DAN VIS 
 FOLKS 
 
 ROWLKND E.ROBINSQN 
 
Rotoianfc <. 
 
 UNCLE LISHA S SHOP. 
 SAM LOVEL S CAMPS. 
 OUT OF BONDAGE. 
 
 IN NEW ENGLAND FIELDS AND WOODS. 
 DANVIS FOLKS. A Novel. 
 UNCLE LISHA S OUTING. 
 A DANVIS PIONEER. 
 SAM LOVEL S BOY. 
 
 VERMONT: A Study of Independence. In 
 American Commonwealths Series. With Map. 
 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
DANVIS FOLKS 
 
 BY 
 
 ROWLAND E. ROBINSON 
 
 IUTHOR OF "VERMONT" (IN THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTHS SERIS) 
 " UNCLE LISHA S SHOP," AND " SAM LOVEL S CAMPS" 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 iMirrsi&e preps Cambridge 
 
Copyright, 1894, 
 BY ROWLAND E. ROBINSON. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 " DANVIS FOLKS," with the exception of the first chapter, 
 was originally published in " Forest and Stream." It was 
 written with less purpose of telling any story than of re 
 cording the manners, customs, and speech in vogue fifty or 
 sixty years ago in certain parts of New England. Manners 
 have changed, many customs have become obsolete, and 
 though the dialect is yet spoken by some in almost its ori 
 ginal quaintness, abounding in odd similes and figures of 
 speech, it is passing away ; so that one may look forward to 
 the time when a Yankee may not be known by his speech, 
 unless perhaps he shall speak a little better English than 
 some of his neighbors. In truth he uses no worse now, nor 
 did he ever, though he is accused of it. Such as it was, 
 some may be glad to remember, and chiefly for them these 
 
 papers have been written. 
 
 R. E. R. 
 FEBRISBURGH, VT., August, 1894. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAFTEB 
 
 I. GRAN THER HILL S PA TKIDGE .... 1 
 II. Two RETURNING PILGRIMS .... 
 
 III. HOME AGAIN 49 
 
 IV. AMONG OLD FRIENDS fO 
 
 V. THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE .... 93 
 
 VI. THE PARING-BEK I 16 
 
 VII. IN THE LlNTER 136 
 
 VIII. THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF ... 143 
 
 IX. HASTY PUDDIN 165 
 
 X. LE LOUP GAROIT . ^6 
 
 XI. THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST 185 
 
 XII. A MORNING OF SONG 196 
 
 XIII. THE FIRST Fox 208 
 
 XIV. THE DRAWING-BEE 220 
 
 XV. GOING FISHING 230 
 
 XVI. A RAISING-BEE 237 
 
 XVII. TREASURE SEEKERS 246 
 
 XVIII. MISFITS 254 
 
 XIX. A RAINY DAY 260 
 
 XX. JUNE TRAINING 267 
 
 XXL THE END OF A JOURNEY 283 
 
 XXII. A GATHERING CLOUD 295 
 
vi CONTENTS. 
 
 XXin. DARK DATS 304 
 
 XXIV. FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY 314 
 
 XXV. LUCK OF THE WOODS 328 
 
 XXVI. GOOD-NIGHT 345 
 
DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 GRAN THEK HILL S PA TRIDGE. 
 
 THE September sun shone with summer-like 
 fervor in the little valley of Danvis; not an 
 afternoon of August had been hotter, or breathed 
 a droughtier breath upon wilting forests and 
 sered fields. Here and there among the dusky 
 green of the woods, a tree nurtured by more 
 sterile rootage than its neighbors was burning 
 out its untimely ripeness in a blaze of red or yel 
 low, from which the puffs of warm wind scattered 
 sparks of color so intense that it seemed as if 
 they might kindle the dry earth. 
 
 All nature was languid in the unseasonable 
 heat and drought. The unrefreshing breeze blew 
 in lazy puffs without even energy of direction, but 
 listlessly trying this quarter and that, now bear 
 ing, now dropping, the light burden of a tree s 
 complaining, the rustle of the rolled corn leaves, 
 the faint whimper of tired brooks, the petulant 
 clamor of the crows, and the high, far-away 
 
2 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 screani of a hawk that, level with the hazy moun 
 tain peaks, wheeled in slow circles, a hot brown 
 speck against the bronze sky. 
 
 The same wearied air pervaded the precincts 
 of Joseph Hill s home and the house itself. The 
 hens lay panting with drooped wings under the 
 scant shade of the currant bushes, whose shriv 
 eled remnant of fruit gave no promise of refresh 
 ing coolness; their half -grown progeny stalked 
 aimlessly about the yard in indolent quest of 
 nothing, while they grated out the discordant 
 yelp which is neither peep nor cluck, and expresses 
 nothing if it be not continual discontent ; and the 
 ducks waddled home, thirsty and unhappy, from 
 the dried-up puddle. 
 
 The hollyhock stalks stood naked and forlorn 
 among the drooping leaves, with only here and 
 there a blossom too stunted to tempt a bumble 
 bee showing among the browning buttons of seed 
 vessels. The morning-glory leaves hung limp 
 upon their twisted vines, that had evidently 
 blown their last purple trumpet to call the bees, 
 clutching their supporting cords only with a 
 dying grasp. All the house -side posies were 
 withered, " chiny asters," " sweet-williams," and 
 " sturtiums " ; nothing held up its head but the 
 sturdy houseleeks hens and chickens their mis 
 tress called them, and nursed them in their box 
 in doors and out the year round, for their oddity 
 and their repute for curing corns. 
 
GRAN THEE HILL S PARTRIDGE. 
 
 Even Gran ther Hill, whom age might wither 
 though it could not sap his vitality, showed little 
 of his accustomed vigor, as he sat in the doorway 
 with his bristly chin upon his staff, staring 
 vaguely on the haze-bounded landscape, or at 
 something beyond the filmy veil unseen by other 
 and younger eyes, the past or the future. Bat 
 tlefields of Revolutionary days, lonely scouts in 
 the great wilderness, secret missions in the ser 
 vice of the old Green Mountain Boys or was 
 he looking forward to the paths of the unknown, 
 which he must presently tread ? 
 
 Whatever occupied his thoughts, it apparently 
 was not what was said or done by those near 
 him. In the same room was his son, who sat 
 with his chair tilted against the wall ; and a well- 
 fed, self-satisfied man, who, slovenly clad, though 
 his blue coat had not been long worn and its 
 brass buttons were bright, sat across the table 
 from Joseph, with a small hair trunk open before 
 him, packed brimful of paper parcels and tin 
 boxes. Joseph Hill s eldest daughter, a tired, 
 overgrown girl of twelve in an outgrown frock, 
 moved wearily about the household labors that 
 had fallen on her, and her younger brother sat 
 disconsolately in one corner, nursing an aching 
 tooth that kept him home from school. Their 
 mother, who lay in the bedroom beyond, had 
 been ill for weeks with an intermittent fever, but 
 
4 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 was now " on the gain," thanks to the treatment 
 of the keen-eyed, blue-coated man with the hair 
 trunk full of roots and herbs and their tinctures. 
 
 He was a disciple of Dr. Samuel Thompson, 
 a self-taught mediciner, who, many years before, 
 had brought upon himself the wrath, bitterer than 
 his own concoctions, of the regular physicians of 
 New England by his unauthorized practice and 
 his denunciations of their methods. In time they 
 enlarged and improved their pharmacopoeia by 
 availing themselves of his discoveries, but gave 
 him no credit, and few know to what " noted em 
 piric " they are indebted for them. Joseph was 
 conservative, and would rather have employed the 
 old regular physician of Danvis than this innova 
 tor, or perhaps both, and his father was bitter 
 " agin Injin an ol woman ways o darkterin ; " 
 but this unlicensed practitioner had cured Maria s 
 mother of " newrology," and him she was set 
 upon having, and Joseph consented, according to 
 his usual custom when " M ri " insisted. 
 
 " Mis Hill," said the doctor, looking over his 
 spectacles and his trunk at Joseph, " is sights 
 better. The reg lar course we ve gi n her, lobele 
 metics, steamin an sofuth, has hove off the agur 
 spells an the fever. All she wants naow is 
 strenth nin , suthin tu give her an appetite t 
 eat, an suthin nourishin t eat. We re goin 
 tu leave her these here spice bitters, tu take a 
 
GE ANOTHER HILL S PA TKIDGE. 5 
 
 small spoo f l steeped up in a teacup o hot water 
 three times a day ; an you must git some popple 
 bark, and steep up a big han f 1 on t in a gallern 
 o* water, an hev her drink a ha pint on t most 
 any time when she s dry, or a dozen times a day ; 
 an it would be a good thing for her tu take a 
 leetle pennyr yal tea, say a teacupful three, four 
 times a day, kinder tween times, an then eat 
 nourishin victuals." 
 
 Gran ther Hill turned his head and glowered 
 savagely at him, but uttered only a contemptuous 
 snort. 
 
 " I do know," said Joseph, slowly easing the 
 fore-legs of his chair to the floor and as slowly 
 scratching his head, " but what M ri kin hold 
 some victuals arter she s took all them steepin s, 
 but it don t seem s ough she could much, that is 
 tu say, not a turrible sight. Ye see, Darkter, she 
 hain t a turrible big womern, that is, not so big 
 as some. But mebby she kin. I d know." 
 
 " Ye 11 draowned her wi yer cussed slops ! " 
 Gran ther Hill growled, turning in his chair and 
 thumping the floor with rapid blows of his cane. 
 " F you d ha gi n her some callymill an bled 
 her n the fust on t, she d ha ben all right 
 naow ! You ve roasted her an biled her, an 
 naow yer goin tu draowned her wi yer pailfuls 
 o spice bitters an popple soup, an* the Lord 
 knows what tarnal slops ! " 
 
6 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Callymill is pizon, an tew much bleedin is 
 what kills hawgs," said the doctor with calm em 
 phasis. 
 
 " Pizon is good when it s took proper," Gran- 
 ther Hill retorted, " an folks hain t hawgs, not 
 all of em hain t. I wish t Darkter Stun ould 
 come along an gi me a dost o callymill an bleed 
 me ; I know it ould make me feel better this 
 tarnal roastin weather. It s a feller s blood at 
 heats him. I c n feel mine a chuggin up ag in 
 the top o my skull every beat o my pult, an I 
 wish I was red of a quart on t ! " 
 
 "You don t look, Kepting Hill," the doctor 
 said, after a brief survey of the old man s gaunt 
 figure, u as if you hed a grea deal o blood tu 
 spare." 
 
 " I know t I - ve shed lots on t for my coun 
 try," said Gran ther Hill. " But I Ve got nough 
 left tu fill up tew, three pepper darkters wi bet 
 ter n they ve got ! " 
 
 " No daoubt on t, Kepting, no daoubt on t," 
 the good-natured mediciner answered, " but you 
 don t wanter waste it. Tew much good blood no 
 man can t hev, an aour remedies make bad blood 
 good. You take some pepsissiway an put it in 
 some ol Medford, an take a swaller three times 
 a day, a good big swaller, Kepting, an see what 
 it 11 du for yer blood." 
 
 "That saounds sensibler n the water swash 
 
GE ANOTHER HILL S PARTRIDGE. 7 
 
 you was talkin on, an I begin tu think you 
 know suthin arter all. Jozeff, nex time you 
 go over tu Hamner s, you git me a quart, V I 11 
 gether me some pepsissiway, an I 11 put in three, 
 four sprigs, an try it." 
 
 " Reason is aour guide," said the doctor, " an 
 aour remedies is what Natur p ints aout tu us. 
 We don t make no secret o what she tells us. 
 Naow, these ere spice bitters is compaounded of 
 several nat ral plants, but the main ingrejencies 
 is fever-bush an bayberry. We hain t no se 
 crets ; all we re after is the trewth." 
 
 "Go t thunder!" growled Gran ther Hill. 
 " You re arter yer livin , jes as all on us is. 
 Nothin on this livin airth riles me wus n hearin 
 darkters an preachers gabbin baout the raslin 
 raound jes for the sake o duin other folks good, 
 when they an ev ybody knows it s theirselves 
 they re workin for. Who they tryin tu fool, 
 God amighty, or folks, or the ownselves ? " 
 
 " Sartainly, we ve got tu live whilest we re 
 raslin for the trewth, Kepting. You drawed pay 
 when you was fightin fer your kentry, an you fit 
 a leetle better, proberbly, n you would for 
 nothin but glory. Starvin fodder that is, for 
 livin on in this world. An that reminds me t 
 Mis Hill wants suthin nourishin t eat. The 
 hain t nothin better n pa tridge meat, which it is 
 victuals an medicine to oncte, for a pa tridge is 
 
8 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 continerly a-feedin on a hulsome diet, fever-bush 
 berries, wintergreen, pepsissiway, blackberries, 
 popple-buds, and birch-buds, an I do know what 
 all, of Nature s pharmycopy, which is dissimer- 
 lated through the meat. You never knowed a 
 man tu git sick eatin pa tridge, did ye, Kepting 
 Hill, or you, Mr. Hill ? " and while waiting for a 
 reply the doctor dived into the depths of his tall 
 Leghorn hat for a red bandanna handkerchief, 
 with which he vigorously mopped his face and 
 blew a trumpet-blast of his nose. 
 
 " Not me," said Gran ther Hill. " I ve lived 
 on em for weeks when I was scaoutin long wi* 
 Peleg Sunderlan , an the wolves had drove all 
 the deer off." 
 
 " Not tu aour haouse, we don t," said Joseph ; 
 " ner scasely git a taste on em sen father gin 
 up huntin . Wai, that is tu say, exceptin when 
 Sam Lovel brings us a mess, or oncte when bub 
 killed one with his bow-arrer, or mebby ketched 
 it in a snare, I d know but he did." 
 
 " I did kill him wi my bow-arrer," protested 
 the boy, forgetting his toothache in his desire to 
 assert his sportsmanship ; "an ol he one he was, 
 bigger n a rhuster, a thumpin of a spreuce lawg 
 I c n show ye, an I sneaked up julluk gran ther 
 tells o Injins duin , an I knawked him stiffer 
 n a stake, n I lit on him fore he Here a 
 thump of the grandfather s cane reminded the 
 
OR ANOTHER HILL S PARTRIDGE. 9 
 
 boy of the often-repeated maxim that such as he 
 were to be seen, not heard, and muttering that he 
 could " show em the lawg," he subsided into 
 silence and the nursing of his aching jaw. 
 
 " I s pose you c n shoot Mis Hill a pa tridge, 
 can t ye, Mr. Hill ? They say the woods is so 
 full on em at they re a steckin aout o the 
 aidges." 
 
 " No, Darkter," said Joseph, going over to the 
 stove hearth for his pipe and beginning a quest 
 for his tobacco, " I hain t no knack for huntin 
 pa tridge. They allers see me afore I du them, 
 an by the time I git my gun up the hain t 
 nuthin left but a glimp an a noise, an afore I 
 c n git my mind made up tu shoot at them onsar- 
 tainties, as Sam does, an father ustur, both on 
 em is gone. I thought I left my terbarker on 
 the manteltree shelf. Oh, there it is on the win 
 der stool." 
 
 "Wai," said the doctor, bending a benign 
 glance upon the boy, "bub c n git his mar a 
 pa tridge with his bow-arrer, I know, an if he 
 will, I 11 pull his tooth so t won t ache again." 
 
 " I won t tech tu try fer no sech pay ; but 
 they d let me take gran ther s ol gun, I d git 
 one. The s a hull litter on em stays up in 
 the aidge o the parstur." 
 
