The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-28
PECK'SBADBOY ABROAD
The Bad Boy Makes Friends with Some Italian Chil
 dren--Dad is Chased by Lions from the Coliseum. "Not Any More Rome for Papa" Says Dad.

because he was nervous. and I didn't
 want to undeceive him. He had come
 to Rome to see things he couldn't find at home, and 1t was up to me to deliver
 the goods.
 Gee, but 1t made me sweat, cause
 knew if dad did not get a show for hls
 money, he would lay it up against me, so I told him we would go to the Coliseum that night and see the hungry
 lions and tigers eat some of the leading citizens, just as they did when Caesar run the show. Then I found an Amer ican from Chicago at the hotel, who sells soap in Rome. and told him what dad expected of me in the way of amuse- ment, and he said the only way was to take dad out to the Coliseum, and in the dark roll a barrel of broken glass
 down the tiers of seats and make him believe there was an earthquake that
 had destroyed the Coliseum. and that the lions and tigers were all loose, look ing for people to eat, and scare dad and make a run back to town.
 I didn't want to play such a scan- dalous trick on dad, but the Chicago ! man said that was the only way out of it, and he could get a barrel of | broken glass for a dollar, and hire | four ruffians that could roar like lions
 for a few dollars, and 1t would give
 dad good exercise. and may be save him from a run of Roman fever, cause
 there was nothing like a good sweat
 to knock the fever out of a fellows
 system. The thing struck me as not
 only a good experience for dad. but
 a life saver, so whacked up the mon-
 ey. and the Chicago soap man did the
 rest.
 After dark we went out to the ruin
 of the Coliseum. where a great many tourists go to look at the ruins by moonlight, and dad was as anxious
 and bloodthirsty as young surgeon cutting up his first ''stiff." When
 we got to the right place. and I told
 dad we were a little early, because
 the nobility were not in their seats the villains began to roar three dol | lars worth. like hungry lions. and dad turned a little pale. and said that sounded like the real thing.
 told him we better not get too near. because we were not accustomed to seeing live men chewed up by beasts and dad said he didn't care how near we got, as long as they chewed and tore to pieces the natives; so we start ed to work up a little nearer, when there was a noise such as l never heard before. as the hogshead of broken glass began to roll down the tiers of stone seats, and 1 fell over on the ground. and pushed dad, and he went over in the sand and struck his pants on a cactus, and yelled that he was stabbed with a dirk, and l got up and fell down again, and just then | the Chicago soap man came up on a | gallop. followed by the villains play | ing lion and tiger, and dad asked the | Chicago man what seemed to be the
 matter, and he said: Matter enough | there has been an earthquake, and the | Coliseum has fallen down. killing more | than 10000 Romans, and the animals cages are busted and the animals are
 loose. looking for fresh meat and we
 better get right back to Rome. too
 quick, or we will be eaten alive. Come
 on if you are with me. Do you heal the lions after us'"
 Well. you'd a died to see dad get
 up out of that prickly cactus, ant
 take the lead for good old Rome. didn't know he was such a sprinter
 but we trailed along behind roaring like lions, and snarling like tigrs and