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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour etre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 T TH^ VIUGH OF lumfjollott) BY THAD. W. II. LEAVITT. OF i ■ ■ ♦ ■ THE WELLS PUBLISHING COMPANY, TORONTO, ONTAKlu. ir* . '^ ^i:'/?i//rr, r\J Entered according to the Act of Parliament, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture, by the Wells Publishing Company, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety- two. r '/s. THE WITCH OF PLUM HOLLOW BOOK I. PART I. CARL MARTYNE AT HOME. It was a little brass plate bearing the modest inscription : CARL MARTYNE COUNSELLOR - AT - LAW I gazed upon it with a fond pride, which years haye not dimmed, and with a satisfaction which I have never experienced since that hour. It meant that I had passed my examination at the Albany Law School and had been admitted to the Bar of the Empire State. The sur- roundings were not luxurious, in truth, they were humble, if not positiTely shabby. The office was a seven by nine Iroom on the fifth flat of a rambling structure, situated on Fourth Avenue, New York. The rent was only ten dollars per month and yet with my limited private income the problem which confronted me was, how I could pay the rent and manage to live, unless clients came to my assistance. A generous aunt THE iriTCn OF bad, in a moment of compassion, bequeathed to me a legacy of three hundred a year, but mindful of the follies of youth, had so arranged the gift that under no circum- stances could I touch the principal. To quote her own words, " That, at least, is safe." By the aid of teaching and pinching, principally pinching, I had worked my way through the law school, graduating as a plodder, and in no sense in a brilliant manner. People predicted my success because I was always self-possessed; critics said, cool and calculating. Gazing upon the brass* plate, ambition and pride seized upon me. I saw fat clients mounting the stairs and enquiring eagerly for the rising young barrister, Carl Martyne. The dingy office expanded into palatial chambers in a marble block on Broadway, with briefs and fees and an imposing bank account. Then I softly closed the door, and for the hundredth time arranged and re-arranged the blank deeds, wills and mortgages on my desk, so that my first client must be impressed with the value of my time and the press of business which demanded my unwearied attention. I cautiously locked the door, took from a tin box a small spirit lamp, lit it, and hung above the flame a miniature pall. These pro- ceedings signified simply "coffee." With a penny bun I completed my breakfast. My matutinal repast over, I raised the window, aired the room and waited for a client. Where he was to come from I had not the most remote idea. Contrary to the advice of my rural friends at Fenn Yann I had plunged into the metropolis with- out even a letter of introduction to a single citizen. Carl Martyne had faith in the future, particularly his own future. I then waited; yes, waited weeks and « : PLUM HOLLOW muntlis. Day by day my resources diminiihed. Long since I had bought a secondhand rug, given up my sleeping-room on Sixth Avenue and boarded myself. A couch in the office, which was covered with horse-hair, furnished a substitute for a bed. The fiend who con- structed that couch will have much to answer for in the future. By placing two chairs in front of the couch I managed to cling to its slippery surface while awake. A copy of Blackstone with an old coat served for a pillow. It was during the rare intervals when I slept that the trouble commenced. It not only commenced, but continued with a regularity which was mathemati- cal in its precision. Once I dozed off I slipped first from my side on to my back and then began my descent by imperceptible gradations to the floor. The dreams which followed : I was being carried by an irresistible current down the Niagara Hiver, I reached the rapids, the velo- city constantly increased, I swept by Goat Island, clutch- ing at the overhanging branches, the roar ef the cataract resounded in my ears (it wai3 but the creaking of the chairs). Then came the fatal plunge, not into the Whirlpool Bapids, but plump on to the floor. Half asleep I scrambled back to my bed of torture, lament- ing the fate of a lawyer without clients, and again closed my eyes. In two minutes I was in a balloon, ten thousand feet above the earth; the balloon was leaking; I could distinctly hear the hissing gas as it escaped (it was the buttons on my coat scratching on the horse- hair) for I had by experience learned that in a night shirt I could not hang on when wide awake. Then the balloon began to sink, I held my breath and clutched the ballast, which I in vain attempted to cast overboard. THE WITCH OF As i swept toward the eailli I abandoned hope, burst into a cry of agony, and once more found myself on the floor. Kot even De Quincey, in his wildest dreams, when under the influence of the potent poppy, created greater horrors than was bom of that horse-hair couch. Idle- ness by day and nightmare by night combined to produce a state of coma in my intellectual faculties. I could not read. Carl Martyne was rapidly losing faith in himself. One sultry afternoon, as I sat listlessly gazing out of my window, I was startled to my feet by hearing at my elbow a mellow voice repeating " Martyne, Martyne," with the accent on the last syllable. Turning suddenly, I found myself face to face with a little old man, dressed in a costume which might have come over in the May- flower. In his left hand he held a knitted cap, in hio right a number of faded papers, while under his arm he carried a rusty iron box. My heart gave a great thump. Was it a case at last? Then I asked my visitor to be seated. I noted that his head was bald, save a fringe of white hair which ran, like a great rufl^, around the base of the skull and was con- tinued by a bushy fringe of beard under the chin. His upper lip and his ruddy cheeks were clean shaven. For some minutes he spoke not a word, while his keen blue eyes surveyed me carefully from head to foot. It was not a stare but simply a weighing-up. Instinctively I felt that all depended upon my quietly submitting to the scrutiny. By almost imperceptible degrees the corners of his mouth widened and a smile crept over his PLUM HOLLOW. irat into he floor. »n under greater h. Idle- i)ined to ilties. I Lng faith [ig out of taring at lartyne," mddenly, L, dressed the May- ip,in hio s arm he oted that hich ran, was con- lin. His ren. For ceen blue ;. It was ictlvely I Itting to frees the t oyer his face, which was now a picture of good humor and com- plaisant satisfaction. I ventured to enquire, " Is there anything which I can do for you ? " His reply was, " You are Martyne, Carl Martyne ? " " Yes, that is my name." "Of French origin ? " he queried. " I believe so." "I have been looking for you," he said. Then he I pulled his chair up to the desk and began slowly untying i the faded tape which held the bundle of papers. I am not of an imaginative turn of mind, yet I felt that Ian atmosphere of the past was gradually diffusing itsell through the room. As my visitor slowly unfolded the musty parchments, quaint with leaden seals and faded blue ribbons, I saw, rising before me and peopling the ■shabby little office, the stately cavaliers of the colonial |age, the pilgrims and puritans— the woman upon whose )rea8t blazed the "Scarlet Letter," by whose side gam- boled little Pearl. The rusty iron box, resting on the table near at hand, jxhaled a breath born of Mother Earth, in whose lap it ^uust have long been buried. Its sides were coated with green mould, which hung in little patches, and at ^Qies they seemed to wink at me and whisper, "We hide secret." My curoisity was aroused to the highest pitch, and ret a feeling possessed me that what was taking place lid not belong to the unexpected, but that iu some way, knew not how, my future was associated with these msty papers and the iron box. This was all the lore remarkable as the man before me was a 8 Till': WITCH OF V stranger. I had never before met such a type. Strive as I might I could not divest myself of tlie impression tluit he belonged to the remote past and consequently might suddenly vanish; or that through some mysterious oversight he had been forgotten by Old Father Time. He could not have died, for there he was at my side, hale, hearty and smiling. His age I could not guess. Judg- ing by his hair, which was of that peculiar whiteness and fineness found only in extreme old age, he might have seen a century. The tint in his cheeks, the smile on his lips, the brightness of his blue eyes, which spark- led and twinkled, said this man is in the prime of life. Having arranged the papers to his satisfaction, he drew a key from his pocket and fitted it in the lock of the box. Then he broke the silence, saying in