 " You shoot a pa tridge wi my gun ? " growled 
 his grandfather, glowering upon him. " Ye 
 
10 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 could n t hoi it tu arm s len th a secont, you 
 hain t staout nough tu pull the tricker you c ld 
 reach it, an if ye could t ould kick ye int the 
 middle o next week ! It s a man s gun, that is," 
 pointing up to the long-barreled flint-lock that 
 hung above the mantel, gray with all the dust 
 which had fallen on it since the spring campaign 
 against the crows, " an it s killed moose an 
 wolves an bear an Injins an Tories an Hessians 
 an ? Britishers, an it c ld tell who hel it when it 
 killed em. He hain t dead yit ; an f ye want a 
 pa tridge, he c n git ye one, which his name is 
 Josiah Hill. What ye say baout pa tridge is 
 sensibler n what ye say bout darkterin , an 
 Marier s goin tu hev one. I d be willin fer 
 you tu pick aout my victuals, but I d ruther hev 
 an ol -fashioned reg lar larnt physican darkter du 
 my darkterin ." 
 
 " Reg lar licensed pizoners, they be, ign antly 
 killin folks under kiver of the die-plomies," Dr. 
 Wead protested in a discreetly low voice ; then 
 in a louder tone, " seem s ough you was ruther 
 along in years tu go huntin , Kepting. Better 
 start aout some o the young fellers, that aire 
 Lovel, fer instance. They say he s a marster 
 hand at huntin ." 
 
 " If ever I got sick o anythin , said the old 
 man, bending his bushy brows in a savage frown 
 and thumping the floor with his staff, " it s evei> 
 
GR ANOTHER HILL S PA TRIDGE. 11 
 
 lastin ly hearin tell o that aire Sam Level s 
 huntin ! Ye d think, tu hear em talk, at me 
 an Peleg Sunderlan waVt never nowheres 
 longside o him, him t was brung up on pa - 
 tridge an foxes tu be sot up longside o men t 
 was raised when the was painters and Injins in 
 the woods thicker n red squirrels be naow ! I 
 s pose he ken shoot tol able well wi his cannern 
 fer nowerdays, but I git almighty sick o hearin 
 tell on t. Jozeff here s allers braggin secont 
 han o what Sam Lovel s done, an Jozeff do 
 know one eend of a gun f m t other. Took 
 arter his mother, n she wa no hunter. Bub, 
 here, ac s more like, an f he d ben borned fifty 
 year ago, when the was suthin tu hunt, he d 
 ha ben a hunter." Even such faint praise 
 banished for a moment the torture of the aching 
 tooth, as the boy cast longing looks up at the an 
 cient gun, whose brass mountings were brighter 
 and more precious to his eyes than burnished 
 gold. 
 
 " I m a-goin tu git Marier a pa tridge," the 
 old man went on. " Good min ter go right off. 
 F I don t I will in the mornin ; I Ve heerd a 
 gun every oncte in a while all the art noon. 
 There t goes ag in," as a flat report came faint 
 and echoless through the sultry air from the 
 lower slope of the mountain side. " He hain t 
 killin nothin , I know by the way his gun saounds, 
 
12 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 but he 11 scare ev ythin aout n the woods er over 
 the inaountin. Guess I d better go right off an* 
 git ahead on him." 
 
 " Better wait till the cool o the mornin , father. 
 They ll all git settled back in the haunts by 
 then," Joseph suggested ; and then in a loud 
 whisper to the doctor, " He 11 fergit all baout it 
 by then ! " 
 
 " Wai, mebby ; I 11 see," said his father, set 
 tling back uneasily in his armchair, and again 
 fixing his senile stare on the outer world. 
 
 "Naow, then," said Dr.Wead in a more cheer 
 ful tone than the proposal warranted, " naow, then, 
 bub, f you seddaown in the door an brace yer 
 back ag in one post an yer feet ag in t other, 
 I 11 red ye o that aire pesky tooth in a jiffy." 
 
 " I do wanter hev it pulled ! " the boy whim 
 pered. " It don t ache a mite naow ! " 
 
 " It s unly foolin on ye, bub," said the doctor. 
 " That s a trick the pesky things is allers up tu. 
 I won t hurt ye more n a minute, an then you 11 
 be tu play an practicin wi yer bow-arrer fer to 
 shoot yer mar a pa tridge." 
 
 " Why, yes, Josie," urged his father, u jest sed 
 daown an hev her aout julluk a man, an I 11 git 
 ye le me see, why, I 11 git ye a jew-sharp nex 
 time I go t the store." 
 
 " Can t play no jew-sharp when I hain t got no 
 teeth, more n gran ther can," the boy half sobbed. 
 
GR ANOTHER HILUS PARTRIDGE. 13 
 
 " Could n t ye give him sutliin tu kinder ease 
 it up f er a spell ? " Joseph asked, after puzzling 
 his brains for a more tempting offer. " F his 
 mother was araound he c ld stan it better." 
 
 The doctor shook his head. " Nothin but cold 
 iron 11 stop it." 
 
 " It 11 hurt like Sam Hill ! " howled poor little 
 Josiah. 
 
 " Look a-here, bub," said his grandfather, turn 
 ing his chair again to face the room. " It hain t 
 a-goin tu be said at a boy at wants tu go 
 huntin wi a gun, an which he s named arter his 
 gran ther that fit tu Hubbar ton an Bennin ton, 
 to say nuthin o takin Ticonderogue, is a-goin 
 tu raise a rumpus baout hevin a mis able leetle 
 tooth pulled aout. If ye don t come right stret 
 here an seddaown in the door an open yer 
 maouth an shet yer head, I 11 take ye up tu the 
 leegislatur this fall, right afore them tew brass 
 cannern t we took f m the Hessians tu Bennin 
 ton, an hev yer name changed, the hull on t ; 
 Josier shall be Nosier, an Hill shall be Holler, 
 cause ye 11 be so low daown, an cause ye 11 hol 
 ler for hevin a tooth pulled. An if ye seddaown 
 like a man an say nothin , I 11 let ye shoot my 
 gun tu a mark, f it kicks ye furder n ye shoot I 
 There ! " 
 
 The boy looked a moment into the relaxed 
 sternness of his grandfather s face, and then, hia 
 
14 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 own pale but resolute, he walked over and took 
 the prescribed position on the threshold. 
 
 " Git aout yer cant-hook, Darkter, whilst his 
 grit s up," said Gran ther Hill, while Joseph re 
 treated to the bedside of his wife, whither, with 
 an appalled look dispossessing the wearied ex 
 pression of her face, his daughter accompanied 
 him. 
 
 The doctor, taking the terrible turn-key from 
 his trunk, bestrode the boy, whose head he 
 grasped between his knees, and in one brief but 
 awful moment wrenched out the tooth and a sup 
 pressed groan. 
 
 " You 11 make a hunter an a sojer," said the 
 doctor. " You stood it like a major, an I m 
 goiii tu wrop up that tooth in a piece o paper 
 for ye t show folks." 
 
 The old man gave his grandson a gentle punch 
 in the ribs with his cane to express his approval. 
 Ded n t hurt ye much naow, did it, bub ? " 
 
 " The hole aches wus n the darned tooth did," 
 said Josiah the younger. " When ye gointer let 
 me shoot yer gun, gran ther ? " 
 
 " T morrer, when I git back f m huntin ," his 
 grandsire promptly responded. " Say, bub, is 
 that Mis Purin t n comin up the rhud ? Yes? 
 Well, then, I m goin huntin right naow f she s 
 comin here, n I 11 bate she be." Arising with 
 all the speed that his stiff joints could compass, 
 
GE ANOTHER HILL S PA TRIDGE. 15 
 
 he took down his gun, drew the iron ramrod and 
 dropped it into the barrel, then measured the 
 protruding end with his fingers, returned the rod 
 to its pipes, threw the long barrel into the hol 
 low of his arm, and critically examined flint and 
 priming, before his son had come forth from the 
 bedroom. 
 
 " Why, father, ye d better not go this arter- 
 noon, you 11 git your blood all het up ! " Joseph 
 expostulated. 
 
 " Your darkter says I hain t got no blood," his 
 father answered, reaching up for the big powder- 
 horn, the buckskin shot-pouch, and a wisp of tow 
 for wadding, while he whispered loudly, " That 
 aire Purin t n womern s a-comin , V I d ruther 
 git het an sunstruck n tu hear her gab. Won 
 der Purin t n never took tu huntin ." 
 
 " She wont stay long, not so turrible long, I 
 don t scasely b lieve she will, an you c n go an 
 lay daown in yer room," urged Joseph ; and the 
 doctor also made some attempt to dissuade the old 
 man from going abroad, though it was noticeable 
 that he was hurriedly packing the little hair trunk 
 and hastily preparing for his own departure. 
 
 " Don t you go a-huntin no pa tridge for me," 
 pleaded Maria s feeble voice from the bedroom. 
 " A chicken 11 du jest as well." 
 
 " I tell ye you re a-goin tu hev a pa tridge, an 
 I m going tu git it ! " the veteran protested. 
 
16 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Wai," said Joseph, making search for his hat 
 in all places but under his chair, where it was, 
 " ef you will go ag in all reason, I 11 go long 
 with ye, erless I 11 hev bub go ; er mebbe we 11 
 both on us go, tu kerry your game, ye know, an 
 yer gun, an sech, an mek it kinder comf table 
 fer ye." 
 
 " When I go huntin I don t go t the head of 
 a army, wi a fife an drum a-playin ," cried 
 Gran ther Hill at the top of his cracked and 
 whistling voice, " nor no lummuxes, an no bubs 
 a-taggin tu my heels, a-scarin all the game outen 
 sight an hearin wi the crackin , an snapping 
 an sloshin , an gabbin ! D ye think I m a five- 
 year-ol boy t can t go nowheres by hisself ? You 
 stay t hum an tend t your own business, an* 
 I 11 tend tu mine ! " 
 
 Lowering the muzzle of his gun to clear the 
 lintel of the door, he went out as Mrs. Purington 
 entered. Dropping heavily into the nearest chair 
 and puffing out a brief salutation, she cast back 
 her green gingham sunbonnet, and began fan 
 ning her hot face with her checked apron held by 
 its nether corners. 
 
 " It is tew orfle hot tu stir aou door, but I 
 thought I mus come an chirk up Mis Hill a 
 leetle mite, an I tol him I would come if it 
 melted me. I declare tu goodness I b lieve it 
 hes ! Whew ! Who ever see sech weather for 
 
GRAN THER HILL S PARTRIDGE. 17 
 
 the time o year ? Hain t your caows s runk the 
 milk orfle ? An aour cistern s mos dry an the 
 spring hain t never ben so low sen he c n remem 
 ber. I d know what s going tu be become on us 
 all f we don t git shaowers. It s enough tu make 
 well folks sick an tu kill sick folks, an I p sume 
 tu say it will kill Mis Hill. Haow is she any 
 way ? " leaning forward to peer into the bedroom, 
 her fat hands, still holding the apron corners, 
 resting on her short lap. " Gittin wus an wus, I 
 s pose ? " then, with a sudden fear, " T hain t 
 nothin ketchin , I hope, none of these ketchin 
 fevers ? " 
 
 " No," Joseph assured her. " Intumittens, or 
 some sech name, the darkter calls it. Suthin 
 like f ev n aig ; kinder wus n that, an then 
 ag in, not so bad," he explained. 
 
 Her fears of infection set at rest, Mrs. Puring- 
 ton drew her chair to the bedroom door and set 
 herself to comforting the sick woman. 
 
 " Wai, Marier, you du look peakeder n what 
 I expected, an it s a massy t I come when I did, 
 or I might not ha seen you alive. Mis Tarbell, 
 his brother s wife s sister, was took jest the same 
 way long in hayin , an it hove her intu quick 
 consumpshern, an she died fore the graound 
 froze up, which was some consolashern, cause t 
 wa n t no such work diggin the grave as t ould 
 ha ben later. I du hope you feel prepared for 
 the wust, Marier, I du," 
 
18 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Ruby," said Mrs. Hill, as her eye caught the 
 scared face of her daughter, " I wish t you d 
 gwaout an see f you can t find that speckled 
 hen s nest. No, Mis Purin t n, I hain t prepared 
 for no wust. I ve hed that, an I m better. All 
 I want naow is some stren th tu be up an a-doin . 
 Poor Ruby ! " as her eyes anxiously followed the 
 girl s wearied footsteps. " It s ben tough on her, 
 an she s putty nigh tuckered aout." 
 
 The scared and tired girl got little comfort, 
 except in escaping from the alarming and weari 
 some gabble of the visitor, in her listless, ram 
 bling search for the nest of the Dominique among 
 the withered currant bushes and the rampant 
 weeds, that in spite of the drought still nourished 
 in the fence-corners, to the delight of the yellow 
 birds, who, too busy to sing, if singing days were 
 not over, gathered the seeds of pig-weed and red- 
 root. Nor was there more comfort in moping by 
 her mother s posy-bed, whose neglected plants 
 looked as tired as herself. 
 
 "That s allers the way wi folks at s got 
 consumpshern," continued Mrs. Purington, 
 u a-thinkin they re better when they re growin 
 wus allers. An that pepper an steam dark- 
 ter, I met him as I was a-comin int the do - 
 yard, a mis able cretur tu look at. They say 
 he jest biles folkses skins off, an turns em 
 inside aout wi his lobele metics. Ef I wa n t 
 
GR ANOTHER HILUS PARTRIDGE. 19 
 
 so beat aout wi the heat, I d turn tu an help 
 Ruby fix up things, for it does look dreffle run 
 daown t the heel in the kitchin, hain t ben int 
 the square room ; but it does seem as if t was all 
 I c ld du jest tu set here an comfort ye all I ken. 
 I will fix yer piller," and she set to beating the 
 pillow close to the convalescent s ears, and twitch 
 ing it to and fro under her head. " I d ha sent 
 up sis tu help Ruby, but she s daown to Huldy s, 
 an they re fixin up fer uncle Lisher Peggs an 
 aunt Jerushy, which they re expectin on em 
 back from the West nex canal-boat at comes. 
 A turrible senseless piece o business all raound ; 
 but they will hev it the own way, Huldy an 
 Sam." And so she went on with her torturing 
 gabble, which the sick woman was thankful only 
 tired, but did not frighten her. 
 
 Meanwhile Gran ther Hill was hobbling across 
 the fields towards the woods, followed by the 
 longing eyes of his grandson. Dr. Wead, watch 
 ing the bent figure from the height of his sulky- 
 seat, rocking on its leathern thorough-braces, 
 remarked to himself, "A stronery tough ol crit 
 ter for a man at s ben pizened wi callymill fer 
 the Lord knows haow many year, an as contrairy 
 as he is ol an tough." 
 
 He was a pathetic old figure to look upon as, 
 supporting his stiffened legs with his staff, and 
 trailing his long gun with the unf orgotten handi- 
 
20 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ness acquired in years so far past that they were 
 like a dream, he picked his slow way across the 
 shrunken brook and into the skirt of the forest. 
 The woods were very still, scarcely stirred by the 
 light puffs of the breeze ; the birds, their smnmer 
 songs forgotten, so silent, and the feeble current 
 of the brook babbling so faintly, that the con 
 tinuous murmur of the bees among the woodside 
 asters was the sound most audible, save when a 
 locust shrilled its prolonged, monotonous cry that 
 presently sank with an exhausted fall to the dron 
 ing undertone of the bees. 
 
 The aged hunter made his way through the 
 bordering thickets and over the dry matting of 
 old leaves with a stealthier tread than many a 
 younger man might have, and scanned carefully 
 with slow, dulled gaze the shaded depths of low- 
 branched young evergreens, sapling poplars and 
 birches, and thorny tangles of blackberry briers. 
 
 Suddenly fell on his ears the noise of scurry 
 ing feet among the dry leaves, and the warning 
 " wish, quit, kr-r-r, quit ! quit ! " of a grouse. 
 Dropping his staff and bringing his cocked piece 
 to a ready, he searched the thicket with eager 
 eyes and presently discovered an alert dusky form 
 skulking among the shadows. The long gun was 
 aimed with almost the celerity if not with the pre 
 cision of its ancient use in the boasted days when 
 its owner scouted and hunted with doughty Peleg 
 
GE ANOTHER HILL S PARTRIDGE. 21 
 
 Sunderland. The trigger was pulled, the flint 
 flashed out a shower of sparks, and the old gun 
 bellowed and kicked in a way worthy of its re 
 nown, and mowed a narrow swath through the 
 stems of saplings and briers. The booming re 
 port, so different from the flat discharges which 
 at irregular intervals during the afternoon had 
 cracked through the sultry air, came to young 
 Josiah s ears, and almost shook him from his 
 seat on the rail fence with the thrill of delight it 
 sent through him. 
 
