Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1905-12-29

again before I say 'amen!' rexA loud q
the close % the services. I will shoot
all your front teeth out. Do you coin.
~prehend? II 80. be seated"
The big fellow dropped on to the
blue seat. as though he had been hit
with a piledriver, and the crowd was
so tickled to have the bully's blum
called, that they cheered the preacher.
Then he said: eve will now open this
jack pot with singing and I shall keep
one eye on the gentleman who was
last up, but who is now seated pretty
low down."
You could have heard a pin drop.
The preacher wiped his face calmly,
and said: I'VE will nov sing and ex-
pect every nan will sing. and to that
end I will appoint Big Ike, who asked
me how I was going to open this jack
pot. to come down in front Of the seats
and lead in the singing, for I know
by his voice, which l heard in debate.
that he Is q crackerjack," and tho
preacher took hold of the handle OF the
blue gun and Big Ike walked down
through the rows Of seats. and as the
mclodeon began to squawk. Ike got
down in front of the audience, and
some Of the boys said: Bully for you,
Ike and after scratching his head a
minute Ike turned and walked to-
wards the preacher, at the edge OF
the ring. and l thought there was 60
ing to be the worst fight ever was, and
as the preacher reached for the gun ]
crawled under the seat, and nneked out
between the legs Of a fat man, but Ike
walked up to the minister and said,
as the melodeon began to cough:
Boys, this tune is on Ike" He started
it and every man sang.
When it was ended the boys clapped
and stamped for an encore, and they
sang it through again, and the face OF
the preached beamed with joy. and |
saw there was not going to be any
fight and | crawlcl out from under the
seats.
Pa came in the tent just then, with
a new suit of clothes on, having been
Of yellow fever. and | gave him my
seat, and he held me in his lap.
The preacher then preached a sermon
that did them all good. He dwelt upon
the hard life Of the Snowman, and gave
them such good advice that when 1t
was all over and he said he wanted to
shake hands with every man In the
bunch, Ike marshaled them all up to
the ring and introduced them, and nc
minister eve was more cordially con-
graduated, and they wanted him 10
90 along with the show, and preach ev-
cry Sunday.
The preacher said he couldn't join
the show, but he Travelled around q
good deal and he would probably be
in the same town with the show sew
eral times during the summer and hi
would drop in on them occasionally
and keep them straight.
Pa was watching the crowd fol
the sailor who prescribes cayenne
pepper for yellow fever, and wher
he saw the sailor come up to thu
minister, with tears in his eyes, and say
"Parson, | has been a bad man an'
killed a mar once, but he was a Portu
guese sailor. and he had the drop on me
the same as you did on Big Ike at tn
opening of these proceedings, and | ha'
TO kill him. And beEs the pardon o
J this old gentleman for lying to him.
: And then pa shook hands with tn
5 sailor and the parson, and the parse
! put his blue gun down his trousers les
| and said: by the way, the bulldo
= you were going to let take a lunch o
. me, is he all right?"
Then the parson and the girl wer
away, and the boys carried out III
melodeon. and the quarantine was d.
clared off. After dinner the boy
e took down the tents and put them c
the train that Sunday afternoon, sins
ms decent songs as they pulled up Il
& stakes and rolled up the canvas. al
on the train. late in the night, v
Q could hear "Old Hundred" being SUI
& as the cars ran through the pennyri
- district of Indiana.