The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1919-02-20

sing and did sing while he worked
songs that ratified from his lips in
way that amused me greatly. Then,
too, he could rip out words that had
a new and wonderful sound in them.
1 made up my mind that he was like
ly to become q valuable asset when l
heard Aunt Deel saw to my Uncle Pea
body:
you'll have to send that loafer
away, right now, ayes, l guess you
will"
"Why?"
Because this boy has learnt to
swear like pirate-ayes-he has!"
| Uncle Peabody didn't know 1T but
l myself had begun to suspect 1t, and
that hour the man was sent away,
and l remember that he left in anger
with 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 sweal-that boys who did
| 1t had very bad luck, and mine came
| 1t come along In the same length OF
| time.
After I ceased to play with the
Wills boy Uncle Peabody used to
| say, often, it was a pity that l hadn't
| somebody of my own age for COM
pany. Every day 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 a large mouth and thin lips.
| He wore a silver watch and chain,
which strongly recommended him in
my view and enabled me to endure
| his air of condescension.
He let me feel 1t and look it all
over and / slyly touched the chain
with my tongue just to see if it had
| any taste to 1t, and Amos told me
! that his father had given it to him and
that it always kept him "kind o
scairt."
"WhyY"
"For fear I'll break er lose it an
! git licked" he answered.
He took a 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. II met
ragged OF woman in the road t'other
day an she give me a lot of 'em and
showed me the pictures an l got to
readin' 'em. Don't you tell anybody
cause my OF dad hates stories an'
he'd lick me It'll couldn't stan if he
knew I was readin' en-
l begged him to read out loud and
he read from a tale of two robbers
named Thunderbolt and Lightfoot who
| lived in a cave IN the mountains. They
were bold, free, swearing men who
rode beautiful horses at a wild gal
Top and carried guns and used them
freely and with unerring skill and
helped themselves to what they want
! ed.
He stopped, by and by, and confided
to me the fact that he thought he
would run away and join band of
robbers.
GLOW do you run away?n I 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 Il 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 il over the limb
of tree and pulled the man into
the air.
He stopped suddenly and demanded:
rs there long rope hereT
/ pointed to Uncle Peabody's hay
rope hanging on peg.
Les hang a captive" he proposed.
At first l did not comprehend his
meaning. He got the rope and threw
its end over the big beam. Our old
shepherd dog had been nosing the
NOW near us for rats. Amos caught
the dog who, Suspcctng no harm, came
pasSively to the ropes end. He tied
the rope around the dogs neck.