 Rushing into the house, he loudly proclaimed, 
 " Gran ther s fired. Yes, sir ! I heard him ! " 
 and in the next breath, " I m goin t see what 
 he s got f 
 
 " Don t you dast tu ! " his father said with 
 unwonted decision. " F he hain t killed no- 
 thin , an t ain t no ways likely t he hes, though 
 the s no tellin but what he hes, he 11 be mad 
 der n tew settin hens. Don t ye dast tu go, 
 bub ! " 
 
 " Jest s like s not his gun hes busted, er gone 
 off t wrong eend, er suthin , an killed him," said 
 Mrs. Purington. "Guns is dreffle dang ous 
 things. It s nough tu dry up a feller s blood 
 wi col chills tu hear father Purin t n when he 
 was alive, an uncle Lisher, tell o the folks at 
 got killed by em tu Plattsburgh fight, which 
 they was both there. Don t ye go nigh, Bull 
 
22 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Hill. T ould scare ye t death tu see your 
 gran ther a-lyin in his gore." 
 
 " lied n t you better go an see, Joseph ? " said 
 Maria anxiously. 
 
 " Sho ! " said her husband. " Father could n t 
 shoot hisself wi the ol gun erless he got some- 
 b dy tu help him. It s longer n a brook, an it 
 never busts, leastways it never did s I knows on. 
 Ketch me a-goin nigh him f he s missed. He 11 
 make things gee, a-blamin it onter all creation 
 but hisself." 
 
 Thus admonished, the boy went back to his 
 perch on the top rail, to content himself with 
 impatient watching for his grandsire s return. 
 
 It was well he did not seek him, for he would 
 have found him then in his most peppery mood. 
 Quicker than the echo of the discharge had come 
 a rapid beat of wings and a brief scurry among 
 the dead leaves. The old man stooped low and 
 peered beneath the slowly lifting smoke, almost 
 confident that he would see his victim fluttering 
 out its last breath in or near the ragged path of 
 the charge. But there was nothing to be seen 
 astir but a sapling slowly bending to its fall from 
 its half-severed stem, a sere leaf wavering to 
 earth, and the eddying haze of rising smoke. 
 All! the bird was stone dead, and lying there 
 somewhere, waiting to be picked up without cast 
 ing one reproving glance upon his slayer from 
 
GE AN TREE HILL S PARTRIDGE. 23 
 
 his glazing eyes. Gran ther Hill was glad of 
 that, for like all old hunters he had grown ten 
 der-hearted toward his prey. 
 
 First he reloaded his gun, measuring powder 
 and shot in his palm with scrupulous care in 
 spite of his haste to go forward, and then, stoop 
 ing low, groped his way into the thicket. Scan 
 ning the ground foot by foot, often misled this 
 way and that by some semblance of what he was 
 in quest of, objects that upon poking with his 
 staff proved but gray and russet stumps or clots 
 of old leaves, he crept on far beyond the range of 
 his gun, growing less hopeful with each more 
 wearied step. Then he retraced his course, zig 
 zagging across it, peering into hollow logs and 
 probing brush heaps with his staff, and then, took 
 his bearings anew from the place where he had 
 shot, and went over the ground again and again, 
 rewarded only by finding one mottled tail-feather, 
 which he thrust in his hat to disprove a total 
 miss, and grew more rebellious against fate with 
 every unsuccessful attempt to find his bird, 
 which, in fact, sat unscathed amid the branches 
 of a fir, recovering from the terror of the sud 
 den storm of lead that had so lately hurtled 
 past it. 
 
 " What tarnel dodunk loaded that aire gun, I 
 wonder ? " he growled, glaring savagely into space. 
 " Did n t put no wad top o the paowder, I 11 bate, 
 
24 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 er the shot was tu big er tu small er suthin ! 
 Er t was some of that cussed paowder o Chapin s ; 
 t won t burn no quicker n green popple sawdust, 
 an the pa tridge seen the flash an dodged ! But 
 I hit him, I know I did ! I never missed a set- 
 tin shot in my life, an he lays right here clus 
 tu, deader n hay, on y I can t see him ! Blast 
 my darned eyes, a-failin on me jes naow, arter 
 eighty-six, goin on eighty-seben year ! I wish t 
 I hed my specs ; I wish t I let Jozeff s boy come 
 long wi me, he s sharper eyed n a lynk ; he d 
 ha f aound him. I 11 fetch him here an hev him 
 look, an ef he don t find him I 11 skin him. F 
 I thought t was you t made me miss him," shak 
 ing his gun till the ramrod rattled in its pipes 
 and wooden casing, "ye ol wore aout, goo -for- 
 nothin iron hole, I d wallupse ye raound a tree, 
 darn ye ! But I did n t miss him, he s lyin 
 dead clus tu, mongst some o these cussed rhuts 
 an bresh. Darn yer cussed hidin tricks ! " ad 
 dressing the trees and shaking his staff at them, 
 " can t ye let an ol man at fit f er ye when you 
 wa n t knee-high tu a tud-stool hev one leetle, 
 nasty, mis able pa tridge f er his sick darter ? Darn 
 ye, I wish t ye ould all burn up an roast yer 
 cussed pa tridges inside on ye ! " 
 
 For answer came a rustle of feet suddenly 
 grown careless where they trod, and then ap 
 peared through the parted branches the tall form 
 
GR ANOTHER HILL S PATRIDGE. 25 
 
 and good-natured face of Sam Lovel. The old 
 man stared half-angrily, half-ashamed, at the ap 
 parition. 
 
 " Why, Gran ther Hill, you a-huntin this hot 
 day ? " Sam asked. 
 
 "Yis, I be," the old man answered testily. 
 " I do know but I got jes s good right tu go 
 a-huntiii hot days as other folks." 
 
 " Sartainly, gran ther, sartainly ; but I did n t 
 s pose the was nob dy else but me sech a fool as 
 tu go huntin sech weather. Ye know some on 
 em calls ev rybody fools at goes huntin any 
 time. Wai, what luck be ye hevin ? " 
 
 " The cussedest luck I ever see. I come tu git 
 a pa tridge fer Jozeff s wife at s sick, an I shot 
 one fust thing, an I can t find the darned thing, 
 an it hain t tew rod off f m where we be." 
 
 " Wing broke, an hid ? " 
 
 " No, sir, killed deader n hay, jest one kerflum- 
 mux an still ; an I can t find it nowhere, nothin 
 but this tail feather." 
 
 This Sam examined, but did not suggest the 
 patent fact that it was not cut out by a shot, nor 
 the possibility of a miss. " Wai, naow, mebby I 
 c n help ye find him ; four eyes is better n tew 
 sometimes. I s pose you hain t shot a pa tridge 
 afore for a good spell, an you would n t ha ben 
 tryin naow only tu git one for M ri. Wai, le s 
 see, you sarch in there, an I 11 try up this way. 
 
26 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 He >s flummuxed inter some bresh heap er hol 
 ler, I bate ye. An they look julluk the dead 
 leaves they don t lay belly up, anyway." 
 
 Searching intently in one direction while the 
 old man pottered in another, Sam presently 
 shouted gleefully, " Here he is, gran ther ! 
 Deader n a mallet, lyin in a bresh heap t you 
 Ve trod onter ! You most took his head off an 
 knocked him gaily west. It was jest the stren th 
 o the shot at hove him here ! " and Sam reap 
 peared, holding a rather rumpled partridge, 
 whose head dangled from the ruffed neck by a 
 film of skin. 
 
 The old man, more pleased than a child with a 
 coveted toy, took the bird and smoothed its rum 
 pled feathers, so absorbed that he did not notice 
 the softened thud, mixed with the careless scuff 
 of Sam s foot, of something that fell between them. 
 
 " Wai, I 11 be darned ! " Sam ejaculated in 
 suppressed surprise ; " ef here ain t another *at 
 we re most treadin onter ! " and stooping, ho 
 picked up another partridge, that with its life 
 had almost lost its head. 
 
 " Tew tu one shot, by the gret horn spoon ! 
 Wai, gran ther, you beat the hull caboodle ! " and 
 he patted the veteran s shoulder tenderly. " I 
 never done that but oncte, an I Ve bragged on 
 t ever sence." 
 
 Gran ther Hill s blank stare of astonishment 
 
GE ANOTHER HILL S PARTRIDGE. 27 
 
 relaxed into a toothless grin of supreme delight, 
 and his bleared eyes were dim with unaccustomed 
 moisture. 
 
 " I knowed the was one a-lyin here some- 
 wheres, but I never spected the was tew," he 
 said, his voice trembling with the swelling and 
 throbbing pride of his heart. " Young eyes is 
 sharper 11 oF ones, an I m a thaousan times 
 obleeged tu ye fur findin my pa tridges. I d 
 abaout gi n up, an was goin hum tu git Jozeff s 
 boy tu help me find the one t I knowed I killed ; 
 he s got eyes julluk a lynk, an ould ha made a 
 hunter f he d ben borned soon nough, when the* 
 wus suthin wuth huntin . These ere 11 jest set 
 Marier right up, an fore they re gone, I 11 git 
 her another. They thought*! couldn t git nary 
 one, but t ain t nothin tu kill a pa tridge when 
 ye know haow ; " and all the while he was slowly 
 turning the birds before his admiring eyes. 
 
 " Naow f I c n find me some lutherwood, I 11 
 tie them pa tridge laigs tugether an sling em 
 crost my gun an g hum. You don t see some 
 handy, du ye ? " 
 
 Yes, Sam saw a sprawling moose-wood or wic- 
 opy close at hand, and presently fitted the old 
 man out with a thong of its tough bark, where 
 with the birds were tied together, ready for sling 
 ing on the gun barrel. 
 
 " T ain t every day t ye see a man goin hunt- 
 
28 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 in wi a gun in one hand an a cane in t other," 
 Gran ther Hill chuckled ; " but the ol gun an me 
 hain t forgot aour ol tricks f we do go wi a cane. 
 It s kinder cur ous t I hit em both in the neck 
 an nowheres else cept knockin aout one tail 
 feather, an there it is, a-missin ; " but he did 
 not notice that the feather in his hat did not cor 
 respond in length or markings with those in the 
 tail of the bird that he was inspecting. 
 
 " The ol gun kerries turrible clus," Sam ex 
 claimed, " an jes one stray shot hit the tail 
 glanced on a twig like s not." 
 
 " An hain t you killed nary one ? " the old man 
 asked, only now noticing that Sam carried no 
 game in sight. " I swan, I d ort tu divide wi 
 ye," making a feeble motion toward untying one 
 of his birds. 
 
 " Wai, yes, I got tew, three in here," patting 
 the pocket of his striped woolen frock. 
 
 " Wai," the old man said, slipping the birds 
 on to his gun and shouldering it, " I s pose I mus 
 be a-moggin . Do know haow I m goin tu make 
 up ter ye for findin my pa tridge, erless I go long 
 wi ye some day an show ye haow tu hunt pa 
 tridge." 
 
 " That 11 jest du it," said Sam heartily. 
 " Some cool day, t rights, fore they git wild wi 
 the fallin leaves, we 11 go. I want tu see ye kill 
 tew t a shot." 
 
GE ANOTHER HILUS PATEIDGE. 29 
 
 And so they parted, each going his way, the 
 young man skirting the woods, the old man home 
 ward, picking his way across Stony Brook with a 
 lighter step and a lighter heart than he had come 
 with. He minded nothing of the hot, droughty 
 weather; no day could have seemed finer than 
 this in its decline, its warm air laden with the 
 odor of the firs, and the " cheop " of the crickets 
 beginning to thrill through it, while the purple of 
 the asters grew darker in the blurred, lengthening 
 shadows. As he crossed the pasture he began to 
 whistle toothlessly, " We re marching onward 
 toward Quebec," and his rheumatic footsteps fell 
 to the time of the old martial air. 
 
 Then he saw his grandson running to meet 
 him. 
 
 " Oh, gran ther ! " cried the boy breathlessly, 
 as he caught a glimpse of tbe old man s swinging 
 burden, " ye got one, did n t ye ? " and then as he 
 walked puffing and eager-eyed alongside, "Tew 
 on em ! Oh, my sakes, tew ! I never hearn ye 
 shoot but oncte. You never killed em both tu 
 one shot, gran ther? " 
 
 " Sho, bub, that hain t nothin for a man at 
 onderstan s it," said his grandfather lightly. 
 
 " Oh, gran ther ! you c n jest beat em all, you 
 can. Say, gran ther, le me kerry em, won t ye ? 
 Gran ther, say ? " the boy pleaded. 
 
 " Jullook a-here, bub," said the old man, sink 
 
30 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 ing his voice to a husky undertone, " you le me 
 kerry em, an I 11 let ye shoot the gun tu a mark 
 right naow! Hey?" 
 
 " Oh, my sakes ! Will ye, naow, t -night ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, I will. You go an set that aire 
 busted cap ag in the fence, ten rod off, an come 
 back here an rest crost this ere stump an let er 
 hev!" 
 
 Away the boy ran, never minding a stubbed 
 toe or a heelful of thistles that waylaid his course, 
 and, setting the broken fence-cap against a rail, 
 came panting back. 
 
 " Git ye breath fust," Gran ther Hill said, as 
 the boy reached eagerly for the gun, which the 
 old man took slowly from his shoulder, depressing 
 the muzzle till the partridges slipped to the ground. 
 " Ye could n t hit a barn-door tew rod off whilst 
 ye re a-puffin that way. Naow," as the boy s 
 breathing became regular through hard restraint, 
 and he gave the gun into his hands, " p int be 
 low the mark, an raise her up slow, an when ye 
 git aimed atween the tew holes, onhitch ! " 
 
 Kneeling and resting the long barrel across the 
 stump, the boy slowly elevated the muzzle till it 
 hid the lower auger hole, and then pulled with 
 might and main, shutting both eyes in expectation 
 of the flash and **ecoil, but neither came. 
 
 " I can t p^iil her off," he whined, in half -tear 
 ful disappointment. 
 
GEAN THEE HILL S PATEIVGE. 31 
 
 "Ye can t pull her off when she hain t on y 
 half cocked, ye gump ! " said the old man im 
 patiently, and reaching out he pulled the heavy 
 hammer to full cock. " There, naow, when ye 
 pull the tricker, I guess ye 11 hear from her ! " 
 
 Again the boy essayed, pulled manfully at just 
 the right moment, and there was a shower of 
 sparks, a blinding flash of ignited priming, a deaf 
 ening roar, and with it a kick that tumbled the 
 young marksman on to his haunches. 
 
 " You hit it ! " the old man cried, " I seen the 
 splinters fly ! Naow run over V fetch the cap 
 here." 
 
 The boy made all haste to get upon his feet, 
 and ran wildly over to the fence, rubbing, as he 
 ran, his shoulder, that ached with a more univer 
 sal pang than his tooth had done. But it was a 
 delightful pain, and borne with a triumphant 
 smile when he saw the weather-worn surface of 
 the wood brightened with fresh splinters and 
 punctured with a half dozen dark holes, and as 
 many half -embedded shot staring at him as if in 
 astonishment at his skill. 
 
 " Ye done well, bub, so ye did ! " said his 
 grandfather, when the target was brought to him 
 and inspected. " She scattered more n she did 
 when I shot the pa tridge, but I s pose I got in a 
 leetle tew much paowder ; but you done almighty 
 well." 
 