a mellow, liquid tone, " So you are Carl Martyne." I nodded assent. '• My name," he continued, " is Billa La Hue. I am of French origin, though English born and English bred. Your name, Martyne, indicates a similar origin. I want some business done by a lawyer and I have sttlected you. Will you take the case ? " " I shall only be too happy to do so, Mr. La Rue," 1 answered. So critical was my luiancial position at that moment that I would have boldly entered into a legal dispute with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at Wash- ington, or the dignitary on the Wool Sack at Westmin- ster. " It will take time," said La Hue, " and perhaps you can't spare it," glancing nervously at the dummy papers pi.UM noij/n '. scattered over my desk. " Innocent soul," 1 murmured to myself, "They no more represent cases, tliaD Carl Martyne represents capital." La Rue heaved a sigh of relief, and pointing to the parchments, said, " Thesu aie the title deeds and grants from the Crown for my property, but other people are in possession, and what can 1 do ? I have been absent such a long, long time." Then he folded his hands and looked at me in a way which was pathetic in its trust and simplicity. For a minute I waited for an explanation, but as it never came 1 took up the parchments and soon discovered that they were chronologically arranged. The lirst was a proclamation issued in 1783 by the Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty in British North America, to the United Empire Loyalists, offering them an asylum in Canada. Then followed an Order- in-Council setting apart certain pubUc lands for dis- tribution. These documents were followed by a series of letters, written in reply to an application for a large tract of land situated in the district of Johnstown, Upper Canada, made by Billa La Rue, an United Empire Loyalist. From these letters I gathered La Rue had, at a very early date, settled in the colony of Mas- sachusetts, from which place he had been driven by the revolutionists of 1776, abandoning in his flight a very valuable estate, which was subsequently confiscated by the continental authorities. The last document was a deed for the grant of land, with an immense leaden seal, to which was attached a broad blue ribbon. The deed conveyed two thousand acres of land, and from the metes and boundaries I learned that the tract fronted upon the Biver iSt. Lawrence, but as my •■i t » 10 THE WITCH OF I' knowledge of early Canadian geography was limited to a perusal of Farkman's account of the tragic fate of the Jesuits on the shores of Lake Huron, I was unable to give even a guess as to the locality of the grant. My lack of equipment for the task did not deter me from entering upon the case. Impecuniosity is reckless and hunger an imperative master. I possessed both in an eminent degree. As my client vouchsafed no further information, I proceeded to question him. "These documents are unquestionably genuine, Mr. La Eue, but where is the missing link which connects you with the claim. Are you the heir-at-law, and are you certain that the original Billa La Hue did not alienate the estate or bequeath it to some person at the time of his death, which must have occurred a century since?" " It is mine, mine, mine— all mine," murmured the enigma before me. , "Can you prove it?" " That is for you to do," he answered, "what is the use of a lawyer if he can't prove things ? " "True," I replied, "but you must give me a state- ment of your claim, the data upon which it is based, and a geneological synopsis of your descent from the original Bi)la La Eue." "You must find it," was the simple and laconic answer. He then unlocked the iron box and disclosed the contents to view. It was full of of old gold coins from the French mint, issued long ere the first empire had Go PLUM HOLLOW. n as limited ragic fate on, I was ity of the t deter me is reckless id both in Qo farther nuine, Mr. I connects 7y and are i did not ion at the a century lured the lat is the le a state- lased, and e original 1 laconic losed the ins from ipire had been dreamed of, much less consummated by the daring Corsican. " There," said La Rue, " is the pay for your services. Go to Canada and find what I want." He took up the knitted cap, gave me his hand and in a moment was gone. I sat as one in a dream, then I rushed into the corridor only to see the car of the elevator rapidly descending. Down the stairs I darted, determined to overtake my client and obtain from him, at least, his address. I was doomed to disappointment. The car was empty and La Rue had disappeared from sight. Up and down the street surged the everyday throng, but nowhere could I catch a view of a form which in the slightest degree resembled that of my first client. Suddenly remembering that in my hurry I had left my office door open with the box of gold exposed, I as hurriedly mounted the stairs again. I should not have been surprised had I found that the parchments and gold had, in my absence, disappeared by following my mysterious client, but there they were as I had left them. Carefully locking the door I poured the gold upon the table. Counting it, 1 found that it consisted of 332 pieces, all of the same mint. The value I did not know as I had never before seen similar coins. After carefully arranging and depositing the parchments in my desk, I replaced the gold in the box and in so doing made the discovery that the box had been constructed so as to hold precisely 333 coins and therefore that one coin was missing. Perhaps La Rue had retained it as a momento of the past, or to confront me with upon some future occasion. I took the box to Wall xStrcel for the purpose of ascertaining the value of the cuius aui If? THE WirCH OF also to deposit them in a place of safety. I decided upon the agency of the Bank of Montreal at No. 59, being influenced in my choice by the fact that Montreal was a French-Canadian city and that in consequence the officials would in all probability possess a knowledge of the ancient coins. Enquiring the value of one of the pieces from the cashier, he confessed that he was as ignorant as myself, remarking that I could sell it by weight. Accepting his advice I disposed of the entire sum, except one coin, which I retained. Placing the proceeds on deposit as a trust fund, re the Billa La Rue case, I returned to my oflice and for hours pondered over the eventful circumstances of the day. I carefully re-examined the papers, but discovered no new facts. The iron box contained no clue which would assist in solving the mystery. That it had been buried for many years, the rust and the earth clinging to its sides demonstrated. I finally decided that my client must be a lineal descendant of the original iiilla La Hue, who, for some unknown reason, had recently come into possession of the manuscripts and the box, upon which he founded his claim. It was evidently my duty in the premises to ascertain the location of the ancient district of Johnstown, and to search the records in the Registry Oflice, and, if necessary, the archives at Toronto and Ottawa, in the hope of discovering a clue which would substantiate my client's claim. Trocuring a map of the Province of Ontario, I carefully traced the country bordering upon the St. Lawrence River, but found no mention of Johnstown District. Finally 1 decided that the most expeditious way to set the question at rest, was to proceed to Canada at once. My pr«)paration8 PLUM HOLLOW. 13 I 1 were soon made. Paying my rent for three months in advance and securing the services of a youth as office boy, to explain to La Rue, when next he called, where I was, I departed. The next morning found me at King- ston, an atiquated Canadian city situated at the foot of Lake Ontario. A hurried inquiry at the land office demonstrated that my route had been well chosen. From the Deputy Registrar I learned that the old Johnstown District had long since been replaced by counties, of which Leeds and Grenville now covered the greater portion of that ancient territory. He advised me to proceed to Gananoque, where, no doubt, I should be able to obtain the desired information relative to the loca- tion of the La Rue estate. From Kingston I sailed on a small steamer through the Thousand Islands. The sum- mer cottages and palatial residences, which dotted the islands on the American side, filled me with astonish- ment, while the sylvan beauty of the Canadian waters, where each islet remained in a state of nature, produced a contrast full of picturesque and placid beauty. Dur- ing the past twenty-four hours my mind had been constantly peopled with images of the colonial past. I had grown to look upon the Canadian frontier as a relic of the ag<) when the intrepid missionaries and voyageurs had begun the exploration, from Tadousac and Ville Marie, of the North American continent. At Gananoque I ascertained that many years ago a raill had been built, about