Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 May 1884 — THE BAD BOY. [ARTICLE]

THE BAD BOY.

“Don’t speak to me,” said the grocery man to the bad boy, as he showed up in his shirt-sleeves early one morning, and acted familiar with his old friend. “Go right away from here, and please keep away, forever. I have overlooked about a thousand of ynnr eccentric characteristics, because/yon have argued with me, and showed me that you were actuated by worthwljnbtives. But this last thing yon have (lone has been the last hair that has broken the camel’s back, and henceforth you and I are strangers, and I will take it as a favor if you will keep on your own side of the street,” and the grocery man opened the door and pointed the way out. “Wbat seems to be eating*you?” said the bad boy, ds he went to the back end of the grocery, leaving the grocery man pointing out the open door, sat down on the high stool bv the desk, and l>egan to figure on a piece of brown paper, with a stub pencil. “You must be troubled with worms, and there is nothing better for worms than vermifuge. What have I done now, that causes ybu such agony?” “Done? You have disgraced yourself, your family, and me, and everybody. Didn’t I see you gt> down au alley last night, in your shirt sleeves, locked arms with that uigger boy who lives down there ? Don’t deny it, confound you, cause I was watching you, and the nigger was drunk or something, because he staggered, and I don’t believe yon were mnch better. That comes of loafing around and being bad. When a white boy associates with nigners, and takes them home when they are drunk, that is all I want to know. Niggers are no better than cattle, and I never saw one that I would walk a block with for a million dollars. Now, own up, didn’t you go down the alley with the nigger, and ain’t you ashamed of yourself.” ‘ “O, is that all? Yes, I did walk with* the colored boy. and if I had not held him up he wonld have fallen down, and lam not ashamed of it. Here is a list of groceries I want yon to send to that, boy’s house, down in the alley, if you are not ashamed to deliver things in an alley, and here is the money to pay for them, and now fly around, old bar soap.” And the boy took an orange and began to excavate it with his under teeth.

“O, that is different,” said the grocery man, as he took the list and began to hurry to fill it. “Maybe lam wrong, as usual, but I can’t bear niggers. What was the cause of your helping him home Hennery ?” “There was cause enough. I was coming down toward the river and I saw about fifty people standing on the. br dge, watching a little German child drown, and yelling to everybody to do something. The child had fallen oil the wood dock where she was picking up chips. Just as I got there I saw this colored boy throw off his coat and shoes and jump in, and. in few seconds he had hold of the child and swam to the dock with her and held her up, and somebody pulled her out, and they forgot all about the little ‘nigger,’ as you call him, and he would have drowned in the dirty water if I hadn’t reached the butt of my fishpole (lo|p to him to climb up an. They took the rescued white child away, and brought her to by rolling her on a barrel, and no one thought anything about the colored boy, they were all so glad the little girl was saved. When the crowd went away somebody had stolen the coat and shoes of the colored boy, and he >vas not very well, ’cause lie had pneumonia in March, and the smell of the nasty river water made him turn pale, and he was weak as a cat, so T pulled oft' my shoes and coat and made him put them on, and took him home. The patrol wagon came, and the policemen would have taken him home in that, but the colored boy said he couldn’t go in the patrol wagon cause his mother was sick, and if she should see him brought home in a patrol \\ agon it would scare her into fits. So I took him home, and went in ahead and broke the news that her boy was all right to the poor colored lady, who was sitting up in bed with a small wasfi tab in her lap trying to do some washing for a customer of hers, when she looked as though she was pretty near dead. Gosh, but they are poor! The mother washes for a living, and the boy skirmishes around anywhere he can earn 10 cents. I gave him my coat and shoes, and went home and got some of my underclothes that are too warm for me, and I took the wash-tub away from the old mother and made her rest, and our hired girl is going to finish the washing and iron the clothes, and I am going to take them to the man she washes for, and I hare adopted that ‘nigger* and his ma till they get well. Now hurry up them groceries.” “Well, you are a daisy,” said the grocery man, as he went to the door to call his delivery wagon man. “You are

„ “No. I ain’t, either; I’m a heathen,” said the bov, as lie counted out the pennies and nickels that looked as though they had been taken ont of his savings-bank at home. “I am a disgrace to my family and frieDcls, ’cause I associate with a ‘ nigger.’ People go to war and spend billions and qnintillions of dollars to free colored men, aad pass laws that they shall be equal to the average white man, and they associate with them when they want their votes, but when anybody with a colored person, unless they have a selfish object in view, and have got an ax to grind, they are a disgrace to their families. That colored boy did not stop to think of his health, of the danger ol being drowned or asphyxiated by the foul river, but jumped in the water to save life, apd wliat was his reward ? He had his coat and shoes and socks stole, and had to crawl out of the water like a dog. Oh, this is a nice country, and you are a nice old foOl, ain’t you ?” “Say, kick me, thump me, do anything,” said the grocery man, “but I want you to bring .That colored boy here, and I will give him all the groceries he can lug home,” and the grocery man asked the boy's pardon, and be went down the alley to see how his adopted colored family was getting along .—Peck’s sifn. ‘ The grass of the field is often employed as a figure tv teach the shortness of life.