32 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 So they went home, the one as proud as the 
 other, the old man with his birds, the boy with 
 his target, he running ahead to proclaim the 
 wonderful achievements of the twain. It was a 
 pleasure added to the old man s triumph, another 
 reward of his afternoon s outing, to see the de 
 parting form of Mrs. Purington waddling home 
 ward along the highway. 
 
 The two were welcomed with all the honors 
 they could desire ; even Mrs. Hill came forth from 
 her bedroom to view the trophies, and the young 
 sters home from school were dumb with admira 
 tion of the feats of their grandfather and brother. 
 Gran ther Hill recounted all the details of his 
 afternoon s adventure, and ended by saying : 
 
 " 1 don t b lieve I d ha faound one of em f t 
 had n t ben for that aire long-laiged Sam Lovel ; " 
 and Joseph, picking the birds, unmarked but by 
 the bullet holes in their necks, remarked with a 
 twinkle in his eyes that no one saw : 
 
 " I don t scarcely b lieve ye would, father ; 
 don t seem s ough ye would." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TWO KETURNING PILGRIMS. 
 
 A HOMESICKNESS, that time could not cure nor 
 alleviate, became so insufferable to Elisha Peggs 
 and Jerusha his wife that, after enduring it for 
 three years, they bade farewell to their son and 
 daughter-in-law and to the grandchildren who had 
 been the strongest tie to hold them to their uncon 
 genial Western home, and set forth on the long 
 journey to their native town of Danvis. 
 
 At first they voyaged on the Great Lakes, be 
 set with the alarms and qualms that would attend 
 such old inland-bred folks, then with greater com 
 fort on the Erie and Champlain Canals. Their 
 journey on the canal packet brought them fre 
 quently into a stir of busy life, wonderful and be 
 wildering to their unworldly wisdom. It often had 
 a pungent flavor of trivial incident and accident 
 not always pleasant in present experience, yet al 
 ways accounted of future value in the story to be 
 told to the untraveled home folks whom they were 
 soon to meet. At intervals, they made brief pas 
 sage through commercial towns whose stir and 
 bustle of traffic set their quiet brains in a whirl. 
 
34 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 and rang in their ears long after their boat was 
 again gliding through the quietude of farms and 
 woodlands. 
 
 Now, they were voyaging more pleasantly, be 
 yond the turmoil of towns, the bickerings of 
 rough-mannered boatmen, the shrill imprecations 
 of impish drivers, and the pain of seeing jaded 
 horses always before them on the tow path, to 
 whose toil they were adding a moiety of burden. 
 A lively and industrious little steamer that never 
 gave sign of weariness was now towing their long 
 narrow canal packet out of the marshy windings 
 of Lake Champlain s upper channel into widen 
 ing waters. A restful home feeling began to 
 come upon them with a sense of proprietorship in 
 the landscape. For here on their right hand lay 
 their own beloved Vermont, with its eternal 
 mountains and its homesteads grown gray in the 
 possession of generations of one name. There 
 were bawling teamsters with plodding oxen plow 
 ing snugly fenced fields, Morgan horses trotting 
 along the highways, and flocks of merino sheep 
 dotting the tawny pastures with flecks of umber 
 and streaking them with devious lines of pathway 
 often tending toward gnawed and nibbled stacks 
 that looked like immense mushrooms growing in 
 the dun fall fed meadows. Such familiar scenes, 
 thinly veiled in the ethereal web of an Indian 
 Summer day, gladdened their homesick hearts as 
 they sat on the deck. 
 
TWO RETURNING PILGRIMS. 35 
 
 The tide of travel was setting westward, and 
 in its feeble backflow this old couple found them 
 selves with but few companions, and these not 
 very congenial ones. 
 
 The captain was courteous in his way to these 
 old-fashioned folk, but was more drawn to con 
 versation with his younger passengers, and his 
 sole male assistant was a surly fellow who sulked 
 at his post and received questions as if they were 
 personal affronts, while he ground huge quids of 
 tobacco as if they were the hearts of his enemies, 
 and his enemies all mankind. The stewardess 
 and the cook, who composed the female portion of 
 the boat s company, were reticent concerning their 
 own affairs and not much interested in Aunt Je- 
 rusha s history, which she freely imparted to each 
 of them. So the two old people consorted mostly 
 together, she taking in all the sights as they sat 
 on deck, while she industriously knitted a blue 
 woolen stocking, and he lounging near her in en 
 forced idleness, wishing he was on his familiar, 
 leather-bottomed shoe-bench, tapping a boot or 
 closing up a seam with a waxed end. 
 
 Most of their fellow-passengers were returning 
 from spying out the land of promise, to sell their 
 gear at any price, and remove their families to 
 the region of unlimited possibilities, which they 
 were continually vaunting, while the impossibili 
 ties, except in the direction of poverty, of their 
 
36 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 New England birthright, were as continually set 
 forth, to the disgust of Uncle Lisha s loyal Yan 
 kee soul. 
 
 44 It s a dirty bird at faouls his own nest," was 
 his reply, to their disparagement of his beloved 
 stony soil. u I druther hev the leetle chunk o* 
 V mont sile at s goin tu kiver my ol bones n 
 tu hev the hull splatteration o yer West." 
 
 "There ain t room enough mongst your hills 
 to lay you down level," said a dapper little man 
 who was the acknowledged wit of the company. 
 
 44 Wai, then, let em stan me up in a post-hole. 
 i druther hev the top on t an a hull perary. 
 Don t you tell me baout your fever n aguy, flat- 
 ted-aout, humsick West. I ben there. Go tu 
 that diunbd pancake of a country f you wanter, 
 but le me stay nigher tu God ainighty s maoun- 
 tains." 
 
 44 1 never see sech a harnsome country," de 
 clared one enthusiastic pilgrim. " Why, I rid more 
 n a hundred mild an never see one hill higher n 
 a haystack. An sech crops o corn an wheat ! 
 More on one acre n you c n git on five here." 
 
 44 Honh," Uncle Lisha snorted contemptuously. 
 44 As ef it was a vartu in a country to be so flat, 
 water do know which way tu run. Blast the 
 crops, the ha no heart in em f they be big. I 
 druther hev a peck o Dutton corn, yis, er Tucket, 
 than a bushel o their hoss-tooth corn, wi no more 
 
TWO RETURNING PILGRIMS. 37 
 
 taste in t n moonshine. I tell ye, the s one crop 
 raised mongst these maountains t can t be beat, 
 ? n that s stiddy, ol -fashioned, hum-bidin men an 
 women. Not but what the s lots o clever, free 
 hearted folks aout West, but they re in such a 
 tarnal hurry it makes me tired, an the everlastin 
 flatness makes me humsick." 
 
 There was also a land speculator, in shabby 
 clothes and a pervading un cleanliness, with a port 
 folio of plans of unbuilt cities, which he persist 
 ently spread before every eye that would follow 
 his dirty, talon-like forefinger as it pointed out 
 the most desirable lots and traced the lines of 
 traffic that were surely to be established. " I 11 
 guarantee to make any man rich, yes, sir, forty 
 men rich, if they 11 follow my advice and buy as 
 I tell em." 
 
 " Good airth an seas," cried Uncle Lisha, re 
 turning his spectacles to their steel case and shut 
 ting it with a spiteful snap after a brief inspec 
 tion of the maps. " Ef I hed sech a chance tu 
 make other folks rich, I 7 d try it on myself fust, 
 an ef it worked, I d buy me some store clo s an 
 a hunk o soap ; " and thereafter the land specu 
 lator was silent in the old man s presence. 
 
 Presently the hoary ruins of Ticonderoga con 
 fronted them on the western shore, and it was as 
 if its self-vaunted hero, Gran ther Hill, had come 
 to welcome them to the dismantled fortress. Then 
 
38 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Chimney Point and Fort St. Frederic s shattered 
 walls swung apart before them, and they passed 
 into the broad expanse of calm blue water that 
 between pleasant shores stretched far away into 
 the pearly haze, where rock-anchored, purple islets 
 and white sails of laggard craft hung alike 
 moveless on the undefined verge of lake and sky. 
 Then far away to the northeast, silently welcom 
 ing them, in ghostly grandeur the landmarks of 
 their State, Mansfield and Camel s Hump, tow 
 ered through the film of haze ; and what warmed 
 their hearts still more, the lesser peak of their 
 own Danvis mountain, in whose shadow they had 
 dwelt so many years. 
 
 How impatient they were to be there again, yet 
 dreading the changes that time, in a little space, 
 might have wrought, and conjecturing no end of 
 obstacles that might still interpose to hinder their 
 safe return. It was weeks since they had heard 
 from the old home, for the East and West were 
 far asunder in those days of half a century ago, 
 and evil as well as good tidings passed slowly 
 from one to the other. 
 
 Flocks of wild fowl arose reluctantly from the 
 glassy surface of the lake at the steamer s ap 
 proach, settling again still further on ; or, making 
 curved detours, alighted so close astern that their 
 distorted doubles came crinkling across the fur 
 rows of the wake to mingle with the broken re- 
 
TWO RETURNING PILGRIMS. 39 
 
 flection of the canal-boat s painted side. The 
 lazy cawing of crows came floating in softened 
 cadence from the gray woods where they lingered, 
 loth to journey from a land so steeped in mellow 
 sunshine. A hound s sonorous baying, swelling 
 and falling among the wooded low hills, reminded 
 the old man of his hunter friend, Sam Lovel, 
 and, through him, of all Danvis friends and 
 neighbors. 
 
 " It s hopesin they re all well and hearty," 
 was his fervent prayer. 
 
 Now the ragged escarpments of Split Rock 
 Mountain began to respond with sharper, quicker 
 echoes than the low shores had given to the regu 
 lar, tireless pant of the steamer. The sun was 
 low in the west, and they beheld the miracle of 
 rapidly recurring sunsets as the red, rayless disc 
 sank from view behind the bristling silhouette of 
 a pinnacled peak, then emerged in the rugged 
 scoop of a gorge, then sank and rose again, till at 
 last their long weariness of prairie life was re 
 freshed with the abiding and deepening shadows 
 of the mountain. 
 
 Making a wide sweep toward the eastern shore, 
 where the sunset still glowed on hills and tree- 
 tops, the steamer presently dragged her inert con 
 sort on to the fading flush that lay like a motion 
 less sheet of flame on the tranquil breast of the 
 Otter, till her wake set it flickering and palpitat- 
 
40 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ing in long, undulating lines, that were buffeted 
 back from the shores in myriad scintillations ; 
 while like quenched brands, the black, broken re 
 flections of tree-trunks were tossed on the slow 
 waves. On the right bank of the low promon 
 tory at the river s mouth was a barrack-like stone 
 tavern for the accommodation of steamboat trav 
 elers, and in front of it, along the rocky verge of 
 the lake, ran the grass-grown zigzag of a low ram 
 part. The sight of this warmed Elisha s heart 
 with patriotic fire, for here, in the last war with 
 England, he had witnessed the gallant defense 
 that saved McDonough s warships, then lying in 
 the river, from destruction by a fleet of British 
 gunboats, and made possible the grand achieve 
 ment which swept the British armament from the 
 lake. 
 
 " The milishy was all called aout that time," 
 said he, " me mongst the rest, though I hed n t 
 no gret stomerk fur fightin . I wa n t ezackly here ; 
 my comp ny was posted over north tu Hawley s, 
 kinder watchin daown the lake fur the British. 
 We seen em comin way beyund Split Rock, a 
 hull snarl o blak gunboats an some sloops an a 
 big brig, I guess they called it, wi sails a-loomin 
 up like meetin -haousen, an we gin the larm tu the 
 sailors an artillery fellers over here. An bime- 
 by the gunboats come a-creepin up julluk black 
 snakes, an they begin firin th cannerns at the 
 
TWO EETUENING PILGRIMS. 41 
 
 leetle fort, an* oncte, a ball hit that aire ellum- 
 tree right on the eend o the p int an took a chunk 
 right off m one side, you c n see the scar naow. 
 The leetle fort, Fort Cassin, they called it, fur the 
 lef tenant commandin on t, gin em as good as they 
 sent, an the cannern thunderin an the echoes 
 rumblin an baoundin back an tu, made a n ise 
 like twenty Fo th o Julys rolled intu one. We 
 e ld see pooty nigh the hull caboodle on t f m 
 where we was over t other side the bay, an bime- 
 by we seen the gunboats a-crawlin off, clean licked 
 aout, tu where the ol he boat was stan in off jul- 
 luk a henhawk sailin over a barnyard, an then 
 they all put off down the lake V aout o sight. I 
 tell you we hoorayed when we seen em a-clearin 
 aout, fur we was jest as tickled as if we d helped 
 lick em, I don t know but tickleder, an we 
 knowed at McDonner s ships was safe ag in. 
 Nex day they was aout in the lake, a pooty sight 
 tu see, an ready tu lick anythin that come afore 
 em, an off they went north, an hum went we, 
 an wa n t bothered wi no more sojerin till we 
 went hurryin off tu Plattsburgh fight." 
 
 His wife had heard the story scores of times, 
 but never with so much interest as now when the 
 scene lay close before her, yet it was set in such 
 serenity of peace that she could scarcely imagine 
 it disturbed by the turmoil of battle. A little 
 girl stood on the grass-grown rampart, watching 
 
42 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 the passing boats, and from open windows of the 
 barrack-like stone inn caine the merry notes of a 
 fiddle and the romping footfalls of a dancing- 
 party, so early entered upon a night of untiring 
 gayety. 
 
 The passengers gathered about the narrator in 
 an attentive group. 
 
 " Wai, 1 want er know," said one, looking 
 with awakened interest on the ruins that before 
 had appeared so insignificant, " so they raly fit 
 right here. You don t say." 
 
 " It don t look much like it now," said another, 
 " so kinder peaceful like, an a fiddle a-goin jes 
 s if nothin hed n t never happened. Diff ent 
 music then, I guess the was. I d ruther be 
 shakin my hummels tu this sort of a jig." 
 
 " Wai, bein at you sorter fit fer V mont," 
 said one who had most glorified the West, " I 
 don t wonder at you be kinder praoud of her sile. 
 I guess I d be." 
 
 " I did fight fer her in arnest, tu Plattsburgh," 
 said the old man proudly, " an seen British reg - 
 lars runnin away f m V mont milishy. The was 
 a snarl on us, more n the was o Yorkers, though 
 it was on their sile. I wisht then at I was tu 
 hum, but I ben glad ever sence at I was there, 
 duin what I could, in my feeble way." 
 
 " I p sume to say that s the way folks gen ally 
 feels, erless they get licked er killed. Proberbly 
 
TWO RETURNING PILGRIMS. 43 
 
 that makes a diff unce in the feelin s," the first 
 speaker remarked and there was a general assent. 
 
 Presently, sight of the place and then its jolly 
 sounds were shut out by a wooded bend of the 
 river as the steamer steadily plowed her way up 
 the slow current. The south wind was rising 
 with premonitory sighs among the leafless button- 
 woods, whose huge ghostly trunks lined the 
 banks, and Jerusha was thankful that their craft 
 would make the remainder of her voyage in such 
 safe and narrow waters. 
 
 Night was falling, and the steamer briefly 
 parted the thickening shadows with the glimmer 
 of her lanterns and stirred the quiet of the shores 
 with her regular panting and its vibrating echoes. 
 After a time there was heard through these the 
 continuous monotone of the great cataract which 
 would presently bar their further voyaging. Its 
 incessant thunder, rolling in swelling volume 
 down the winding lane of water, came to them 
 now, a pleasant sound of welcome, not the sad 
 voice of farewell that three years ago had lin 
 gered in their ears with solemn, dying cadence, 
 long after the forms of friends had faded from 
 their sight. At the Falls, some of those friends, 
 long since apprised of their coming, would now 
 be awaiting them, and the boat surging steadily 
 onward, up the dark channel, went more slowly 
 than their hearts, to meet them. 
 