sixteen miles east, on the bank of the St. Lawrence, where a small stream falls into the river, and that at the present time the place is known as La Rue's Mills. This was all that 1 could learn. Leaving my baggage at the comfortable hotel vvl Ih u- THE WITCH OF the genial Irish proprietor, McCarney, I determined to proceed on foot, making inquiries along the route. Taking the river road the next morning I found that I entered upon a scene of enchantment. To the south I caught, through openings in the pines and low bushes, Yistas of river and islands stretching away to the American shore. The background, at the north, was a range of low -lying hills, clothed with tangled masses of shrubbery and crowned with sentinel hemlocks whose topmost^ bows nodded to me a welcome. They seemed to know that I came from a great city, full of dust and heat, and stretched forth their long arms as if to fold me in the embrace of Mother Nature, livening found me in front of a substantial block-house, evidently a relic of the early past. At the door sat a woman whose round jolly face was the picture of good nature. My request for a night's shelter met with a cordial " Yes" After a substantial supper I lit my cigar and entered upon conversation with my hostess, whom I found seated beneath a Lombardy poplar in front of the house. From her I learned that these trees were originally planted by the French voyageurs all the way from Quebec to the Straits of Mackinac, to mark their camp- ing posts. Good fellowship was at once established, for she drew from a box a churchwarden, the smoke of which soon blended with that of my cigar and floated lazily out upon the river. I produced a pocket flask and said, " Will you join me in a glass ? " Her small eyes rested upon the case with a complacency which said, "It will complete my happiness." Peeping cautiously about, to see that her daughter was not visible, she grasped the flask and drank a potion '} ' j PLUM HOLLOW. 15 Qined to e route. I that I e south ' bushes, to the h, was a lasses of :s whose seemed lust and to fold J found lently a n whose ire. My " res." entered [ found e house, riginally y from ir camp- )hed, for noke of 1 floated et flask ir small Y which Peeping raa not potion J commensurate with her bulk, but out of all proportion to the size of the bottle. Reluctantly she returned it, as if loth to part with so dear a friend. I felt that my offering had found the way to her heart. 8he closed her eyes for a few minutes, folded her hands. I thought she had fallen asleep, but such was not the case. She opened the conversation by saying, " You are a Yankee?" "Yes," I replied. . " Where were you born ? " "AtPennYann." "How old are you?" "Twenty-five." Then her loquacity burst all the barriers of restraint. She ran on and on with questions and queries, remarks and comments, opinions and conclusions, intermingled with flashes and sallies of Irish wit which left me in a half dazed condition. She waited not for answers; with the sound of her own voice she was supremely content. She was Irish. " Irish to the backbone " was her phrase. As she rambled from the County Down to St. Patrick's Day in the Morning, I discovered that she possessed, in addition to an imagination almost bound- less in the fertility of its resources, a fund of informa- tion and shrewd common sense rarely found in a woman in her position in life. She reminded me of a mountain torrent long pent up and then suddenly set free. She poured forth little bits of history, biography, local gossip mingled with sly allusions to scandals, which would have made her fortune as a story teller in the New York Weekly. She only paused when completely out of breath. i| i 16 THE WITCH OF Seizing my opportunity, I asked if she knew a place called La Rue's Mills. The volubility which had excited my admiration, suddenly disappeared. The confidential glance was replaced by a look of extreme caution bordering upon distrust, if not suspicion. As a final resort I drew upon the consolation devoutly wished for, the pocket com panion. The temptation was two powerful for resist ance. For the second time she placed it to her lips and drained it of the last drop. Then I proceeded boldly by enquiring, " What do you think I am looking for? " " The gold," she answered. Up came the iron box and its contents before my mental vision. Yet I decided to give her no clue to my secret, but extract from her all information in hei possession. " It would be a fine thing to get hold of," I whisp ered, making a leap in the dark. " Yes; but it will never be found," she replied. V "Why?" I inquired. " Because it is guarded," she said in a stage whisper. ■ "Who guards it?" "Ohl you know," she said, glancing at me with a suspicious look. "Who?" I repeated. " Old Billa himself," she answered, at the same time glancing nervously around, as if expecting the old man to suddenly appear at the mention of his own name. " Do you know where it is ? " I asked boldly. " N o," she answered sadly, " not for a certainty, but I have a good idea. But its no use; he won't part with it, and you may as well go home." PLUM HOLLOW. Yt Beyond that statement she wonld not go, being no doubt influenced by the fear that I might secure the treasure. In the course of the evening I obtained the follow- ing facts: At the time of the llevolutionary War, Billa La Rue had obtained a large grant of land from the Crown, the western boundary ot the estate being within half a mile of the spot where I was sitting. On the estate was a small creek which emptied into the 8t. Lawrence. On this creek Billa had built one of the first grist mills erected in the Johnstown District. A dam had been thrown across a narrow ravine which had created an artificial lake nearly ten miles in length, thus furnishing plenty of water for motive power. La Rue, who must have been a man of great energy and possessed of a deep love for the comforts of civilization, had also built for himself a house which was a marvel in the days of the universal log cabin. It was a large rambling two and a half story frame building with«a steep roof, and yet remained in an excellent state of preservation. By some means he had succeeded in obtaining a supply of apple, chestnut, sweet and English walnut trees, thus transforming the Canadian forest into an English homestead. Grapes and small fruits were also obtained and planted in the ravines, the hills to the north being left in a state of nature, thus furnishing a shelter which enabled him to raise fruit, which in the open could not have withstood the rigours of the Canadian winter. My informant, when a little girl, had been the playmate of Sarah, a stepdaughter of La Rue, he having married a widow late in life, with whom he lived for many years upon terms the reverse of amicable. During the war of 18 TUK WITCH OF 1812-15, La Hue had built several small ride pits on his estate upon the banks of the river. These pits were garrisoned by red coats, who guarded the batteaux engaged in transporting provisions and munitions of war from Montreal to Little York. Long ere his death he was known to be a wealthy man, and was reputed to have his savings all in gold, but where they were con- cealed not even his wife had been able to discov<)r. At his decease the estate fell into his wife's possession. She disposed of all the land with the exception of a few acres upon which the homestead stood. From that hour until the day of her death she and her daughter devoted all their time and energies to a search for the hidden gold. Not a brass farthing was ever found. Gradually there grew up in the neighborhood the belief that the old La Hue house was haunted by its former owner, whose spirit returned nightly to guard the hiding place. TL IS legend did not deter the widow and Sarah. They dug up th% cellar bottom, pried off the oak wainscot- ting of every room in the house, undermined the great chimney until it fell in ruins at their feet. Finding no reward within doors they resorted to the garden, which they dug over and over again. Not content they even pried into the tomb in which La Eue's remains had been buried, only to meet with disappointment. Then the public took up the search and continued it for many years with a likfe result. I had been assigned by my fat hostess to the ranks of the treasure-seekers. 1 assured her that I had never before heard of the hidden gold. She listened to me with a smile of incredulity which spoke volumes of doubt. ) When I retired to my chamber I fell into a reverie. ^LU^f HOLLOW. 