etter
since his liver had become more active, and I said, 'Pa, when you was a
rolling over with the gun chasing you, and kicking you every round, your
liver was active enough, cause it was on top half the time.' Then Pa
throwed the chair at me. He says he believes I knew that cartridge was
loaded. But you ought to seen the fun when an old she deacon of Pa's
church called to collect some money to send to the heathens.

"Ma wasn't in, so Pa went to the parlor to stand her off, and when she
see that Pa's face was tied up, and his eye was black, and his jaw
cracked, she held up both hands and said, 'O, my dear brother, you
have been drunk again. You have backslid. You will have to go back and
commence your probation all over again, and Pa said, 'Damfido,' and the
old she deacon screamed and went off without getting enough money to
buy a deck of round cornered cards for the heathen. Say, what does
'damfido,' mean? Pa has some of the queerest expressions, since he
joined the church."

CHAPTER XIX.

HIS PA IS "NISHIATED"--ARE YOU A MASON?--NO HARM TO PLAY aT
LODGE--WHY GOATS ARE KEPT IN STABLES--THE BAD BOY GETS THE
GOAT UP STAIRS--THE GRAND BUMPER DEGREE--KYAN PEPPER ON THE
GOAT'S BEARD--"BRING FORTH THE ROYAL BUMPER "--THE GOAT ON
THE RAMPAGE.

"Say, are you a Mason, or a nodfellow, or anything?" asked the bad boy
of the grocery man, as he went to the cinnamon bag on the shelf and took
out a long stick of cinnamon bark to chew.

"Why, yes, of course I am, but what set you to thinking of that," asked
the grocery man, as he went to the desk and charged the boy's father
with a half a pound of cinnamon.

"Well, do the goats bunt when you nishiate a fresh candidate?"

"No, of course not. The goats are cheap ones, that have no life, and
we muzzle them, and put pillows over their heads, so they can't hurt
anybody," says the grocery man, as he winked at a brother Odd Fellow who
was seated on a sugar barrel, looking mysterious, "But why do you ask?"

"O, nothin, only I wish me and my chum had muzzled our goat with a
pillow. Pa would have enjoyed his becoming a member of our lodge better.
You see, Pa had been telling us how much good the Masons and Odd Fellers
did, and said we ought to try and grow up good so we could jine the
lodges when we got big, and I asked Pa if it would do any hurt for us
to have a play lodge in my room, and purtend to nishiate, and Pa said it
wouldn't do any hurt. He sa