44 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 At length the lights of the town shone down 
 from the hill, and beacon lanterns on the wharves 
 glittered across the black eddies and white foam- 
 streaks, and then, amid much confusion and 
 shouting of orders from steamer, canal-boat, and 
 shore, the packet was got into her dock. 
 
 The two old people eagerly scanned the illumi 
 nated group of bustlers and idlers for some 
 friendly face. Over and over all the faces their 
 eyes went again and again, but found not a fa 
 miliar one nor one that brightened at sight of 
 their own. 
 
 " Good airth an seas," cried the old man in 
 sorrow and vexation, " hain t the one on em at 
 cared nough baout us tu come so fur tu meet 
 us ? I wisht I was back in Westconstant, I du." 
 
 "Oh, father, you don t nuther," said Aunt 
 Jerusha, ready to cry with disappointment, her 
 self. " They hain t never got aour letter, I know 
 they hain t." 
 
 " Mebby," he admitted, " but I don t see haow 
 they c d help gettin on t. I toF the post-office 
 feller tu send it right stret along." 
 
 " They hain t never got it," she reiterated, " fur 
 they hed, Samwill er some on em would ha 
 ben here. An who knows but what they re all 
 sick er suthin," she suggested. 
 
 " Sho, t aint no ways likely t they be, the hull 
 caboodle on em all tu oncte," he answered. 
 
TWO RETURNING PILGRIMS. 45 
 
 " Wai, anyways, the hain t no use o s misin er 
 tewin ; we 11 git there some way, tu-morrer. Le 
 me see, hain t tu-morrer Tuesday? An that s 
 the day the mail goes tu Danvis, an we c n 
 gwup in the mail wagin ef the hain t no other 
 way turns up. Come, le s go n git ontu aour 
 shelves oncte more an go tu sleep. It mus be 
 as much as ha -past eight." 
 
 So saying he turned to lead the way below, 
 casting as he went a last look on the group still 
 lingering about the wharf. The change of posi 
 tion brought into view a figure which before had 
 not caught his eye, but now suddenly arrested and 
 held it. It was a man rotund of form and feat 
 ure, who, in the background, leaned against the 
 side of a storehouse, while he turned his slow, 
 wondering gaze, now on the steamer, shrilly sing 
 ing herself to sleep in her berth, now on the al 
 most deserted packet. Uncle Lisha stood still a 
 moment, then caught his wife s arm with one 
 hand while with the other he pointed to the 
 newly revealed figure. 
 
 " Good airth an seas, Jerushy, ef there hain t 
 Jozeff Hill," he cried joyfully ; and in the next 
 breath roared so loudly that all eyes were turned 
 toward him, " Jozeff, Jozeff Hill, come here ! " 
 while Aunt Jerusha, too shaken with surprise 
 and joy to speak, could only beckon frantically. 
 
 Hearing his name called, Joseph Hill stepped 
 
46 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 hesitatingly forward a little, then stared about 
 him on either hand and behind, till at last, with 
 dawning recognition, he became aware of the two 
 figures on the canal-boat and quickened his steps. 
 " Why, ef t hain t, no t hain t nuther, yis, 
 t is tuther, Sam Hill ! Uncle Lisher an Aunt 
 Jerushy ! " he said in bewildered joy, and then 
 was shaking hands with both old friends at once 
 across the low gunwale of the boat. 
 
 " Git aboard, git aboard," cried Uncle Lisha, 
 changing the hand-shaking to a lusty pull, " an 
 then we c n be kinder socierble." 
 
 "Wai, no," said Joseph, carefully examin 
 ing the narrow space between the boat and the 
 wharf, " guess I don t need no board; seem s 
 ough I eld step right on t the boat. It won t 
 tip, will it ? " he asked, as he stepped carefully on 
 deck. "An naow, where did you come from. 
 an why did n t you seddaown an write you was 
 comin fore you started, so s t some on us could 
 ha met you, hey ? " 
 
 " Why, hain t you met us, Jozeff ? Wai, what 
 more s wantin ? But you don t say Samwil] 
 never got nary letter ? " 
 
 " Nary letter, that is tu say, not thin tew. 
 three mont s ; I d know, mebby t ain t more n 
 tew inont s, an it s on y jest a happen-so at I m 
 here. I come daown wi a Ihud o sawed spreuce 
 shingle fer Morrison, an s long s I hed tu stay 
 
TWO BETUBNING PILGBIMS. 47 
 
 over night and hedn t nothin tu du, thet is, 
 nothin pertic lar, I thought I d come daown an 
 kinder see the shippin an things. No more idee 
 o seein you an I hed o seein wal, Noer an 
 his wife on the ark, I don t b lieve I hed. But 
 I m gladder tu see you n I would them, a dumb 
 sight. An naow f you c ld ride on a hay-riggin , 
 I ve got buffalos an blankits, I c n take you 
 right hum, tu-morrer." 
 
 " Good airth an seas, we c ld ride on a stun- 
 boat at was goin tu Danvis, an glad o the 
 chance. But le s go daown int the cabin where 
 it s more comfortabler." 
 
 " Why, yis," Joseph assented, " f you d ruther 
 go daown suller n tu stay on the ruff, I d jest 
 s livs, I do know but I hed, though I du kinder 
 spleen agin gittin nigher the water. I got sunk 
 in a ol she boat oncte, clear the hull len th o my 
 laigs." 
 
 "Where on airth did you find water deep 
 enough? " Uncle Lisha asked with a chuckle as 
 he glanced at his friend s short nether limbs and 
 led the way into the cabin. The strange interior, 
 with its tier of berths, its many chairs, and its 
 long vista of carpeted floor, filled Joseph with 
 astonishment. 
 
 "An haow be you?" he inquired when he 
 regained coherent speech. " Do know but I ast 
 you, but don t seem s ough I did. Fact on t is, 
 
48 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 meetin you so onexpected put me all abaout so 
 I did n t scarcely know which eend iny head was 
 on." 
 
 They in their turn asked him much faster than 
 he in his slow, undecided way could well answer, 
 first, concerning the welfare of every friend and 
 neighbor, and then, what events, public and pri 
 vate, had lately stirred the placid current of Dan- 
 vis life. So they sat talking for an hour, when 
 an irrepressible drowsiness made them aware it 
 was late bedtime, and Joseph arose to go. Still 
 talking the two groped their way to the deck, 
 and Uncle Lisha saw him safely on the deserted 
 wharf. There Joseph lingered to repeat his 
 promise to come for them with his wagon " jest 
 as soon arter breakfus as he could hitch up," and 
 then plodded away to his lodgings. 
 
 The sounds of human voices and footsteps had 
 dropped out of the night and the continual dull 
 thunder of the Falls alone pervaded it as the old 
 voyagers climbed into their berths for the last time, 
 and presently fell into a more restful sleep than 
 had come to them for many a night, for now they 
 were almost home, and assured of the well-being 
 ul tiit/Lr 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOME AGAIN. 
 
 JOSEPH HILL must have had a late breakfast 
 and been a long time harnessing his horses, for 
 the morning was far spent when he made his 
 serene appearance, which had for some time been 
 heralded as with the rattle of drums by the clat 
 ter of his hay wagon. 
 
 At last they were fairly set forth on the final 
 stage of their journey. The little city was behind 
 them, the roar of the cataract becoming fainter 
 and fainter on their ears, and before them arose, 
 ever a little nearer, their own mountain, towering 
 into the drift of clouds. The gusty south wind 
 blew so chilly that Uncle Lisha drew his bell- 
 crowned beaver well down upon his ears and but 
 toned closer his many-caped drab surtout, and 
 Aunt Jerusha, muffled in a melon hood and blue 
 camlet cloak, with a buffalo skin tucked about 
 her, was none too warm. Withal they were un 
 mercifully jolted, tumbled now together, now 
 apart, on the board seat which they often could 
 only keep by hard holding. Yet in spite of any 
 discomfort, their old hearts grew lighter with 
 
50 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 every shortening furlong of their homeward way. 
 They were continually shouting inquiries to Jo 
 seph and he shouting back disjointed answers 
 above the din of the wagon, all together making 
 an uproar of voices and clatter that might have 
 alarmed neighborhoods less accustomed to such 
 sounds. 
 
 They were impatient of every delay; when 
 Joseph would halt a moment to pass a few words 
 with some teamster that they met, he was re 
 minded by a hint that the day was waning. 
 They woidd not waste time in stopping to eat 
 lunch, but ate as they bounced along the rough 
 road. If the jolting sometimes cheated the 
 opened jaws of an expected, gyrating mouthful, 
 these old people partook with the appetite of 
 children of the good, home -cooked fare that 
 Maria Hill had bountifully provided for her hus 
 band s refreshment. 
 
 "These ere fried cakes is complete," Uncle 
 Lisha said, as he captured another doughnut 
 from the dodging pail and gave it to his wife. 
 
 " Yes," she said, regarding it with benign ap 
 proval, " they be proper good, an Marier twists 
 em jest as she useter. Taste better n them 
 raound things wi a hole in the middle at some 
 folks makes ; " and Uncle Lisha understood that 
 their son s wife was as good as named by this 
 general term. 
 
HOME AGAIN. 51 
 
 " Them was invented fer folks at goes afoot 
 tu kerry on a string er string em on a fish pole 
 er a gun berril, an they re raal handy," he ex 
 plained. 
 
 " I don t keer," she answered, " I don t wanter 
 be a-tryin tu stay my stomerk wi holes. Gi 
 me solid victuals." 
 
 But once Uncle Lisha did call a halt. They 
 had satisfied their hunger and were brushing the 
 crumbs from their garments when they entered 
 the hill country, where a cold mountain brook 
 braided the strands of its clear current along the 
 roadside, frequently crossing from one to the 
 other beneath rude wooden bridges. 
 
 " Whoa, Jozeff," he shouted, as his delighted 
 gaze returned from roving up evergreen slopes 
 and climbing rocky peaks, to rest upon the spark 
 ling water, " le me git aout. It s three year sen* 
 I hed a drink o what you might call water, an 
 I m drier n a graven image. Naow I m goin 
 tu ha some." As he spoke he clambered down 
 from the rear of the wagon, and waddled like a 
 thirsty duck to the brookside. Carefully setting 
 his hat upon a stone he got upon his hands and 
 knees and drank long and eagerly from a pebble- 
 bottomed pool, while the bubbles went to wreck 
 upon his nose and sprinkled his face with un 
 heeded spray. 
 
 " Ah-h-h," he sighed, raising himself a little to 
 
52 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 regain his breath ; " that squenches me clean tu 
 the soles o my boots ; " and again he set himself 
 to lessening the volume of the brook. " Naow, 
 Jerushy," said he, as he got upon his feet and 
 wiped his face with the ample bandanna that he 
 stowed in his hat crown, " gi me the kiver o 
 that tin pail an I 11 treat ye." 
 
 He passed the brimming pail cover over to his 
 wife, while Joseph, casting a glance down stream, 
 remarked : 
 
 " Why, Uncle Lisher, I b lieve you ve drinked 
 the brook dry. Seem s ough I c ld see the 
 traouts a-kickin on the gravel daown yender." 
 
 " Like s not, Jozeff ; I had a thirst at was 
 wiith ten dollars in money, an I Ve squenched it. 
 Why, good airth an seas, Jozeff, what they call 
 water aout West is wet, an some kind o fish live 
 in t, an you c n wash you in t arter a fashion, 
 but when you come tu drinkin on t, you haf tu 
 make it intu tea, er mix it wi whiskey, but it 
 spiles the whiskey. Wai, le s be gittin along. 
 I m in a hurry tu git hum, an I swan, I m a 
 good min tu set on the front seat so s tu git 
 there quicker." 
 
 They were nearing their own township, and 
 the landscape was becoming more and more fa 
 miliar. The forlorn aspect of the naked trees 
 and fields, tawny with dead grass or stubble or 
 black with furrows of fall ploughing, did not di 
 
HOME AGAIN. 53 
 
 minish the interest of the travelers in every fea 
 ture of the landscape, for unlike Joseph, who had 
 seen it all so lately as yesterday, they scanned 
 eagerly every farm and homestead, recognizing 
 every old landmark and discovering every 
 change. 
 
 " That ort tu be the Johns place," said the 
 old man after a long look at a farmstead that had 
 come into view ; " but somehaow it don t look 
 nat ral. Why, f Johns hain t ben a-buildin on 
 him a haouse. Who d ever a thought o him 
 duin that, tighter n the bark tu a tree, an yit 
 never had nothin tu du nothin with. An f he 
 hain t ben cuttin off half his sugar-place, the 
 dumb fool. I d never thought o Johns duin 
 that." 
 
 " OF Mr. Johns died las year, er year afore, 
 mebby ; I d know," Joseph explained, speaking 
 over his shoulder. "Abner heired it all, an* 
 he s cuttin consid able of a swath with the oP 
 man s prop ty." 
 
 " Ah-h-h, that caounts for it," the old man 
 said; "most allers the way. OF folks pinchin 
 an savin for young folks tu squander. So poor 
 ol Johns is dead. You don t say. Wai, wal, 
 an hed tu leave all his savin s. I uster shoe- 
 make fer him, an he d allers hev his n an his 
 wife s an boy s boots an shoes made a size tew 
 small t save hither." 
 
54 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 "Naow don t, Lisher," his wife expostulated 
 mildly ; " he s dead an done wi boots an 
 shoes? 
 
 " An I hain t no daoubt it s a comfort tu him 
 t" git red o the expense." 
 
 " Lisher Peggs ! Hain t you shamed ? Prob- 
 erbly he s a-wearin goold shoes." 
 
 " Not by a jugful ! Ketch him a-wearin aout 
 goold shoes a-pluggin raound the streets o the 
 new Jerrus hum ! If he s got any sech, he s ker- 
 ryin em n under his arm." Willing to turn the 
 conversation, he exclaimed, " See them critters," 
 pointing to a long straggling flock of crows that, 
 close above the tree-tops of the Johns sugar- 
 place, staggered southward in slow, laborious 
 flight against the buffeting wind ; " but nex 
 spring they 11 be as glad as we be tu git back 
 here, an gether the crow tax an pull corn an 
 raise hob an their young uns an git shot at. 
 An here we be to the top o the Johns Hill, an 
 there s ol Tater HiU an the Hump, julluk ol 
 frien s a-risin up tu welcome us, not a mite al 
 tered nor a day older tu look at. I hope there 
 hain t no livin frien s changed no more." 
 
 At the thought of such possibilities a shade of 
 sadness touched his radiant face. " The Hump s 
 got his white cap on," pointing to the snow- 
 sheathed helmet of the majestic mountain, for a 
 moment disclosed by a rift of the driving clouds. 
 
HOME AGAIN. 55 
 
 " * Time your taters was dug, says he. An by 
 thunder, I begin tu git the smell o the balsams 
 an spreuces. Good airth an seas, I c ld holler 
 an I c ld sing, an I m a dumb good minter," 
 his heavy voice increasing to a roar that threat 
 ened something alarming if it should rise to 
 greater volume. 
 
 " Lisher Peggs, du fer land s sake behave. 
 Folks 11 think you re bein brung home crazy." 
 
 " Let em think," shouted he ; " t won t hurt 
 em none. I m goin tu. Hooray ! Sing, Je- 
 rushy, sing, I tell you. 
 
 " Come, Philander, le s be a-marchin , 
 Ev ry one his treu love a-sarchin ; 
 Chuse your treu love, now or never, 
 See that you don t chuse no other. 
 Fol de rol de fol de rol de day. " 
 
 Aunt Jerusha could not forbear adding her 
 quavering voice to his roaring refrain, and then, 
 with tears on her wrinkled cheeks, laughed hys 
 terically, exclaiming, " What tew ol fools we 
 be." 
 