19 a reverie. I liad become so accustomed, during the past few days, i to the unexpected, if not the mysterious, that no dis- covery, however startling, would have surprised me. The questions which confronted me were: — Who I was my client? What was his relation to Bllla La Hue, the elder? Had he ever been in Canada, and, if so, hrvd he visited the homestead, and for what purpose ? That he was unknown to my hostess was beyond a doubt. Where did that old gold come from and where did he obtain possession of the original papers and deeds? To none of these queries could I find a reasonable answer. The next morning I hastened to pay a visit to the seat of the mystery, though with no hopes of securing any new facts relative to the case. 1 was convinced that the property, which had for nearly one hundred years been alienated from the La Hue family, could not be recovered by my client, i'ossession had long since quieted any flaw which might have originally existed in the title. At the mouth of La Rue's creek I found a man fishing for cat-fish, from whom I learned that the original mill had been built back about a quarter of a mile from the river. The house on the hill had been the home of La Bue, but nothing remained of the original structure save the frame work which was of solid oak. I found where the old mill had been built a few foundation stones, some remnants of machinery and the ruins of the original dam. The impression suddenly came upon me that I should visit the tomb of La Rue. Wending my way back to the mouth of the creek, from the fisherman I ascertained the location of the last resting-place of the founder of the settlement. Mj informant pointed » 1 20 THE WITCH OF up through the orchard to a narrow gorge, whicli stretched away hke an avenue between the hills clothed with i\ thick growth of pines. As I picked my way through the narrow defile a feeling of sadness crept over me, combined with the sensations which I had felt when poring over the musty parchments in New York. Under a wide-spreading chestnut tree, to which clung an enormous grapevine, I came suddenly upon a great marble slab supported at each end by granite pillars raising the slab about two feet from the ground. On every side the grass grew in tangled masses, interwoven with struggling shrubs and golden rod. Perched upon the slab was a diminutive girl, with bare feet and legs red with scratches from briars. She was swinging her legs backwards and forwards, singing at the same time snatches of song in a treble, piping voice. Her eyes were nearly round and of a liquid blue. Her dress, a shabby bit of calico, hanging in shreds and tatters. The little hands were brown as berries. On her head no covering save a tangled mass of flaxen hair which fell in great masses to her waist. Unconscious of my presence she sat upon the tomb of Billa La Bue, the embodiment of life and mirth, singing over decay and death. Smiles flitted over her face and wreathed her red lips. Her songs floated down the glade and sank to rest amid the rustle of the overhanging pines. Though I had not uttered a word she suddenly paused, looked up, and discovered me. As I came forward and said "Good morning, my little girl of the wood," she nodded her head and did not attempt to run aw.^y as I had expected. Then I PLUM HOLLOW. 21 took a seat by her side. The place was so lonely that I much marvelled at her presence amongst the tomb- stones, several of which were scattered around, but not one upright. They were lying at all angles, as if Time had touched them with his dexter finger in mockery of man's attempt to perpetuate the names of those who had passed over the Great Divide. " What are you doing here ? " I inquired. " Waiting for him to come back," she answered. Then she cried out is childish glee, " There's Chitter." I looked in vain for some person to appear, and then said, " Who is Chitter, and where is he ? " " You don't know Chitter, why Chitter is a squirrel, there, there," pointing to a half-fallen tombstone, upon which Chitter sat, evidently eyeing me with distrust. . .• " You go over there," said my little friend, pointing to a mound much resembling a grave. I complied. Then Chitter, by spasmodic quirps and jerks, advances and retreats, gradually came nearer and finally perched on the tomb beside the little girl, where he was rewarded with a crust of bread which was taken from a very dirty rag. Chitter ran gaily away and I took his place. " Chitter," said my little friend. " has got a wife and family. Chitter has gone home to tell his wife that Tm here." We waited a few minutes when Chitter's wife appeared and again I was ordered to return to my seat on the old neglected grave. Rosa (that was the wife's name) came frisking up to her child- friend but the cares of a family soon called her away. After her departure I inquired about the family and 22 THE WITCH OF was told, with the greatest gravity, " That there were two of the cutest little baby squirrels you ever set your eyes on." "Let us go and visit them," I proposed. "No, you're a stranger, but if you stay until they grow up I'll make you acquainted," was the response. 1 then inquired the name of my new found friend. " Rue," was the answer. "Rue what?" "Rue Jahns." • , r t - ,, ., "Where do you live?" \ ■ ». • . ' •' " At the p'int." r ; "Where is that? " Don't you know the p'int ? You must be a green- norn." To this impeachment I assented, and then inquired, " How it happened that she knew Chitter and Rosa ? " " Oh 1 I run away every day, father never says a word, but sometimes mother tans me." " What will she say to-day ? " " She wont know it. She's gone to Brock'ill to soil taters and cowcumbers and garden sass. Oh my I site's promised to buy me a picter. Yes, a real picter, not a black thing like we have in books, but a genu cr-iiie picter, full of the most beau-ti-f ul er-ist colors, all pink and green, and, and you know." She stopped for want of breath. At the mention of the picture her eyes flashed, she drew herself up to her full height and waved her chubby, dirty hands in the air. At tlrst sight I iiad thou>;ht her not more than lere were r set your iiitil they ponse. friend. PLUM HOLLOW. 23 ) a green- inquired, iosa?" r says a 1 to sell ly ! she's cter, not -u er-iiie all pink or want ilied, she chubby, •re than ten years of age, but now concluded that she must be twelve or thirteen, throv. ;h very small for that age. " How old are you ? " I inquired. " Don't know," in a tone of the utmost unconcern. Then she grew silent ; the long lashes fell upon her cheek. Finally in a shy half whisper full of doubt, she said, '* Can you keep a secret ? " "Yes." "You won't tell?" "No." " Hope to die in a minute— to drop stone dead and die and go to " " Stop," I exclaimed. " I won't tell." "1 guess you won't," she said, very slowly, as if debating my veracity in her own mind, and then sud- denly, "You don't know mother anyway and father wouldn't care." She slid down from her perch on the tomb, dropped on her knees and crawled beneath the great slab. When she emerged she held in her hand a little roll which she clutched with the tenacity bom of intense love. She peeped about with a frightened look and then, making a table of the slab, she carefully unrolled the parcel. I saw at a glance that it consisted of a number of pieces of birch bark, the edges of which were ragged and dirty. Picking up four little stones she unrolled the outer piece of bark, taking care that I did not see the inner surface. " Now shut your eyes," she said, " and no peeking." I shut my eyes. " Open," she cried. Then I looked. Spread out on the slab was the h '^ I i 24 THE WITCH OF piece of birch bark with a httle stone on each comer to prevent it from curling up. On the bark was a paint ing, or more properly, a sketch. I am not an artist, but I must confess that I opened my eyes with astonishment. I knew that the artist stood beside me. An artist with dirty hands and feet, scratched legs and a tattered dress. Impulsively I stooped down, seized her in my arms ar.u kissed each dirty cheek. A frightened look came into her eyes, then she put her arms about my neck and began to sob. She was crying for joy, not sorrow. As she brushed away the tears, she whispered with a pathe- tic sigh, " Now 1 know you won't tell." I placed her on the ground and one by one we examined her treasures. They were sketches of the scene where we stood. The great chestnut tree, Chitter and Rosa, the pines with their cones strewn beneath, wild flowers struggling into the sunlight through the tangled grasses, a glimpse of the river with the islands beyond, the ravine with its babbling brook. In each sketch crude attempts at coloring had been made. The drawing, though lacking in finish, was striking in its accuracy and realistic in the extreme. In some way, I know not how, this child- artist had caught the salient points of each scene depicted. The work was strong, natural, full of promise of great power, I believed genius. Chitter and Rosa were full of life. The leaves on the great chestnut rustled, the pines sighed and sang their everlasting requiem, the grasses grew, the (lowers blossomed. " Surely," said 1 to myself, " amid these pines and hills has been born a great artist, and she is my friend. When I asked where she got her paints, she darted PLUM irofj/)\v. 