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Show j Father Wis "Wise" "When the average boy Is In his toons ho thinks his father doesn't know anything," sa'd a city business man tho other day, whoso boyhood days wero spent on a farm. "But when ho reaches tho ago of thirty he begins to think that tho 'old man' knows n few things after nil, and I usually upon nrrivlng at tho ngo of forty ho will tell everybody what a great man his lather Is. I remember ono Incident, however, that rather disagreeably dis-agreeably impressed upon mo tho knowledge that my father knew a fow things even when I was not moro than fifteen. "Father had ono of tho finest water-molon water-molon patches for mlle3 around 1 had always been oxtre.nely fond of watermelon, and. rot bpln-r esMsfltvt with what wa3 given mo, I began to do a little marauding nt night on father's patch. Finally, as tho best melons were gradually disappearing night after night, father re3olved to put a stop to It, so ho loided up his old shotgun with rock salt and then snt In ono csrrcr of tho patch every night until about 12 o'clock waiting for developments. Well, 1 know Just oxactly whero he sat, so I would reconnoitre during tho daytlmo and Bolect tho melon which was to bo used on tho following night, always making mak-ing suro that it was located on tho furthest sldo of tho patch from whero father sat with tho gun. Everything wont on firoly for a weok or in ore. Each day father would discover that notwithstanding his prccttltlons tho melons wero still being taken, and ho was almost bcsldo himself with exasperation. ex-asperation. All this time I had been gorging myself on tho choicest melons the patch had' to offer, nnd besides was tickled to death nlmost on account ac-count of the way I was fooling the 'old man.' Although I was a very smart boy, somehow I overlooked tho fact that In my anxiety to enter tho patch at a point furthest away from fathor tho melons wero all disappearing disappear-ing from ono certain spot. "Ono rJnnt about 10 o'clock, when you could hardly seo yourjhand beforo you, I groped my way into tho patch toward a big, lino melon which 1 had maio up my mind to commandeer the day beforo. Just ns I stooped over and placed my hands on the melon I heard a loud report nnd then felt tho most ncito pale. I sprang to my fcot, ran to tho fence, leaped over It, and then made for tho house with tho speed of a scared cat. I got In through tho kitchen door, and then went up to my room. Father had given chase, but I soon outran him, and npparontly got away without his I discovering my Identity. "But, oh, how Eoro 1 was I Tho pain was so great trat I couldn't sleep a wink tho wholo n.ght long, but was kept nwako rursmg my wounds. The noxt morning I mado an excuso about rot feeling woll when breakfast tlmo came, for I was so stiff and soro that 1 Just couldn't sit down. Mother looked anxiously nt mo when I said 1 didn't cans to oat. for sho thought something serious mut surely be tho matter with mo, but I staved oft nil sympathetic Questions nnd wont out to do tho farm work. That evening, when tlrao camo for suppocr, I was so hungry that, nlthough It caused much agony, I seated myself at tho supper table, but only occupied about half of tho chair, howover. After eating eat-ing In silence for somo tlmo I finally said: " 'Father, nro you going out to tho patch to-night?', "Ho looked at mo over his spectacles spec-tacles significantly for several moments, mo-ments, nnd then, with a twlnklo in his eye, replied: " 'Well. D'ck, that Just depends. Aro you going out?' " |