 Joseph laughed in enjoyment of their exube 
 rant happiness and hummed to himself a bit of 
 the old song with some intention of adding his 
 voice if they should strike up again. Then ur 
 ging on his horses the wagon went rattling down 
 the long hill at a pace that jolted all the tuneful 
 ness out of Lisha s voice, while his hat, already 
 
56 DsiNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 shaken down to the bridge of his nose, threat 
 ened presently to quite extinguish his utterance. 
 Carefully shoving the cherished beaver upward 
 with both hands till he regained sight of his 
 surroundings, he remarked in a quieter tone, 
 44 There s the Dan l Perkins place jest as it was 
 when I see it last." 
 
 44 Why, land o Goshen, so it is," cried Aunt 
 Jemsha; "an Mis Perkins has got her milk 
 things aout sunnin this claoudy day. Raises 
 sunflaower seeds to feed her turkeys on jest s she 
 allers did. See what a sight o stalks in the gar- 
 din. They must ha looked harnsome when they 
 was in blow. But I d leetle ruther feed turkeys 
 corn for me t eat. Ily things sunflaower seeds be. 
 An there s the turkeys goin t rhust on the 
 ridge o the ruff, jest as c ntented s if day arter 
 t -morrer warn t Thanksgivin . I wish t Mis 
 Perkins er him d come aou -door, I du hanker so 
 tu see someb dy t I know. But there s the ol 
 yaller dawg ; " as a stiff-legged old dog came 
 waddling down the footpath toward the road, 
 asthmatically and mechanically performing his 
 self-appointed duty of barking at every passing 
 team ; having accomplished which, he waddled 
 back to the house, congratulating himself with 
 labored wags of his rigid tail. 44 1 c n see faces 
 in the winders, but I can t tell em. Why on 
 airth don t some on em come aou -door? But 
 
HOME AGAIN. 57 
 
 I s pose they don t know who we be ! " sighed 
 Aunt Jerusha, again looking forward, after pain 
 fully twisting her neck to keep the house longer 
 in view. 
 
 " Tew more hills an you 11 see hausen and 
 folks nough t you know," said her husband 
 cheerfully, " ef t ain t got tu be tew dark by 
 then. An there s a hoss, colored and gaited 
 kinder famil ar," he continued, while his eyes be 
 came fixed on a sleek, black horse that was soberly 
 coming down the hill which they were ascending. 
 " Good airth an seas, Jerushy, it s aour ol Bob 
 an that aire big John Dart at bought him, a- 
 drivin on him ; " and in the next minute he said 
 as the teams met, "Wai, ol Bob, haow be ye, 
 ye tarnal ol critter ? Don t ye know yer own 
 folks ? " while the old horse pricked his ears at 
 the sound of the unmistakable, familiar voice. 
 " Whoa, Jozeff, I got to git aout a minute." 
 Joseph, never loth to stop, pulled up his horses, 
 and the old man, getting to the ground with 
 clumsy haste, went round to Bob, caressing the 
 white nose which was thrust into his horny hand, 
 and would have kissed it if there had been no 
 one to see him. " Johnswort hain t made your 
 ol white nose sore this year, hes it ? You know 
 your own folks, don t you? Slick s an otter, 
 Lain t ye, an hain t growed ol a mite, not a mite ; 
 hos he, Jerushy ? " as he patted his way along 
 
58 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 the old horses glossy, black sides toward the wa 
 gon and its occupant, to whom he now stretched 
 forth his hand. 
 
 " Haow dy du, Mr. Dart, you an ol Bob 
 looking fustrate ? " 
 
 44 Oh, tol ble," responded the giant, shaking the 
 old man s hand with a painful grip that for its 
 heartiness was heroically borne ; 44 but pinin 
 away to a cartload ; and be you well, and you, 
 Mis Peggs? Kinder tuckered aout trav lin ? 
 Putty tough on folks o your age trav lin so fur. 
 You never ort tu gone West, an I m mighty 
 glad y re back in ol V mont agin ; " meantime 
 turning his horse s head so that Aunt Jerusha s 
 outstretched hand could reach it. 
 
 44 Thank ye, Mr. Dart," said she in a trem 
 bling voice, as she stroked Old Bob s white nose 
 and patted his glossy neck. 44 Yis, I ni well, an 
 I hope I see you the same." 
 
 " I ve got tu hev me some boots made," Dart 
 said to Uncle Lisha as the old man clambered 
 into the wagon, 44 an when I c n git a couple 
 sides o hither, I shall be over," holding up one 
 enormous foot to show the necessity of such am 
 ple provision ; 44 an then, you must tell me all 
 abaout the West an ev ybody aout there." 
 
 44 Wai, if his feet be big " chuckled Uncle 
 Lisha as they rode away, 44 a kiver fur his heart 
 ould hafter be made on the same kind o last." 
 
HOME AGAIN. 59 
 
 Joseph urged his horses forward, but before 
 they began to climb the second hill the shadows 
 of evening were thick in the hollows and creep 
 ing to the hilltops in gathering volume, till the 
 bounds of gray woods and tawny fields grew un- 
 definable in the even hue of dusk, and the outlines 
 of the wooded ridges were blurred against the 
 sombre sky. When the promised point of ob 
 servation was reached, the valley of Danvis lay 
 before them in the thick darkness of early night 
 fall, the gloom relieved only by the broken chain 
 of house-lights that here and there defined the 
 lines of highways, and in a thicker cluster of 
 links marked the place of the village. 
 
 A moment after they had reached the hilltop, 
 the expectant silence of the pair was broken by 
 Lisha in a tone of disappointment. " Wai, I 
 swan, we can t see nuthin . It s darker n a 
 wolf s maouth. But I c n pick aout the lights. 
 There s the forge an Hamner s an the store, 
 an there s the blacksmith s shop, an there the 
 lower rhud goes off north. An the fust haouse 
 on it is Darkter Stun s, an then comes Gove s 
 wonder ef that s Peltier pokin aout tu the barn 
 wi a lantern an there s Level s, where we re 
 goin , an there, baout a hundred rods furder 
 north, ort tu be aour lights shinin , one in the 
 3hop V nuther in the haouse part; but they 
 won t never be lit ag in, I s pose. I wish t they 
 
60 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 was an these tew humless an humly ol creeturs 
 was in the light on em, she a-fussin raound 
 her kitchin, him a-whackin away t his lapstiin, 
 all his frien s a-loafin raound, smokin an tellin 
 stories. But they won t be, never." 
 
 " Why, yes, Lisher, you 11 shoemake agin an 
 hev yer frien s comin an visitin jes s they 
 useter," said his wife, her voice modulated to the 
 tender tone with which she woidd have comforted 
 a child. 
 
 " Yis, yis, I 11 shoemake, but it won t be as it 
 useter was. Ol times don t never come ag in. 
 Ye look back an ye look forrad tu em, but they 
 never ketch up tu ye, nor meet ye ; ho, hum ! " 
 
 "Ain t that light tu Solon Briggs s?" asked 
 his wife, recalling him to the locating of home 
 steads. 
 
 " An there s yourn, Jozeff, and Joel Bartlett 
 hain t a-hidin his n under a ha -bushel, for there 
 it shines afore all men. An there s Pur n ton s, 
 an , le me see, why that aire leetle glim o light 
 off t the left is Antwine s. Ev ry identical 
 haouse lit up but aourn. But we re alive an 
 kickin yit," he added more cheerfully; and so 
 he completed the round of his mental visitation, 
 during which Joseph had contributed items of un 
 certain information as each neighbor was named. 
 
 " An so yer father s hel his own tol ble well, 
 hes he, Jozeff? I swan tu man, I dread meetin 
 
HOME AGAIN. 61 
 
 on him, for he 11 gi me Hail Columby f er comin 
 back was n he did f er goin away. But ef I c n 
 on y git him tu takin Ti, he ll le me alone. 
 He hes speUs o takin Ti yit, don t he, Jozeff?" 
 
 " Wai, yis," Joseph answered with a tone of 
 resignation. " Reg lar oncte a week, an I don t 
 know but oftener ; seem s ough. Sometimes I 
 most wish him an Ethan Allen hed n t never took 
 the pleggid oF fort, seems s ough I did a most." 
 
 Presently, when they could see on the steps 
 of the store, which was also the post-office, the ex 
 pectant group awaiting the mail, staring into 
 the gloom out of the dim light shed through 
 the dusty panes and the sprinkled rays of a tin 
 lantern, they turned the corner and took the 
 road northward, familiar even hi the darkness. 
 Mingled with the gusty roar of the wind, they 
 heard the note of a hound swelling and falling 
 among the rugged corrugations of the nearest 
 hill, a persistent, plaintive voice, as sad and 
 lonely as the cry of some perturbed spirit, 
 doomed to nightly wandering. 
 
 " That saounds julluk Sam s ol Drive," said 
 Uncle Lisha, after giving an attentive ear to the 
 sound. "I hope Samwill s got in, fer I wanter 
 come kerslap ont tha hull caboodle on em, an* 
 s prise em all tu oncte. There," as the sudden 
 report of a gun was blown short and echoless, 
 down the wind, " there goes his gun, tu call the 
 
62 D.iNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 haoun off. Drive slow, Jozeff, an* give him a 
 chance tu git hum ahead on us, an don t make 
 no n ise." 
 
 To drive slower was almost to stop, but Joseph 
 accomplished the feat and still made some pro 
 gress. They were nearing the Lovel homestead 
 and could see the lights of the kitchen windows 
 shining across the dooryard and fading out at the 
 roadside, in shadows of the naked lilacs. Then 
 they heard the scraping of feet on the doorstep ; 
 the door opened and a brighter bar of light 
 gleamed forth, streaked with the longer shadows 
 of two long legs, as Sam s tall form was briefly 
 shown in silhouette against the bright interior, 
 then disappeared, with the old hound pushing in 
 after his master. 
 
 When the wagon stopped in front of the house, 
 unheard by the inmates in the uproar of the wind, 
 the travelers saw a woman s shadow passing to 
 and fro across the half-curtain of the window and 
 knew it was Hiddah s, and by the clatter of the 
 dishes that she was laying her husband s supper. 
 
 " Good minter holler tu her tu set tew more 
 plates," Uncle Lisha whispered, smothering a 
 chuckle in an asthmatic wheeze. 
 
 " Come, Jerushy, pile aout s spry as ye can," 
 he continued, getting to the ground and reaching 
 up his hands to help, while he braced himself to 
 aid her descent. "Bear yer hull heft on me. 
 
HOME AGAIN. 63 
 
 Why, ye don t weigh no more n a straw hat. 
 There, yer horses 11 stan , Jozeff, an* naow you 
 go ahead an ask them f they c n keep a couple 
 o poor lee tie young uns t you picked up on the 
 rhud, over night." 
 
 " Tew young uns ? Oh, Sam Hill," Joseph 
 ejaculated, and they could hear the loose-bladed 
 jack-knife and wooden pocket-combs rattling in 
 his pocket with the suppressed laughter that 
 shook him. 
 
 " Yis, young uns ; an tell em they hain t no 
 parents an hain t hed no supper, an don t ye 
 laugh. An be quick, fer I can t wait," giving 
 the last injunction as Joseph reached the door, 
 and they halted close behind him. 
 
 Joseph entered without knocking, after the 
 neighborly fashion of Danvis, and the door closed 
 behind him as he uttered the salutation, 
 
 " Evenin V 
 
 "Evenin ," came Sam s hearty answer from 
 where he was stooping over the cradle of his 
 sleeping baby, and they heard Huldah s cheery 
 welcome and Timothy Level s voice, as he came 
 in his stockings, to set a chair for the guest. 
 
 " Consarn him," Uncle Lisha whispered when 
 he heard the loud sigh of satisfaction which an 
 nounced that Joseph had seated himself. " Naow 
 he U set an set tu all etarnity fore he gits tu 
 what he s arter." 
 
64 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 44 Wai, ben huntin , hey ? " Joseph drawled. 
 " Git one, did you ? " 
 
 44 Yes, got one," was the answer. 
 
 44 Not when I heerd ye shoot, sence dark ? " 
 
 44 No, callin Drive off then. Shot one fox, 
 fore noon, an started another, but he run the 
 hull len th o Hawg s Back an never come back 
 till dark." 
 
 ( 44 Consarn the dumb fox, he 11 be a-huntin on 
 him half the night," Uncle Lisha growled under 
 his breath, half angry Sam should be talking of 
 such trivial matters with his old friends so near.) 
 
 44 1 heerd the dawg an I heerd ye shoot," Jo 
 seph put in at the first break in the story of the 
 day s hunt, 44 s I was comin long jest gittin 
 back f m Vgennes ; went daown wi a Ihud o 
 shingles for Morrison, yist d y." 
 
 44 Did you stop t the office ? " Sam asked with 
 sudden interest. 44 No? Wai, I mus go over 
 arter I git suthin t eat an see f the hain t a let 
 ter f m Uncle Lisher." (The old people silently 
 exchanged punches of each other s ribs.) 44 It s 
 cur us he hain t writ. I hope the hain t nothin 
 happened." 
 
 ( 44 The will suthin ," Uncle Lisha whispered 
 hoarsely. 44 1 11 go in an shake the paigs aouten 
 Joe Hill s boots, f he don t up an tell his leetle 
 lie pooty quick.") 
 
 41 1 was comin long kinder mawdrit fer me, 
 
HOME AGAIN. 65 
 
 over beyend the Johns place, I b lieve it was, I 
 do know but t was this side o Perkinses, I 
 rather guess it was. Anyways, the s a but nut- 
 tree, an onderneath that but nut-tree, the was 
 tew pooty leetle young uns," said Joseph, raising 
 his voice, " as ever you see ; (" Dumb your pic- 
 ter," whispered Uncle Lisha, shaking his fist at 
 the door ; ) he a-crackin but nuts wi a stun, an 
 a-feedin on em tu her, an there they sot, she 
 a-cryin an him a-crackin , an they tol me, I 
 don t know but what they lied, but they tol me 
 they had n t got nothin tu eat, an hed n t no 
 father an mother all day. (" Joe Hill, I never 
 tol you tu tell no sech a lie," the old man said 
 in a smothered growl.) They d come f m way 
 off somewher s, an they re goin way back here 
 somewher s, tu some o the folks er suthin , an 
 I jest fetched em along. An I come in tu see 
 f you couldn t kinder keep em over night, 
 cause ye see we re kinder full t aour haouse, an 
 M ri , she hain t got what ye might call tough 
 yit, an think, says I, as I come along, I U ask 
 Samwill an Huldy tu take em in." 
 
 " Be they a-settin aout in your wagin all this 
 time ? " Sam asked sharply. " Why on airth 
 don t ye fetch em right in? Poor leetle cubs, 
 a-shiverin aou -door whilst we re a-gabbin in here 
 comf table. Fetch em right in," and he made a 
 quick movement toward the door. 
 
66 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 Huldah stayed him with a hand upon his arm, 
 and, with an anxious glance toward the cradle, 
 asked hurriedly, " They hain t got whoopin cough 
 ner nothin , hev they, Mr. Hill? The s 
 whoopin cough an measles raound." 
 
 " Wai, no, Huldy," Joseph drawled. " They re 
 healthy as boneset, an come tu think on t, they 
 hain t so turrible leetle. I do know but what 
 they re pooty nigh growed up." 
 
 " Joseph Hill, what on this livin airth be you 
 talkin baout? Be you crazy or hev you ben 
 drinkin ?" Huldah asked in a sharp tone of 
 mingled vexation and astonishment, while Sam 
 fixed a bewildered stare upon their visitor. 
 
 " Good land o Goshen," cried Aunt Jerusha, 
 " I can t stan sech foolin no longer," and with 
 trembling, impatient hands fumbling at the 
 looped iron door-handle, she raised the latch and 
 entered. 
 
 With a yearning for womanly touch and sym 
 pathy that could find no expression in words, 
 brushing past Sam, she went with the quick, 
 jerky step of an agile old woman and with arms 
 outspread, straight to Huldah, and the fresh young 
 face and the other, wrinkled with age, were hid 
 den together beneath the melon hood. 
 