25 under the great slab and came out with a ragged cotton handkerchief with a knot tied in each corner. From the corners she produced, in succession, a stumpy black lead pencil, which I noticed she had sharpened by gnawing off the wood with her little teeth; a cake of blueing, used in washing clothes; a spoonful of yellow ochre and some crude Venetian red. With these materials, which she had picked up, she had created the wonderful " picters," as she called them. v ' " ■ " AVhere are your brushes ?" I inquired. She simply stared at me with a puzzled expression on her face. " How do you put the paints on ? " I continued. " Oh ! with my lingers." Brushes were an unknown quantity with this artist. We sat down on the slab and had a long talk. She had not shown her treasures to any person before. Last week she had hoed nine rows of cabbages for her mother under the promise that a real painted picture should be bought for her in lirock'ill. " The picture will come to-night." Then she clapped her hands in childish glee, stopped, and in grave tones said, " I won't hoe any more cabbages." At tliat moment I too hated cabbages. A surprise awaited me. She climbed up on the slab and gazed long and anxiously up the ravine. " Who are you looking for ? " I queried. " Grandpa." " Where does he live ? " "Don't know." "What does he do?" "Don't do nothin'." r .. v? "What is his name?" j . M? THE WITCH OF " Aiu't got a name. I tell you he's my grandpa." " Tell me all about him," I said. " Well he comes out of the woods, he does, and sits down with me on this stone. This is his chestnut tree, and he planted all these posies (pointing to the golden rod), and these are his graves, and he says them that's buried ain't dead, but live awake, and, and he says the pine trees talk, only most folks can't tell what they say ; but I can. Listen, don't you hear them whispering, paint, paint pretty picters ; and he showed me that them cones are beautif uler than they look to you." She ran and gathered some cones and pointed out their convolutions and the tints and gradations in color, for which she had no name, but she saw them all with the eye of an artist. Then she sadly shook her head and said, " I'm afeard he has gone away with a nasty, dirty, iron box, and he'll get tired out, and get sick, and won't come back to see Rue any more." My heart gave a bound. Grandpa and the iron box. Could it be that this child knew my first client? Hue's blue eyes were full of great tears. I had no time to question her. She uttered a sharp cry of pain and cried out, " There's Dan Polly, he's got a gun and he says he'll shoot Chitter and Eosa and the baby squirrels, but you won't let him, will you?" "No, I won't let him." She went out a little way to meet her enemy, who was a great, lumbering, callow youth. Dan looked sur- prised when he caught sight of me, but came shambling along, paying no attention to little Hue, whose Hashing eyes betokened the fiery spirit burning within. Ere I PLUM HOLLOW. 27 ndpa." , and sits itnut tree, he golden em that's 3 says the they say ; bispering, that them inted out 3 in color, I all with m af eard box, and e back to iron box. a sharp e's got a and the ny, who :ed sur- imbling Hashing Ere I could interfere, Dan raised the gun and levelled it at Cliitter, who had returned and was sitting on a low branch of the chestnut. With a cry of rage and fury Hue sprang at the boy, throwing up her hands to protect lier pet. I rushed at Dan and at that instant the gun was discharged. The next moment I struck the great lout and sent him sprawling on the grass. In the smoke and confusion I felt that the child must be killed. No; like a wildcat she rushed upon the prostrate boy. Her little fists struck him in the eyes, her little nails scratched his cheeks until the blood ran. I caught her ill my arms. Dan scrambled to his feet and, with a bellow and a roar which I shall never forget, bolted down the ravine. I seized the gun and broke it in twain over a fallen tombstone. Hue began to laugh and shout, " We've licked him, we've licked him." As she held up her hand I saw that the blood was running down her arm and trickling from her elbow. "My dear Rue," I cried, "you have been shot." I seized her hand and saw that a single grain had passed completely through the palm. She looked down and said, " Pshaw I I don't care, we've licked Dan Polly and smashed his gua." Chitter gave a responsive chuckle in the top of the tree, to which he had run for safety. I bound up the wound with my handkerchief. Rue crept under the slab and hid her art treasures. I took her by the hand and started for her home, which proved to be a mile away. i. ' ; , The cabin, for it could not be called a house, had been built from timbers which had washed upon 28 TUF. WITCH OF tlie beach. It was not more than six feet in height and was banked with earth half way up to the eaves to keep out the intense cold of the Canadian winter. Attached to the main building was a diminutive structure, which Eue informed me was father's room. The door was open and we entered without any warning. ' "That's mother," said Kue, pointing to a stalwart woman. ' ' Madam," said I, " your little girl has been wounded in the hand by the accidental discharge of a " I never finished the sentence. '' '' Mrs. Jahns poured out upon Kue a flood of abuse which shocked me. " It was all her fault. She should have been at home working in the garden. It's what comes from gadding around the woods." - Rue slipped quietly away into her father's room, from which there emerged a little wizened old man, whose watery eyes and trembling hands cried ** Drink." His clothing was in the last stages, verging upon disso- lution from his body. It might, for aught I knew, have formed part of the wardrobe of Rip Van Winkle when he fled from Gretchen. Listening to the clatter of Mrs. Jahn's tongue and gazing at Jahn, I said to myself— The hero and the vixen of the Catskills have come to life again in Canada. Madam Jahns continued the outpour of her wrath. Nothing but death will silence that tongue. While Jahns quietly asked what was the cause of the accident and the full extent of the injury. In my explanation I assumed the principal blame, ascribing it to my negligence in not forbidding the boy to shoot. height and ves to keep Attached bure, which )r was open a stalwart n wounded 1 of abuse en at home m gadding er's room, old man, "Drink." 3on disso- I knew, m Winkle he clatter said to alls hare 3r wrath. While of the In my ribing it ;o shoot. PLUM nar.Low. Jahns produced a few drops of brandy, with which we bound up the wound. Jahns impressed me in a peculiar manner. His brow was broad and furrowed with deep lines, his hands small and exquisitely shaped, in his very rags there lingered a far-off culture and refinement utterly at variance with his present sur- roundings and attire. How he could have married that woman was a mystery beyond my ken. His language proclaimed him an educated man, while the utter neglect in which Eue had grown up, for she had told me without a blush that she could not read or write, proved the depths to which the father had fallen. Momentarily Jahns casts furtive glances at his spouse, who busied herself with spasmodic outbreaks of vituperation, blended with lamentations which should rank with those of Jeremiah. * '^'*^^ I knew that the moment I departed Jahns and Hue would fall heirs to a lecture of which I had only listened to the prelude. I assured Jahns that on my arrival at Mallorytown, a village some four miles distant, I would send a doctor to properly dress Rue's wound. To this proposition he assented, but suggested that brandy would be very convenient for bathing the hand should infiammation set in. I promised him a bottle of the stimulant, knowing full well that the inflammation which he was anxious to allay, had not only set in but had long since become chronic. As I prepared to depart Hue gave a tug at my elbow and said, " Won't you look at my picter ? " Then she ventured to ask her mother for the promised reward. "I didn't get no picter," was the answer, "but 1 bought you a beautiful pair of shoes." HI THE WITCH OF "Shoes," repeated Rue, with scorn on her lips and anger in her eyes. Mrs. Jahns handed her the shoes. The moment they touched her hands she flung them into the fireplace, in which a great fire was burning, and then stalked out of the cabin without uttering a word. Madam was so dumbfounded that she did not attempt to rescue them until they were as crisp and shrivelled and shrunken as her own soul. Fearful of future consequences I placed a silver dollar in her hand, with which to purchase another pair. Bidding Jahns a cordial good-bye, 1 departed. As I trudged alons; to the ruins of the old mill my heart was filled with unutterable sadness for poor little Rue. What could I, a penniless lawyer, do for the child artist ? For the first time in my life 1 prayed for wealth. Then came the wild resolve, 1 will steal the child and take her with me to New York. The thought of the attic office, the squalid surroundings, the dirty avenue and the children who played in the gutters, told me that the project was madness. Bad as was her lot here, it would be infinitely worse in the great city. There would be no great chestnut tree, no Chitter, no sparkling river, no whispering pines, no fiowering golden rod, no voice of nature speaking to her, sympathetic soul in a language which only the children of genius can interpret. I sat down on a stone by the wayside and the hot tears coursed down my cheeks. There was a rush from behind, the swirl of a dress, two little arms clasped tight around my neck, two blue eyes looked up into mine filled with infinite pity and tenderness, but brave eyes PLUM HOLLOW. 