9hity.
All of the regulars sat in front of
the corner grocery over in the joyous
land of Jersey. Some Of them had
iaken off their boots to dump out the
"heat chatt, While the others were
rying to butt in on the general line
i talk. The dog had just found a de-
)arted rat and was trying to bury it
II the sugar barrel and the cat was
ing under the spig0t Of the kerosene
INK iii an attempt to Kill OFF some OF
$ ficas. The groceryman was bust
' engaged in batting a mouse trap
ith a piece Of eXcommunicatod
aheese-
Boys, sad Bill Jones, as he once
8ore pushed his hoof back into his
aoot, s'pose ye heerd all about F'reck
,aS?''
,Naikerlate we didn't. then." was
tae chorused reply What is it this
,ime, appeniurcyties or loss of appe-
tfte?"
"Tain't neither one It's wussern
both. He is in disgrace ag in and the
ieacon,s got him locked up in the
#agon house fer two weeks unless he
Hnaws out sooner. S'pose yer all
saefed OF the package party? No?
y ell, package party is one of them
things when you pay nothin to get in.
but Yer have to take a package OF
somethin which is put up at auction
.snd is knoc'ied down to the highest
i,,dder. sight on seen
"freckles was all puzzled up as to
What to take SO he went to the deac-
on, who was runnin the party fer the
l=eneit of the church an himself. an
Sreckles took up the deacon on his
ilrst chcp. During the day he ketched
about four dozen mice in ther barn
hacked them in a neatlookin' shoe
box and started fer the party as hap
p as a 'llioodle on the trail of a rab-
bit.
What am | bid for this beautiful
package? sez the main guy at the
church, next to the deacon, OF course.
Five cents. sez one; Ten cents seZ
another; Fifteen cents sez Jim Hol-
lerlegs; Twenty cents sez the deac.
Gn' S Old maid sister. Off to the flow,
er OF ther flock, seZ the main guy ans:
the old maid ticlled all over i:nc
latfed the same as she used to %i5tgie
thirty years ago Jim Hollerleas, who
Is stuck on her whispered Open it
sWeetie, an ther old maid, blushin
like the hair on red COW, busted the
string
Next she took off the lid. ;n' then,
a yell that sounded four miles long
an jumping clean through her collar.
almost left the harness fast to the
wagon Dearie. are yer dyin'?' sez
lin, and the next minet couple Of
the mice fell in his boots, an he had
the old maid had reached the stove
an.,= putin both arms around ther
pipe, she began to lick off the polish
aa putin both arms around ther
I'D like to- Mirandy sez jim, but
I've got EN- too
die out sooner in just two seconds
thet congregation was up in the air.
or as far as they could git without
elimbin trees, an even ther brave
Old deacon lad his head buried in the
@oal scuttle an his feet hung up on
1op of a Winder sill. while his wife an
ttartel Kicked over the bibles an
map Of Jerusalem in tryin to get out
on the roof.
Well. sir, it TUX two hours to
straighten out that package party an
even at =thet all tne old girls went
Wadin' around with their skirts tucked
up like bathin suits down to Allan
tic. Freckles was the only one Oncon-
Sarned, an thet give him dead away.
The deacon TUX him aside, spoke feel
ingly to him an the poor Kid went
home III a h y wagon. Since then he
mas been locked up in the wagon
house an ther deacon seZ he don't
come down till he is converted. =
PittSburg Telegraph.