The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-05-03

sing and did sing while he Worked
songs that ratified from his lips In a
way that amused me greatly. Then,
too. he could rip out words that had
new and wonderful sound in them.
/ made up my mind that he was like
ly to become valuable asset when !
heard Aunt Deel saw to my Uncle Pea
body:
s'Youll have to send that loafer
away, right now, ayes, I guess you
will"
"Why?"
Because this boy has learnt to
swear like pirate-ayes-h he has!
Uncle Peabody didn't know it but
I myself had begun to suspect 1t, and
that hour the man was sent away,
and I remember that he left in anger
with a number of those new words
flying from his lips. A forced march
to the upper room followed that event.
Uncle Peabody explained that 1t was
| wicked to swear-that boys who did
1t had very bad luck, and mine came
in moment l never had more of
1t come along in the same length of
time.
After I ceased to play with the
Wills boy Uncle Peabody used to
say, often, 1t was a pity that / hadn't
somebody of my own age for COM
pany. Every day 1 felt sorry that the
| Wills boy had turned out so badly,
and doubt not the cat and the shep-
herd dog and the chickens and Uncle
Peabody also regretted his failures,
| especially the dog and Uncle Peabody,
who bore all sorts Of indignities for
| my sake.
One day when Uncle Peabody went
for the mail he brought Amos Grim
shaw to visit me. He was four years
older than Ia freckled, red-haired
boy with large mouth and thin lips.
He wore silver watch and chain,
which strongly recommended him In
my view and enabled me to endure
his air Of condescension.
l ne IEI Lie lCCk IL lOOh ~ 1AA
over and l slyly touched the chain
with my tongue just to see If it had
any taste to it, and Amos told me
that his father had given it to him and
that 1t always kept him "kind O
scairt."
"WhyT
"For fear I'll break err lose 1t an
git licked" he answered.
He took little yellow paper-cov-
cred book from. his pocket and began
to read to himself.
whats that?" / ventured to ask
by and by.
"a story" he answered. 81 met a
ragged o. woman in the road t'Other
day an she give me lot of 'em and
showed me the pictures an I got to
readin' 'em. Don't you tell anybody
cause my OIL dad hates EtOries an
he'd lick me It'll couldn't stan il he
knew I was readin' 'em."
/ begged him to read out loud and
he read from a tale of two robbers
named Thunderbolt and Lightfoot who
\ .liVed in a ave in the mountains. They
/ were bold, free, swearing men who
/ rode beautiful horses at wild gal
4 lop and carried guns and used theH
freely and with unerring skill and
i helped themselves to what they want
/ ed.
/ He stopped, by and by, and confded
i to me the fack that he thought he
would run away and join band of
] robbers.
"How do you run away?" asked.
! "Just take the turnpike and keep
| goin' toward the mountains. When
We meet a band O. robbers give 'em
the sign an tell 'em you want to
join"
| He went on with the book and read
| how the robbers had hung captive
who had prosecuted them and inter
.fered with their sport. The story ex'
planned how they put the rope around
the neck of the captive and threw
the other end Of it over the limb
Of tree and pulled the man into
the air.
He stopped suddenly and demanded
SIS there long rope here?'
I pointed to Uncle Peabody's hay
rope hanging on peg.
/ LES hang captive" he proposed
| At first did not comprehend his
/ meaning. He got the rope AID threw
it's end over the big beam. Our old
i shepherd dog had been nosing the
NOW near us for rats. Amos caught
the dog who. suspecting no harm, came
| passively to the ropes end. He tied
the rope around the dogs neck.