31 ler lips and he moment he fireplace, stalked out le did not I crisp and ed a silver nother pair, rted. As I y heart was little Hue. hild artist? ilth. Then i and take >f the attic ivenue and ne that the re, it would ^ould be no g river, no lo voice of a language )ret. I sat hot tears rush from Eusped tight into mine brave eyes scintilating witl\ hope and comfort, and faith in the future. "Don't cry 'cause your going away," she whispered, " you'll come back again, back again. Listen I hear the pines saying, * back again, back again.' You hear them, I know you do. They'll tell me all about you when you're gone. Don't be afeared." A far-away look stole over her face, as if she were gazing beyond, and beyond, away out into the great world and the future. She lay quite still in my arms, and then slowly closed her eyes as she murmured, " Some day I'm going away too; away over the great sea, and mto such a beautiful land, full of castles and flowers and big, big towns, where there's an old, old city, older then Billa La Rue's tomb. Oh my I" she clasped her liands," the pretty picters, and the dear little angels, and the marble men and women and children, they can't talk to you, but they'll speak to me all day long and come and whisper in my ear when I'm fast asleep and tell me how to paint. Don't you wish you could see them? Some day, bimeby, we'll go and make them a visit, but we've got to come back here tirst and sit on Grandpa's big flat stone, and then the pines will tell us what to do. 1 know, but I won't tell; not now, anyway." She kissed me first on one cheek and then on the other, saying, " Take them away with you." Then she sprang from my lap and in a minute she was gone. When Rue had disappeared I walked rapidly for- ward. As the sun was setting behind a great blue mountain I entered Mallorytown, a little hamlet not deserving the name of village. A hurried inquiry brought me to Dr. Lane's com- i|< 32 THE WITCH OF fortable otTice. Explaining the nature of the wound and my desire that he should visit Rue the following morning, I paid his modest fee and departed for the hotel, where, after a substantial meal, I secured quarters for the night. Making inquiries for some old settler who was trustworthy, the landlord directed me to Squire Mallory. I found the Squire at his comfortable home. A. glance at the man convinced me that he was the proper person to carry out the plan which I had formed. He was an elderly man yet full of vigor, acute in his intellectual faculties and, I soon discovered, possessed of a fund of humor, common sense and shrewdness rarely met with. In brief terms I explained that I wished to make some inquiries relative to a family by the name of Jahns, which resided near La Rue's Mills. The Squire gave me the following facts:— The Jahns family was originally from Wales. They were all distinguished United Empire Loyalists and, down to the last descend- ant were Tory in politics, Church of England in religion and aristocrats in every fibre. The original founders of the family in Canada had received from the Crown vast estates in the district of Johnstown. They built the first mills, and for many years played an all important part in the political history of Upper Canada. They, with a few other leading families, had constituted " The Famly Compact," an alliance which had secured all the offices of honor and emolument in the infant colony. The Jahns had been lawyers, judges, high sheriffs, while, in recognition of his services, one had been knighted by the King. The advent of responsible government, to which they were bitterly opposed, brought about their PLUM HOLLOW. ml nf^Na ^aiB^ -..***^ downfall, though at the present time sever ht'ld positions of trust in the government Bervice. JJy gradual gradations their fortunes hjid declined. The broad acres had been alienated, and to-day the survivors were as poor as their ancestors had been rich. Fred- erick Jahns, to whom my inquiry referred, had been left an independent fortune. He had received a liberal education and had travelled extensively in Europe. Graduating as a barrister with distinguished honors he had never entered upon the practice of his profession. To supply his wants he had, at a very early date, replen- ished his exchequer by selling off blocks of land. Acre by acre his patrimony slipped away. Unfortunately at the same time he acquired a passionate love for the wine which sparkles in the cup. (The only thing which he ever acquired, said the Squire with a merry twinkle in his eye). To complete the catastrophe he married ail estimable lady, when only a few hundreds remained at the credit side of his bank account and a few acres of land in his possession at the mouth of La Hue's creek. A little girl was born but the mother never recovered. On her death-bed she induced Jahns to transfer the land to the infant daughter. It was a wise step as it has made a home for Jahns in his old age. Left with an infant, he made the final plunge and in a few months married the German woman who had been secured as a nurse for the child. The step was a matri- monial failure but a financial success. From the day of the ceremony he has not had a moment's peace but he has always had something to eat and a small supply of brandy. Jahns never does any work, he relegates the work and the talk to his German half. He pores over *2 u J 11/': wire If n't think gave her since her 3 place a is to be ''s hearty ollars per annum (it was a third of my income) should be used H3 follows:— Two complete suits of strong, comfortable clothing, one for summer the other for winter. She must be sent to the district school six months in the year, even if resort had to be made to the arm of the law against Jahns. The balance of the fund to be expended in materials required for drawino; and painting in oils and water colors. Rue's decision as to wliat she required to govern the selection made. No local teachers were to be employed, and the child was under no circumstances to be informed as to the source of her income. When she grew older, if she wished to write she was to do so through Squire Mallory. I returned to the hotel well pleased with my arrange- ment, which looked to the welfare of the little artist. When I reviewed the occurrences of the past few days I could scarcely divest myself of the thought that it had all been a dream. My solitary companion, with whom I struck up an acquaintance, proved to be a Member of the Canadian Parliament and a lawyer from the county town, Brock- ville. To him I explained the object of my search and after reviewing the circumstances decided to place the case, relative to the title, in his hands, as the Titles Ollice and the archives at Ottawa were open to him for inspection at all times. His knowledge of Canadian law, in such an undertaking, was also highly necessary in arriving at a correct conclusion. Mr. Woods in- formed me that at least three weeks must elapse before he could give me a decided answer, but as I was in Canada it would be best to remain, as a consultation might be necessary as the investigation proceeded. ^ »» /'//a; wiTcti or III my boyhood I had been an ardent disciple of the gentle Isaac and now saw an opportunity to renew my ac(iuaintance with the linny tribe. My friend informed me that the sport was far superior in the inland lakes to that found in the St. Lawrence and that Charleston Lake would in every respect realize my sanguine expectations. The next morning, furnished with a letter of introduction to mine host, Armstrong, of Farmersviile, a Tillage some twelve miles distant, I set out on foot for my destina- tion. My spirits had risen with a bound. The leafy arbors through which I passed, the fields golden with ripening grain, the bracing Canadian atmosphere, com- bined in supplying a tonic which braced my nerves and recalled the days of long ago, when I climbed the banks of Kauka Lake in dear old Yates County. At high noon I strode into Farmersviile and presented my letter to the landlord. My welcome was cordial and in five minutes I was at home. From Armstrong I learned that the lake was some