 "An naow," quavered Aunt Jerusha, with 
 drawing her face a little from Huldah s, and 
 eagerly, though with tearful eyes, searching the 
 room, where s that baby ? " 
 
HOME AGAIN. 67 
 
 Uncle Lisha had entered close behind her, and 
 roaring, "Good airth an seas," which it was 
 good to hear again, was shaking hands with every 
 one, at last even with Joseph and Aunt Jerusha, 
 never letting go a hand till the possessor of that 
 member was dragged to where the next was await 
 ing his grasp. The old hound, awakened by the 
 unusual commotion, scrambled out backward from 
 his place beneath the stove, with a prodigious 
 clatter of his stiff toes, and, after sniffing at Uncle 
 Lisha s knee, set up a bellow of welcome and be 
 labored every one s legs with sounding blows of 
 his tail. The baby, aroused by the noise, swelled 
 it with his own lusty outcry while Aunt Jerusha 
 fluttered back and forth, hovering now over the 
 child, now over the stove, and lamenting her 
 hands were too cold to take him. At last by lulla- 
 bys and commands, quiet was partially restored, 
 Aunt Jerusha was divested of her cloak and hood 
 by Huldah s ready hands, Uncle Lisha was labo 
 riously unsheathed from his tight-sleeved surtout 
 by the united exertions of Sam and Joseph, and 
 Timothy Lovel stood aloof, an interested spec 
 tator, helpful in holding the bell-crowned beaver. 
 
 When the travelers chest, bandbox, and blue 
 cotton umbrella were brought in, the men drew 
 their chairs to the stove and set themselves to 
 the business of visiting, and the two women ex 
 changed whispered confidences while the elder 
 
68 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 made excursive advances toward the baby s ac 
 quaintance and the younger busied herself with 
 preparation of an ampler supper. Joseph Hill 
 would not stay to sup with them. He told M rT, 
 he said, at he d be hum to supper an she d be 
 a-keepin on t fer him ; so promising to bring his 
 father and wife over soon to see their old friends, 
 after his lingering fashion, he took himself away. 
 
 The tall clock that in former years had placidly 
 ticked away innumerable sad and happy moments 
 of these old people s lives, had escaped their no 
 tice till, with a wheezy purr, it began deliberately 
 to strike the hour. Uncle Lisha checked a half- 
 spoken word to listen. " Jerushy, du you hear 
 the ol clock? " he cried ; and the two went over 
 to it, fondly examining its dull, brazen face, and 
 opening the narrow door, displaying the ponder 
 ous weights so often coveted by Sam in his boy 
 hood for the treasure of shot which they were 
 said to hold. 
 
 " An here s suthin else I wanter hev ye look 
 at," said their host ; and taking a candle he led 
 them into the afterthought of builders known as 
 a lean-to, whither Huldah followed, and Timothy 
 Lovel came to stand in the doorway with an 
 amused smile ready to flicker upon his quiet 
 countenance. 
 
 There was revealed the old shoemaker s bench 
 at a long, low window, beneath which was fas- 
 
HOME AGAIN. 69 
 
 tened a folding wooden sconce with a candle in 
 it, some familiar chairs, veterans with disabled 
 legs, and the old shop s cracked stove. This 
 familiar furniture, with some rolls of leather and 
 a few blocks of unsplit pegs, gave the room, but 
 for its unuse and cleanliness, much the appear 
 ance of the old shop. To complete the likeness 
 there was only lacking a clutter of lasts and tools, 
 an accumulation of rubbish, and an odor of to 
 bacco, mingled with the smell of leather that 
 already pervaded it. 
 
 Even as it was, it gave the old man a thrill of 
 delight that nearly took his breath away. He 
 could only gasp, "Good airth an seas," and 
 plumped himself into the leathern seat as if he 
 had again found rest and peace. Instinctively he 
 stretched forth his hand to the place where his 
 tools should be. Looking up at Sam and Huldah 
 with a smile more expressive of thanks than any 
 words could be, he said : 
 
 " Ol times can t never come back ag in, but it 
 seems as ough this, wi a leetle seasonin , would 
 eenamost fetch em." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 
 
 IT was with devout thankfulness that Uncle 
 Lisha and his wife found that the time which had 
 seemed so long to them had wrought few changes 
 among old friends and familiar scenes. If they 
 could but have taken up the broken thread of 
 their far-spent life in their old brown house and 
 shop, the measure of present contentment would 
 have been full. Yet they inherited, in some 
 measure, the adaptability to change which has 
 come, through restless generations of pioneers, to 
 the Yankee race, and they were content to be the 
 welcome inmates of the Level s hospitable home. 
 
 It was pleasant to be so near the old home, 
 and it comforted them to know that human life 
 had quite gone out of it when they forsook it. 
 The capricious November weather having fallen 
 into an unexpected mood of mildness on the day 
 after their arrival, they walked down to the old 
 place and found it little changed since they had 
 last seen it, except by the air of complete deser 
 tion that pervaded it. 
 
 They pushed open the unlatched door and en* 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 71 
 
 tered with an awed sense of being the ghosts of 
 their former selves, yet apparitions that would 
 affright no one, nor scarcely disturb the squirrels 
 that hoarded their stores in the garret, nor inter 
 rupt the woodpecker s tattoo on the gable clap 
 boards, nor awaken the woodchuck from his long 
 nap under the flooring of the shop. Upon this 
 floor, that was indented with his own and innu 
 merable other heel-marks, the old cobbler saw the 
 rubbish of leather scraps almost as he had left it, 
 but for the blue mould that had gathered on it, 
 quite overpowering with mustiness the odor of 
 tannin and wax that once pervaded the dingy lit 
 tle den. 
 
 Thence the two went into the house part, 
 in which their married life had begun, where 
 children had been born to them, where they had 
 toiled and grown weary and rested, whose low 
 browed rooms were hallowed by days and years 
 of happiness and sorrow and the slow healing of 
 bereavement. 
 
 In the kitchen, from the blank fireplace, with 
 its ashes of the last fire they had kindled there, 
 already showing a green film of moss, the crane 
 stretched out to them its naked, sooty arm, 
 whether interrogating or supplicating, seemed not 
 clear to them. Out of the smoky ceiling the 
 empty iron hooks reached toward them as if ask 
 ing the old burdens of crooknecks and dried 
 
72 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 apples. Amid them, the empty stovepipe hole 
 stared down at the unworn patch of floor the 
 winter stove had covered, in silent reproach. 
 Their own hushed voices sounded hollow and un 
 natural. 
 
 In vain they strove to rehabilitate the rooms 
 in imagination with their old furniture ; they 
 could not make them homelike nor bring any 
 warmth of their old life to dispel the pervading 
 smell of unused, unpainted wood, except once 
 when Aunt Jerusha opened the kitchen cupboard 
 and there came out of it a faint, embalmed odor 
 of loaf cake and gingerbread that made them 
 both hungry. 
 
 Groping in the furthest corner of the upper 
 shelf for some forgotten relic of the old life, her 
 fingers touched some soft, yielding fabric, and 
 then drew forth a rudely fashioned little rag doll, 
 whose ink-marked features had almost faded into 
 the dingy hue of the homespun linen face. With 
 fond, speechless wonder they looked upon it for 
 a moment, and with one accord went over to the 
 east window, where, with eyes dimmed with some 
 thing more than age, through the haze of the 
 calm autumnal day, they saw the scarlet sumach 
 bobs shining out of the wilderness of the little 
 hillside graveyard where they buried their only 
 daughter, in the long ago of her childhood. For 
 a brief space the deserted house seemed again to 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 73 
 
 be their home, and the scurry of the squirrels over 
 head, the patter of a little child s feet. Thank 
 ful to leave it with the impression of such a 
 presence, they went out, closing the door rev 
 erently behind them. 
 
 They went down the tangled, untrodden path 
 to the little gate, that was still held shut with 
 a chain weighted with a rusty plow-point. Here 
 they were suddenly confronted by Gran ther Hill, 
 as erect as when they had last seen him, though 
 leaning a little more heavily on the staff that so 
 often emphasized his words. 
 
 " You tarnal ol critters," he whistled hoarsely 
 through a smile as grim as toothless jaws could 
 show, while he stretched forth a cordial hand to 
 them. " Be ye a tryin to ressurreck yourselves, 
 er what be ye duin a hantin raound here where 
 ye d ortu staid ? Did n t I tell ye, Lisher Peggs, 
 at the rattlesnaikes ould chaw ye, an the fever 
 n aig ould shake ye, an the Injins ould skelp 
 ye till ye d wish t ye d staid where ye was ? 
 Hey ? Did n t I ? Did n t I know ? An don t 
 you know now t I knowed? What?" as Uncle 
 Lisha attempted to explain that he had not been 
 beset by any such enemies. "You tell me th 
 did n t no snaikes bite ye ? You could n t feel em 
 a chawin yer ol so luther hide. But they did. 
 An I 11 bate it killed em, erless they got sick o* 
 the taste on yer, which I should n t blame em 
 
74 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 none. Yis, ye did hev fever V aig, an* did n t 
 know it fm the nat ral rattlin o your ol bones. 
 An ef the Injins didn t skelp ye twas cause 
 they got sick o the job an gin it up. Take off 
 yer hat an lemme see what luck they hed a 
 peelin yer ol bal skelp. Wai, then what did 
 ye come back f er ? Seddaown on that lawg f ye 
 hain t got bove sech settin . They du say the 
 hain t no lawgs on them perraries, an tell me," 
 and he seated himself on an elm trunk that years 
 ago had defied Uncle Lisha s efforts to split it, 
 and, with an impatient gesture, waved his friends 
 to a place beside him. 
 
 Aunt Jerusha dusted a place for herself with 
 her checked copperas and white home-made hand 
 kerchief, while Uncle Lisha carefully parted the 
 tails of his coat and sat down. 
 
 "Ahem," he cleared his throat to explain. 
 " The fact on t is, I got sick on t an so did 
 Jerushy." 
 
 " You got sick on t ! " cried the vet 
 eran with ineffable contempt, " an sneaked off. 
 Wai, I m shamed on ye, f er disgracin yer State. 
 A Green Maountain Boy a-gettin sick on t an 
 a-sneakin back hum . Why, man alive, don t 
 ye s pose we got sick on t tu Ben n t n an al 
 mighty sick on t, tu, wi the Hessians a-pepperin 
 on us, an the sun a-blazin daown hotter n To- 
 phit? But we didn t sneak off. No, sir, we 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 75 
 
 stuck her aout, an we licked em. That s haow 
 we done in them times." 
 
 " Lemme see," said Uncle Lisha, searching his 
 memory for some missile to cast at his contemner, 
 " haow was t tu Hubbar t n ? Yis, an tu Ticon- 
 derogue when Burgwine come?" triumphantly 
 hurling a second question before the first had 
 fairly struck. 
 
 The veteran glared at him a moment before 
 he growled hoarsely, " Lisher Peggs, be you a 
 nat ral borned idjit, er don t ye know nothin ? 
 Don t ye know at Hale sneaked off wi his rig - 
 ment, an left Warner an Francis tu stan the 
 hull bilin o Hessians wi their n, an they was 
 tew many f er us tu stan ag in , an we hed tu run 
 in spite o Warner s cussin , which it was nigh 
 baout as hot as the Hessians firm , an Francis 
 was daown, an* Warner run hisself, an when 
 Seth Warner run t was time fer most folks tu 
 scratch gravel. Hubbar t n, hump, f I d stayed 
 there I d ben killed, an who d there ben tu fight 
 tu Ben n t n? An baout Ti," he continued 
 more calmly, " why, ye see, Sinclair let em git 
 their cannern top o Sugar Loaf, t wa n t none o 
 my duin s, an then the wa n t nothin for t, but 
 tu clear aout, er git took, an the hain t no use o 
 that." 
 
 " Jes so," said Uncle Lisha, beaming triumph 
 antly on his adversary, " an no more the* wa n t 
 
76 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 no use in us a-stayin aout West an dyin , jest 
 aout n stinkin pride. An so we gin up sensible, 
 jest as you did tu Hubbar t n an Ti." 
 
 "An ye done almighty well, Lisher, so ye 
 did," said Gran ther Hill, heartily, "an I m 
 glad ye lied sense nough tu. But," he added, 
 emphasizing each word with a tap of his staff on 
 Lisha s shoulder, " don t fergit I tol ye so." 
 
 " Day fore yeste day," Uncle Lisha said, turn 
 ing the conversation into a pleasanter channel, 
 " we come past ol Fort Ti, an it most seemed 
 s ough I could see you an Ethan Allen an 
 mongst ye, a marchin up to t in the gray o the 
 mornin , an a-takin of it, though it don t look 
 wuth a-takin er a-keepin naow." 
 
 " An by the Lord Harry, you d ort tu seen 
 us," cried Gran ther Hill, who at once began for 
 an unnumbered time the recital of the exploit, in 
 which he took greater pride than in any other 
 wherein he had borne a part. " It s many a 
 year sen I seen the ol fort," he said in conclu 
 sion, long before which his listeners had grown 
 restless, " an they say it has gone tu rack an 
 ruin, which it is a shame tu the nation we took it 
 for an gin it tu. But this grubbin , tradin gen 
 eration hain t no pride in things t was did, in 
 the days when the was men. They 11 brag on t 
 Fo th o Julys an lections as ef they d did it 
 the selves, but they hain t no pride in nothin but 
 
AMONG OLD FEIENDS. 77 
 
 makin money an gittin lected, an 11 fence sheep 
 pasters an onderpin haousen wi the gran thers 
 gravestones f they re handier n cobblestuns an 
 querries, damn em." 
 
 " Le s gwup tu Samwill s," said Uncle Lisha, 
 breaking the silence that followed this outbreak 
 of indignation. " He s got some cider t s tur- 
 rible good for the time o year," and he arose to 
 lead the way. 
 
 " You don t say ? " cried Gran ther Hill, get 
 ting to his feet with wonderful alacrity. " Wai, 
 I guess I will, for I be got kinder dry talkin , an 
 it seems as ough a mug o saound cider ould 
 tech the dryest spot." 
 
 In his haste to put this cure for thirst to proof, 
 he was presently leading his companions, stepping 
 out briskly to the air of " The Road to Boston," 
 produced by the violent outputting and indraw- 
 ing of breath that now served for the whistle long 
 since mustered out of his toothless jaws. The 
 quickstep soon brought them to Sam s door, 
 with Uncle Lisha scant of breath and mopping 
 his brow with his bandanna, though Aunt Jera- 
 sha had borne the forced march wonderfully well. 
 
 The veteran beamed upon him a grim smile of 
 doubtful approval. " You must ha ben a good 
 sojer, Lisher," he said. "You don t keep step 
 wuth a soo markee, but ye never could ha run ef 
 you d a wanted tu." 
 
78 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Entering, they found Sam stretching yester 
 day s fox-skin upon a board, while the baby, be 
 tween his knees, played with the dangling brush. 
 
 " Mornin , Cap n Hill," said Sam heartily ; and 
 Huldah came out of the pantry, brushing flour 
 from her hands on her white baking apron, and 
 offered one, rosy through its dusty bloom, to the 
 ancient guest. 
 
 u Take a seat, Cap n Hill," she said, shoving 
 the great splint-bottomed chair toward him and 
 cuffing the feathers of its patchwork cushion 
 into hospitable softness. " How s all the folks 
 up tu your haouse ? your son s wife an the 
 child n, be they well ? Seddaown in the rockin 
 chair, Aunt Jerushy, an Uncle Lisher, you take 
 t other armchair. They re well, be they ? " 
 
 "Well? Wai, I guess they be by the 
 rumpus they make, wus n a hull tribe o Injins. 
 M rier stan s it better n I could er would. By 
 the Lord Harry, I wish t I c ld bring up them 
 young uns. Fust thing I d skin em. Gi me 
 that boy o yourn I know he s a boy by his 
 actions a touslin that aire fox-tail ; ef t was a 
 rhuster feather, he might be a gal gi me that 
 aire boy, Huldy Pur n t n, an I 11 make ye suthin 
 tu be praoud on. See the leetle sarpint wrastle 
 that fox-tail, an smell on t s ef t was a posy. 
 He s got hunt in him, I tell ye, julluk a haoun 
 pup. It s tew bad tu hev him grow up a tarnal, 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 79 
 
 unmannered, consaited fool, all young uns does 
 nowerdays, but he will f he hain t gin tu me. I 
 don t know o nob dy else left fit tu bring up a 
 young un tu lick em an larn m s they d ortu 
 be." 
 
