The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-02-20


and when tn detectives got through
with tn case, Il was Georgie! But,
pshaw! he didn't have no chance. His
pa was a chicken thief fer years and
ye can't raise good men under sich
auspices!"
at doant SEEM" drawled Hank
SPOTS, ramming his horny finger
into his pipe bowl to ignite the un-
burned tobacco, tibet folks hez much
t. do with It, Alb. | recall distinctly
Widow Dodge's son out Silver Ridge
way Horace Dodge was as good
boy to begin with as ye ever cum
acrost in a hull passel o boys! But
when his pa died, Mrs. Dodge gist
sorter lost her grip on that boy. He
begun by stayin' out nights, then he
got T. keeping bad cump'ny, got drunk
once. run away with a patent medi-
cine show-and nobody hain't heard
nothin of him since! Now his pa was
gentleman. as clean as they make
'em and as square as die!"
That's all right" argued Alb; "ye
kin spoil good apples any time by
putting 'em in the barrel with had
uns! tn hull trouble with Horace
Dodge was his mother. | amt nothin'
agin clubs er club women, ner what
they do er say, but, by iing, sum-
times can't help wishin' they'd put
as much ginger and thought intew
their home affairs as they do intew
tn lodgel
Now. in the first place, Horace
Dodge went down town nights becus
his ma, who was mighty good WON.
an, understand, was away tending
sum club meetin', and tn boy gist
naturally got lonesome.
"He begun smokin' cigarettes gist
as any boy does, and when his ma
found II out, she cried When he got
intew bad cump'ny, she called the
preacher and the deacon In, and one
night vhcn uoraco wuz out gallutin'
around they met in her front parlor
an prayed fer two hours fer him!
That was III nieht afore he run away
and somehow can't help but think
that Horace didn't need prayers half
cs much as he did a lickin'!
what his mother should done
WAS e. kept that boy so busy doin' sum
Thin on tn place thet he couldn't find
time to loaf around town, and when
she smellcd cigarettes on him, she
should gone out to the barn and got
the calf rope and saved her prayers
until artcr she had gin him one Of the
best dressin downs he ever had!
III he persisted in bein' ornery she
should We increased tn size o tn rope
and the number O. applications, gist as
the Docs. does in serious cases, leadin'
up T. a climax that would o broke er
busted that boy!"
"Mebbe so" grunted Hank, blowing
the smoke from the bamboo stem OF
his cob pipe. "Mebbe so-but | reckon
that boys, like everything else, is diff
ferent at times!
There wuz Squire Dunhams boy,
,Alonzo, His pa was one o tn hon
esest mon thet ever seen tn light o
day and as religious as a testament.
They had prayers ev'ry mornin', rain
er shine, went { church reg'lar and
lived accordin' { tn Ten Command
ments-that Is tn old man and his
wife did and Alonzo did until one
day he went into town and cum home
so drunk he couldn't drive tn hosses
straight!
THAT nigh killed Old Man Dunham.
He was teetotlar hisself and had lee.
tured, lot agin Ticker Nobudy
knows how the boy happened T. do II
t this day, except thet he'd heard so
much about It. that he gist got curious
{ see what whisky tasted like!
"An the Squire couldn't stop him!
He's runnin' saloon now, down T.
tn Rapids-and his fathers heart is
broke II ever n mans wuz!"
II guess, by gol, yer right, Hank"
admitted Alb. ITS glst another case
O. not KNOWN which way frog'll
jump frum tn looks o. him Gimme
chaw er terbacker!"
y M.