Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-11-01

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DISC 0 R ID S
WiLLIE'S HALLOWEEN
CONFESSION.

Ky tAS ulueF pNfs. teH, was
Along, but when We come to the house
I told them that Mr. Jones was a good
Friend OF my fathers, and that
If MIR. Jones knew that / was member
OF the gang he would tell my father
And nay father might not think his hoy
Was as good boy as he thought he
was.
So / begged and begged them not to
Fut the soap on the window. but they
Only laughed at me, and said l was
a frsidy calf; and, pop, that made me
mad,
because I'm not d fraidy calf, am ~.
You would not want to have other
boys call me
Names like that, would you. pop?
Because then l would grow up and be
just
Like girl, and you said you wanted
me to be man,
Didn't you, pop? And so, when they
said I was
A baby and everything l went into the
yard with them, but
was not the leader, cross my heart
| wasn't,
But, pop, I was right up in front, be-
cause they
Said Jimmy Smith was worse than 4
was,
For once he said he was going home
unless
The other fellows didn't quit being SO
Bold. When Jimmy started to run
away Clarence
Grabbed his cap and wouldn't give It
back.
Then Jimmy had to stick around, bel
cause if lie went
Home his mother would know that he
had been in trouble.
Well, pop, we sneaked UP on the lawn,
and all the
Time the other fellows were bantering
ME and
Said l hadn't any nerve. And then l
thought Of
All you had been saying to me about
being
Brave and not allowing other boys to
get the
Best Of me in the battle Of life, and, |
the more
| thought over what you had always
told me about
The way to win was to push yourself
up TO the
Front, the neryier | got and then
Harry handed me the
Soap and said when he whistled once
it. would mean
That the coast was clear and for me /
to smear. Well,
didn't want to be a coward. and [
marched 10 the
Window no, pop, I didn't put the
soap on
Cross my heart j didn't, but I didn't |
back up.
Remember that. was brave up to-
the last minute,
But my arm wasn't long enough to
reach the pane.
And l turned the job over 10 Harry |
But | don't see
Why Mr. Jones should blame me when |
! didn't do the job.
Yes, we were over to Smiths house, /
but we were just
Pooling Their: We only wanted TO
make aces at
The Smith boy. He's so darred nice /
that he said /
He wouldn't join the gang on Hal
lowe'en He said nobody /
But rough boys went around to other /
folks houses /
And scared them Yes. we knew
that the swing was
On the porch. but we never talked
about carrying ii away.
No. we never did. pop, only Harry
he is always up
To tricks that the other boys never
think about
He said when we all got on the porch
to make
Faces through the window, that he'd /
take the
Swing And, pop, he's awfully strong !
He was t
Trying to put the swing on his back /
when he /
Found that it was fixed so that it /
couldn't be
Moved unless an ak was used or it. +
But we didn't have
No ak, so that the Smith swing was
let stay where il was.
Only Harry did take couple of pill F
lows out of the swing I
No, ! didn't have no pillow, but pop. /
| wished that
| did have one when l slipped when I
we started to
Run off the porch when Mr.. Smith /
heard US and came TO
The door just time TO see me fall /
ON the stone /
Step. And, pop. it hurt awfully. I'll
would have been
Fine If somebody had thrown me a /
pillow and 1t lit on /
The place where lit. But they didn't /
and that's the
Reason I'm not feeling well this morn I
ing.
Begged Harry to take the pillows I
back, but he laughed at
Me and called me coward some
more, but the pillows got
Back all right, for MIR. Smith was a
better runner
Than Harry was Mr.. Smith said he
knew
Me, but l told him that l wasn't your
boy, and
Pulled down my cap over my eyes.
and ran like
The devil. You would have been proud
OF me, pop, if you could have seen
me. Didn't lose
My breath, neither. Maybe / ran
make the school
Track team next year. Wouldn't that
be great, pop?
We We're just talking on the corner
after getting together
And not doing anything at all. when
that policeman come
Up and took US all to the station. He