SWATTY
A Story of Real Boys
By Ellis Parker Butler
With Illustrations
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
1920
TO FRED ERNST SCHMIDT
OF MUSCATINE, IOWA THE FAITHFUL COMPANIONOF MY BOYHOOD THIS BOOK IS MOST GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED
CONTENTS
VI. THE CARDINAL'S SIGNET RING
SWATTY
A STORY OF REAL BOYS
I. THE BIG RIVER
I guess if teachers always knew how lickings were going to turn out theywouldn't lick us fellows so much. I am thinking about Miss Murphy, the onethat taught the room me and Swatty and Bony was in, and about the time shewas going to lick Swatty. One of the times. There were plenty of others.
You see, me and Swatty and Bony is chums, and we go together mostly, butthis was when we was in Miss Murphy's room. She's a good-looker, but she'sa tartar, too, when it comes to licking.
The way of it was this: My sister Fan was mushy over Swatty's brother Herband she didn't care who knew it, because they were engaged, and Fan wasfixing up her things to get married in, and she wished I was a girl so Icould be her flower girl at the wedding, but she didn't know what she'd dowith me. She thought maybe she'd lock me in the cellar, she said, but shedidn't mean it. She was always codding me and Swatty. She'd cod us thatway, and then she'd give us a dime or something. She was all right, andSwatty thought so too.
So then Fan and Herb had a fight, like girls and fellows always do have;but this was a good one. It was because Herb said maybe Fan would li