five miles distant and that he owned another hotel at that point to which I would be con- veyed after dinner. I saUied forth and secured a supply of fishing tackle at a village store. « , Evenina: was comini? on as we drew rein at Cedar Park. Before me nestled a blue lake, stretching away and away into deep shadows and long bays, which faded by insensible degrees into cloudland and mist. Beyond, a single mountain peak, bathed with the last rays of the setting sun. Little islands nestled here and there ; wild fowl sped by seeking a resting place for the night. It was early Canadian autumn in this north land. The atmos- phere was a mellow, opal tint, such as one sees in old pie of the renew my was far n the St. ill every The next iiction to age some Y destina- rhe leafy Iden with lere, com- leryes and the banks high noon iter to the e minutes tliat the le owned I be eon- a supply at Cedar ng away ch faded Beyond, ys of the jre ; wild t. It was le atmos- in old rij/Af nor, LOW. 97 (I liritings. Hero and there the first frost had touched tliH tips of the soft maple leaves, transmuting them Into red and gold, where they hung in clusters amid their green companions. The row-boats, coming and going, left behind a wake of liquid silver burnished by the setting sun. The inn fronted the west and, from its broad bal- cony I drank in the entire scene at a glance. AVell had it been named Cedar Park. On every side grew the beautiful cedars, not in artificial regularity, but as the winds of heaven had scattered the seeds. Some in solitary exile, Cain-like, driven from the family ; mostly in clusters and bunches with winding paths through which you could push your way. Every shrub and tree, the grass itself, was in a state of nature. Brown patches, where no grass grew beneath the deepest shade, gave forth the smell of " old mother earth." Be- yond were, here and there, flickers of sunlight, which struggled through the branches, and still beyond, the open and undulating sward, broken by little hillocks with long tufts of grass giving the impression, at a dis- tance, of miniature castles set in a plain. I rubbed my hands with supreme satisfaction as I thought that this was to be my home for three long weeks. The days which I spent at Charleston Lake will never be forgotten. The salmon which I hooked, coming to the surface from ten fathoms beneath, and cold as ice, the game black bass and the beautiful moonfish, with alternate scales of silver and black, (which I invari- ably put back into their native element, receiving, as my reward, the satisfaction which I felt in seeing them 38 THE WlTCn OF dart away) combined in producing unalloyed happi- ness. One forenoon I had landed from a small bay upon a rocky island, and had thrown myself on the grass beneath a great pine. A tangle of alders grew on the margin and shut out a view of the lake, save a small opening through which the almost level rays of the sun glinted. I heard the splash of oars and, looking down, at my feet, saw an anchor heaved overboard from a boat. The solitary fisherman had decided to try his luck in the quiet little nook. As I was not likely to be observed, I fell into a day- dream from which I was suddenly aroused by a shout followed by " Ha ! I have got you at last." I peeped through the opening, and saw a very tall man, dressed in a black, threadbare frock coat, such as my grandfather had worn. The trousers were of t\ same material, only more shiney and polished ; an enor- mous collar with ragged edges projected above his ears ; a black stock encircled his neck with the bow under his right ear, while a pair of angular bony hands grasped an immense bamboo fishing rod. The strange fisherman had sprung to his feet, his battered silk hat was floating on its crown between the boat and the shore. The bamboo rod swayed to and fro. Then began a panto- mine never excelled. The lank, long figure with a bald head and a few grey hairs blown hither and thither, the swaying boat, the bending rod, two great flashing eyes, a firm-set mouth, made up the component parts. As if spurred by an electric shock, this grotesque figure darted from stem to stern of the little craft and back again, falling repeatedly over tho centre seat, oblivious lilaz'j( u lis be iniddl( the ro prise, dangle pound trate fi wards with 1 right i cormoi which you raa King T Sue liat his it out Rai umped nan of le stro( uid sal itart of )ing hii .0 the lean th vhich : )efore t ed happi- bay upon the grass ew on the ve a small tys of the d, looking overboard ided to try Into a day- ay a shout a very tall kt, such as ere of t\ an enor- e his ears ; under his 8 grasped fisherman as floating ore. The a panto- e with a id thither, flashing mt parts. que figure and back oblivious i^: PLUM HOLLOW. :v.) to ull save the fact that he had hooked a lish. His eyes lilaz'jd as he shouted. " Aha ! No you don't. I've got you," until, lositig his balance, he fell backwards upon his buck in the uiiddle of the boat. This unexpecttd movement gave the rod a sudden upward jerk, and, much to my sur- prise, a perch, not weighing more than half a pound, dangled at the end of the line. I had expected a ten pound salmon. "This is glorious," exclaimed the pros- trate fisherman, as the perch swung backwjirds and for- wards over his head. Then he sat up, seized the fish with his left hand and pointed one bony finger of the riglit at the captive, muttering at the same time, " You cormorant, what have you done with all the minnows which you stole from my hook ? Don't wink at me, you rascal. You are my enemy and I shall treat you as King Thackembau treated his enemies. I shall eat you." Suddenly placing his hnnd on his head, he discovered hat his hat was gone, but he soon recovered it by fishing it out on the end of his rod. Raising the anchor, he paddled the boat to the shore, umped out with an agility which was surprising for a nan of his age. Breaking his way through the alders, le strode up the bank and we were face to face. I arose uid said "Good morning." Ue did not even give a itart of surprise, but, in a deep, sonorous voice said, tap- )iiig himself on the breast, " Ecce Homo," and, pointing the perch, "Ecce Tisces." He next proceeded to lean the perch, kindled a fire, cut a forked branch upon vhich he impaled his enemy and began toasting him )ef ore the fire, a gleam of intense satisfaction wreathing i|i m TIIK WITCH OF his couiitenance. As if suddenly recalling my presence, 1m3 exclaimed, " Where is that perch now?" *' Oa a forked stick," I replied. " True, corporeally," he muttered, " but where is he spiritually ? " he continued, nodding his head. " That's a metaphysical question of your own asking, which you must answer," was my reply. "Justso;let me see, that perch was a great sinner. He wouldn't work. *He toiled not, neither did he spin,' but waited for me to catcli the minnows which he ate. I knew him of old. I telephoned to him down my line admonishing him to repent, but he actually winked at my warning. Then I chastised him. I liooked him repeatedly in the jaw, but always gave him a chance to get off and turn over a new lin. Time and again I have brought him to the top of the water. What a pitiful look he had in his eyes; contrition and repent- ance. 1 could see that he was 'crying, but the moment he was free he always gave me a leer with his left eye, which boded ray minnows no good. He must have been a perch of excellent taste. What a beautiful quiet nook he lived in. When he wanted excitement he could swim out to the point where the big waves dush; a turn of his tail and he was in calm water again. Didn't his environment have something to do with the formation of his character? Who knows but what some low perch visited him at times and sapped his morals? Was hu responsible for his acts ? That is the question which has puzzled me for a long time." "A similar question has puzzled a good many people," I remarked. •' I think he must have inherited a good many of his * f i J presence, here is he wn asking, eat sinner. id he spin,' ich he ate. rt'n my line winked at ooked him . a chance id again I What a nd repent- le moment s left eye, have been iful quiet it he could sh ; a turn U^idn't his formation low perch • Was he which has od many my of his PLUM 110 1 A AJW. m traits," continued my visitor, " but 1 never knew any of his ancestors, t could forgive him for all that he inherited. The muat should always be forgiven, the "ought," sometimes. Yet he actually cultivated those traits to the highest state of perfection. While I waded in the brook to catch minnows, I could hear him laugh though he was miles away. There were times when I actually admired the sly dog. I'd come here, put down my anchor and then wait, not putting out my hook. lie was always watching, but would grow impatient, and finally rise to the surface and disport himself in the sunlight, flashing back gleams of gold on his sides. A stranger would have said, * There's an innocent perch.' Kut I knew him. It's but temptation writ a new way. His home was under that great weed, which rises and falls with every pulsation of Jihe lake. It faced the morning sun and got shelter from the mid-day heat by a branch of that great elm. But all this don't answer the question— where has he gone ? " •' No," I said, smiling. "I know where his corporeal part will go," con- tinued my philosophic friend, smacking his lips. Then he brushed back his iron grey hair and said in a whis- per, " Do you believe he is in perch heaven ? " " In perch heaven ? " . " Yes, perch heaven." " You said he was a great sinner." " Yes, but how do you know that he didn't repent after I hooked him, and how did he know that it was wrong to steal my minnows, and was it wrong for him to steal them if he could not help it ? " *' He has suffered death, anyway," I replied. I , [ 12 THE WITCH OF "Yes, and fire," said my strange companion, who produced from Iiis coat poclset a large piece of bread, some raw onions and four hard-boiled eggs; inviting me to join in the repast, which I did, but carefully avoiding his enemy, the perch, which was done to a turn. Then we drifted into a desultory conversation, dur- ing which I learned that my acquaintance was a physician, who had retired from active practice. He informed me that he was nearly eighty years of age, and that he ascribed the preservation of his wonder- ful vitality to the fact that for many years he had spent the greater part of each summer upon the waters and islands of this charming lake. In a spirit of mutual confidence I gave him a short account of my first case. " There is but one solution which I can suggest," he remarked. "What is it?" I inquired. " Consult the witch." " Consult the witch; what witch ? " I asked. " The Witch of Plum Hollow," he replied. " Where does this modern Sibyl reside ? " " Only a few miles from here." " Am I to understand that you believe in witches ? " I asked with astonishment. " I am an old man," he remarked. " The ignorant and the superstitious ascribe supernatural powers to certain persons, whom they designate witches. I am not ignorant and by nature the reverse of credulous, and yet I am not, by any means, prepared to say that by a purely natural law, which for want of knowledge we ascribe to the miraculous, persons do not exist who intuitively arrive at conclusions many degrees removed PLUM HOLLOW. 43 from the normal. It is also very extraordinary that when you investigate such phenomena you always run plump up against a woman. She may have been the Witch of Endor, a member of the Sisterhood of the Delphic Oracle of Greece, a vestal Virgin of Home, or one of the Fox Sisters of Rochester. Any woman of average capacity possesses the intuitive power of arriving at a correct conclusion in a much higher degree than any man. She does not reason, she simply decides, and that is what you require in your case. Take my advice, young man, and consult the Witch of Plum Hollow, and use your own discretion in being guided by her advice." " Surely Canada is yet wrapped in medieval gloom," I exclaimed. , " Don't forget that out of medieval gloom came the light," was the quick retort. The following morning I secured the only horse in the village and rode slowly away over the hills in quest of the Witch of Plum Hollow. As I journeyed along I felt a profound contempt for myself. Here was I, a practical New York lawyer, striving to settle the knotty points of his first case by consulting a Canadian witch. Absurdity could reach no greater heights. As I in- quired my way even the county yokels grinned at me derisively. In an hour I was in front of the small log- house in which the modern Sibyl lived. It in no wise differed from similar habitations. I knocked timidly at the door, which was opened by a young woman whose complexion wjisacross between that of a (Jipsy ^md an African. % — i S * I' 1 1 k I' * I 44 tub: witch of " Can I see the Witch of rium Hollow," I inquired boldly. An amused expression crept over her face as she asked, " Do you want your fortune told ? " " Yes," I answered. She pointed to a ladder in the corner, by which ascent was made to the attic. I mounted the ladder and found myself in a garret. The furniture consisted of a small pine table and two chairs. The witch, who was seated at the table, was a little old woman, who, at first, paid not the slightest attention to my presence. Her age was uncertain; pro- bably seventy, if not more. A kindly expression lingered about her eyes and the trace of many smiles about her mobile mouth. "A kind-hearted old lady," was my mental conclusion, and at that moment I pro- nounced my friend, the doctor, a bit of a wag as well as a philosopher. Finally the witch raised her eyes and gave me a look which I shall never forget to my dying day. She did not look at but through me. Probably it was imagination upon my part, but at that moment I felt that my very soul was being weighed, measured, probed, and anal- yzed. Noticing my embarrassment she said, in a low, soft voice, " Won't you take a seat? " I complied, and at that moment the Gipsy-looking girl placed on the floor at my feet a small tea-pot, from which the steam was hissing, and two tea- cups. The witch motioned for me to place the pot on the table and then said, " Will you turn a cup ? " " What do you mean ? " 1 asked. She poured out a cup of tea, first shakinj: the pot PLUM HOLLOW. ^ vigorously, and then carefully re-poured the tea into the pot, taking care to have the tea grounds in the bottom of the cup, which she inverted and twirled bot- tom up on the table. Thus instructed I repeated the process and handed her the cup, at which she merely glanced, saying, " Turn another cup." I complied. This cup she examined very carefully, and then, pointing her finger at a bunch of tea leaves, said, " Do you see that great flat stone with the bones of a dead man under it." ■ - ' I had firmly resolved to betray not the slightest surprise at anything which she uttered, but in spite of my self-control I gave a start. Then I peeped into the cup and shook my head. There shot from her eyes a look which said, "Doubter, already you begin to tremble." At her request I turned another cup. Ere she examined it I was startled by the great change which had taken place in the witch. It is best described as the consciousness of power. The hesitancy and indecision of extreme old age had given place to energy and pur- pose. The hand which took the cup no longer trembled. The tint of health was back in her faded cheeks, her eyes blazed and scintilated with an all-consuming fire, which froze the very marrow of my bones. At that moment something told me that the witch saw nothing in the cup itself. She was probing, fathoming my inner consciousness. Her first words were, " You are seeking that which you shall not find, but will find that which you seek not." I 1 46 THE WITCH OP Then she paused as if noteing the effect of her message. "At the flat stone you met your destiny, there you may find your happiness. You must go back to that spot and take the path leading into the hills. If you are a laggard you will abandon it, if a coward desert it. Therein lies your fate. Mark the cabalistic seven. If you wander in strange lands do not despair. The desert sighs and moans for water. Death will clutch you by the throat. I3ut you have done a kind act and God never lets a kind act die. If you could but read that which is writ on the great Hat stone ? Well may you say that you are blind." As she proceeded I closed my eyes. Imagine my surprise when upon opening them I saw before me the old woman who had met me when I entered the attic. The same smile lingered about her puckered mouth and ran in little ripples out upon her withered cheeks. , ^ > She chatted in a pleasant way about the weather and when I asked her the amount of her charge said simply, "only twenty-five cents." With a hearty shake of the hand I bade her good bye. I found that my pony had slipped his bridle, and I did not see him again until I sighted Cedar Park, where he awaited my return and graciously accom- panied me to his stable. As I was pushing my boat from the shore the next morning the philosophical doctor made his appearance on the little pier. He too was prepared for a day's outing, as he carried his great bamboo rod in his hand, while from the fit of his coat I concluded that his PLUM I TO L LOW. 47 pockets were plentifully supplied with bulled eggs. 1 invited him to accompany me for the day. He clamber- ed in and I pulled away. The morning mists were yet lying in the little bays, but rapidly rising in the open hike, where the sun's rays tinted the crests of the little waves. The doctor sat in the stern enjoying the panorama of islands and water with a background of Laurentian grey rocks dotted with sentinel pines. Blue Mountain towering into cloudland, with the rising mists sweeping