 " I do know, Cap n," said Sam, smiling 
 proudly on his first-born and dragging him a lit* 
 tie to and fro by the brush, still grasped by the 
 chubby, dimpled hands ; " I guess we don t want 
 him skinned jest yet ; he hain t prime." 
 
 Gran ther Hill acknowledged the joke with a 
 chuckle. " Don t ye wait till he sheds his fur, er 
 the cub won t be wuth shucks. Come ere, bub," 
 and he took from his pocket a steel tobacco box, 
 bright with wear in spite of a mottle of rust 
 specks. " Come ere an see the pooty-pooty," 
 shaking the box, which, with its inclosed bit of 
 hard nail rod tobacco, made an inviting rattle. 
 
 The baby s blue eyes grew round with pleased 
 wonder, and he tugged at the fox-skin to take it 
 with him to the newly offered toy, but, when he 
 could not, crept back between his father s knees. 
 
 "Jullook o that," cried the old man, "he 
 won t leggo a fox- skin for terbarker in a box at 
 was in Ben n t n battle, an was hit by a Hessian 
 bullet, an saved my laig, ef it didn t my life." 
 And ho exhibited a dent in the cover. " I tell 
 ye that boy s a borned hunter. What ye named 
 him, Sam ? Gin him a good, short, hones name 
 
80 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 aouten no go betweens, er hev ye named him 
 all the names o all yer relations, cordin tu 
 naowerdays fashin ? Aour young uns was tellin 
 o one o them Noakes boys at goes tu school, at 
 when the master ast his name up an answered, 
 4 Guy Azro Joab Jethro Uncle James Ferris 
 Noakes. What ye think o thet fer a name? 
 One good solid chunk o fust name was nough 
 fer Geo ge Washin t n an Ethan Allen, an Seth 
 Warner an Josier Hill, by thunder. But I 
 most fergot my ar nt. Naow, what I want s a 
 mug o cider tu m isen my mortal clay, which 
 I ve dried up, a-gabbin ." 
 
 " I gin him a invite, thinkin he d be wel 
 come," said Uncle Lislia in an apologetic under 
 tone. 
 
 " Why, sartainly," said Sam ; " Huldy, won t 
 you get me a pitcher whilst I light a light ? " 
 
 " I did n t need no invite on y tu know you 
 hed it. When cider hain t free plunder tu neigh 
 bors, all the good ol times must be gone by." 
 He smacked his lips as he heard from the cellar 
 the squeak of the tap, the responsive rush of the 
 cider into the pitcher, running up the gamut 
 from emptiness to fulness in a hospitable tune 
 which, he remarked with satisfaction, was not cut 
 short when the tap was re-driven, by a hollow 
 sound portending drouthiness in the immediate 
 future. After tasting the proffered glass with an 
 
AMONG OLD FEIENDS. 81 
 
 approving smack, he withheld his lips to bestow 
 the ambiguous compliment that every Yankee is 
 in due politeness bound to give his host s cider 
 in every season from its sparkling youth to sour 
 age. 
 
 " That aire s mighty good cider for the tune o* 
 year." 
 
 Warmed with a second glass, he looked over 
 its rim at the baby still playing with the fox- 
 skin. " A reg lar borned hunter, julluk his 
 father. I d ortu take an bring em both up an 
 larn em tu shoot, f er the d ortu be some hunters 
 a-growin up. Hunters makes sojers, an the 11 
 be need on em sometime. It does beat all natur 
 what cussed foolish idees folks hes come tu hev 
 abaout huntin bein low daown an goo fer no- 
 thin . Don t they know t huntin was half 
 folkses livin in ol times an larnt em tu fight 
 Injins as well as other varmints ? When I was 
 a boy, a boy went a-huntin s soon s he could 
 kerry a gun, an hed tu rest it ag in a tree tu 
 shoot, an when the time come he was all ready 
 tu be a sojer. Look a Ethan Allen an Seth 
 Warner an Peleg Sunderlan an Remember 
 Baker an Bob Cockrun an - straightening 
 himself in his chair and striking his breast with 
 his fist " wal, I won t call no names, but look 
 a the hull bilin o Green Maountain boys, ev y 
 man jack on em a hunter by spells. Be they men 
 
82 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 fer these creeturs tu stick up the r new fashined 
 noses at ? Look a* the boys, yis, an the growed 
 up young fellers, naow. Don t half on em know 
 one eend of a gun f m t other, an turn aout tu 
 trainin wi sticks an brooms. S pose the come 
 a war, where d we be ? Er jest a wolf ? I 
 wisht tu the Lord the would a wolf come an 
 kinder wake up the blasted folks. Guess they d 
 find aout the s some use in knowin haow tu 
 shoot a gun." 
 
 " I m half thinkin , Cap n Hill, the is a wolf 
 hengin raound on the maoun tains. I ve seen 
 some signs at looks that way," said Sam, fasten 
 ing the stretched skin with the last nail. 
 
 "Sho . Th hain t nuther," Gran ther Hill 
 growled incredulously, "you wouldn t know a 
 wolf sign f you d seen it." 
 
 " Wai, mebby," Sam admitted, " but I more n 
 half b lieve th is." 
 
 " Wai, ef th is, someb dy s sheep 11 ketch it 
 fore spring, fer the hain t no deer. Ef he d 
 on y kill tew, three o Joel Bartlett s, woidd n t 
 th be a-weepin an wailin an a-gnashin o 
 teeth? An him a-thinkin a man wi a gun on 
 his shoulder s goin stret tu Tophet. Er f he d 
 kill an ol breedin yoe fer yer father, Huldy. 
 He s tumble sot ag in huntin , an thinks the 
 devil owed him a gretch an paid it in a huntin 
 aon-in-law. My sakes, wouldn t it set em ;i~ 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 83 
 
 hummin ?" He cackled a dry, cracked laugh 
 as he looked out the window across the fields to 
 the quiet homesteads and imagined the commotion 
 into which the advent of a wolf would throw 
 them. Suddenly the chuckle ceased, the senile 
 mirthfulness of his visage faded into a blank 
 stare of consternation. 
 
 " I swear," he whispered hoarsely to himself, 
 but so loudly that other ears were reached, " ef 
 there hain t thet Pur n t n womern a-comin wi 
 her gal a-towin of her. (I wish twas the wo 
 mern at got lost, an they hed n t never f aound 
 her.) Wai, I got tu be a-goin ," he declared; 
 and rising in flurried haste departed in spite of 
 all hospitable entreaty, with as much precipita 
 tion as he had quitted the disastrous field of 
 Hubbardton. 
 
 An abashed titter broke the brief interval of 
 silence, and then Mrs. Purington entered, pant 
 ing with the exertion of climbing the steep steps, 
 with Sis, in the bashfulness of overgrown awk 
 wardness, following close behind. 
 
 " Ef I hev got tu come over here every tew, 
 three days fer the hull endurin days o my life," 
 she gasped in tones whose reproachfulness was 
 emphasized by her labored breathing, " it does 
 seem as ef someb dy might stick some planks er 
 slabs er suthin int the fences tu make it easier 
 a-gettin over. An these ere back steps, it s 
 
84 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 jiilluk climbin a ladder. I should think, Samwill, 
 at you might kinder slant em someways. It 
 does seem as ef my limbs an my breath was a- 
 gettin shorter ev y day, an it does seem as 
 ough I could n t stan it a - trapesin over here 
 much longer." 
 
 44 Ef you d holler er blow a horn when you 
 was a-startin I might go an le daown the fences 
 for ye," Sam suggested cheerily, while he re 
 volved plans for making the fences more impassa 
 ble. 
 
 His mother-in-law acknowledged the suggestion 
 by a sigh expressive of submission to continued 
 injury, and, having somewhat recovered breath, 
 waddled over to the newly arrived guests, whom 
 she saluted with funereal solemnity. 
 
 "Haow du you du, Aunt Jerushy, an haow 
 du you du, Uncle Lisher ? You hain t well, be 
 ye, naow? You du look so wore aout an tuck 
 ered, an I p sume tu say you re comin daown 
 wi that aire Western fever at so manv dies on. 
 You d ort tu go right tu bed, an take suthin , 
 some boneset tea er pennyrile er suthin . I du 
 wish t I d fetched over suthin , an I would f 
 I d knowed you was a - lookin so. But I do 
 know s I could ha stood it tu ha fetched any- 
 thin but myself. Jest as soon s I felt able arter 
 I hearn you *d come, I tol him I mus come an* 
 give ye a welcome an make you feel tu hum, 
 
AMOXG OLD FRIEXDS. 85 
 
 cause I knowed ye could n t help f eelin t you 
 was craowdin in, an I p sume tu say it will on- 
 convenience Huldy an Saniwill consid able. 
 
 " T ain t no sech a thing," cried Huldah, 
 sharply, indignant and mortified. They ? re jest 
 as welcome as they e n be, an it s them at s 
 duin us a favor. An they look jest as well as 
 they did when they went away, an we re so glad 
 tu hev em back. Mother, you re allers an for 
 ever a tewin ." 
 
 u But then," continued Mrs. Purington, se- 
 renelv unmindful of this interruption, it hain t 
 proberble at at your age, you *11 be spared much 
 longer in this vale o tears. With the air of 
 having administered consolation to all concerned, 
 she heaved a sigh of relief as she seated herself 
 at the window and lapsed for a little while into 
 silence, sadly regarding the old people who sat 
 burning in speechless discomfort till Aunt Je- 
 rusha ventured to say : 
 
 44 The can t nob dy say at we come wi aout 
 bein ast. But," she added with a tremor of fer 
 vor in her voice, " the don t nob dy know but 
 them at "s tried it, haow we did wanter come. 
 Ef they did, they would n t blame us." 
 
 44 An they don t," said Huldah, flashing an an 
 gry glance at her mother, and then, shutting her 
 lips tightly together to keep back angrier words, 
 she retreated into the pantry. 
 
86 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Not nob dy at s got any business tu," Sam 
 supplemented in his quiet drawl. 
 
 His father made a show of mending the fire, 
 and went out on tiptoe for an armful of wood, 
 having through long experience with Sam s late- 
 departed step-mother learned to employ the better 
 part of valor, when a war of women s words im 
 pended. 
 
 Mrs. Purington put her apron to her eyes and 
 rocked herself from side to side in silent endur 
 ance of the injuries that she felt were being 
 heaped upon her. 
 
 " I wanter know if this ere is Sis Pur n t n ? " 
 Aunt Jerusha asked, lifting her spectacles and 
 looking intently at the girl, who was now shield 
 ing her bashfulness behind her sister, coming to 
 the stove with a pumpkin pie. " Wai, it does 
 beat all haow she s growed. Clean up tu yer 
 shoulder, Huldy, an favors you an her father. 
 I m glad o that." Mrs. Purington cut short 
 a grieved snuffle with a sniff of contempt. 
 
 " So she does," Uncle Lisha assented after a 
 critical inspection through the round-eyed glasses 
 which he had put on for this especial service ; 
 " but Huldy s chunkeder built." 
 
 " Yis, but Sis hain t got her shape yit. I tell 
 ye she s feat red and complected like the PurV- 
 t ns and not a mite like the Bordenses." Mrs. 
 Purington sniffed again, and, removing the apron 
 
AMONG OLD FEIENDS. 87 
 
 from her eyes, gazed through the window upon 
 the outer world as if it alone interested her. 
 
 " Wai, Sis," said Uncle Lisha, " hev ye ever 
 went an got lost ag in ? What a carrummux 
 you did make, tu be sure, a-gittin lost. But it 
 was a mighty good job you did wi out you re 
 knowin t was the best you ever done, 1 and he 
 beamed a kindly smile upon Sam and Huldah 
 and the little girl, whose finding had brought 
 them together. 
 
 Presently Mrs. Purington s vacant stare be 
 came focused on some object outside, and she 
 exclaimed in a tone expressive of awakened in 
 terest in present affairs : 
 
 " Samwill Lovel, why, fer land s sake, don t ye 
 cuddaown that aire lalock, er trim it up, er suth- 
 in , so s t folks c n see the pass ? Wai, good 
 ness hev massy, if that aire Antwine Frenchman 
 hain t a-comin . I was jest a-goin tu ast Uncle 
 Lisher and Aunt Jerushy all abaout Westcon- 
 stant an all the folks there, an naow there won t 
 be a chance tu put in a word aidgeways wi his 
 pleggid French gab. Sis, we might s well be a- 
 goin ." 
 
 Antoine Bissette entered without ceremony, 
 bearing such important news to Sam that for a 
 moment he noted the presence of no one else. 
 
 " Hey, Sam, gat you gawn, wha you dawg ? 
 Dey black fox jes go on Bahlett hwood not more 
 
88 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 as two hour go. Mali boy he 11 seen." Then 
 his astonished eyes became aware of his old 
 friends. " Oh-h-h ! One Lasha, Aunt Jerru- 
 sha. Was you be ghos er was you be some- 
 bodee, er was Ah 11 be dream ? Ah 11 never see 
 so, for stoneesh." 
 
 " Good airth an seas ! Take a holt o my 
 han , Ann Twine, an find aout whether I m flesh 
 an blood," cried the old cobbler ; and his vise- 
 like grasp and familiar roar left no cause for 
 doubt of his actual presence in the flesh. 
 
 " Wai, seh, One Lasha," said Antoine, set 
 tling himself together on a chair after the rough 
 encounter of greeting, " you was felt pooty live 
 anyway, an you 11 ant gat great many hoF in de 
 wes bose of it. No, seh, Aunt Jerrusha an you 
 ant look no more hoF you was free year go. 
 Bah gosh, Ah 11 glad of it." 
 
 " Same tu you, Ann Twine, an we re glad tu 
 git back an hev all aour f rien s glad tu see us 
 that is, most on em," he added, recollecting that 
 Mrs. Purington might wish to be excepted, and 
 casting a sidewise glance at her. 
 
 " You need n t think at I begretch ye a wel 
 come, Lisher Peggs, ef I be begretched it in my 
 own darter s haouse I " she said in a grieved 
 voice, while she puckered the hem of her orange 
 and blue calico apron between her fingers. 
 
 " Wai, wal," said he, " ef folks did n t talk, 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 89 
 
 they would n t say nothin , an I don t take no 
 pride in what you said," and then turned the 
 conversation again into the pleasanter channel 
 whence he had maladroitly diverted it. 
 
 " Wai, Ann Twine, haow s yer folks an all 
 the child n ? Fam ly growin , I s pose ? " 
 
 " Wai, Ah do know, One Lasha ; Ah guess 
 dey ant be more as two or t ree of it more, sin 
 you 11 go way. But mah holest gal he 11 gat 
 marree, an he 11 gat bebbee, an Ah 11 gat for 
 be grrran poupa." He rolled the " r " of this 
 new prefix to his well accustomed title as if its 
 flavor was pleasant to his tongue, and he 
 straightened himself proudly in his seat. 
 
 " You a gran pa," Uncle Lisha said. " Good 
 airth an seas, man, you 11 hafter let yer baird 
 grow tu tell yerself f m yer gran child." 
 
 " Ah 11 can tol it bah de nowse," Antoine 
 laughed. " He 11 ant spik Angleesh yit, an 
 prob ly he 11 ant never spik it lak Ah 11 was," 
 he added with a sigh that had something of satis 
 faction in it. 
 
 " It s hopesin he won t," said Uncle Lisha. 
 
 If Antoine understood this disparaging remark 
 he did not heed it, but went on : " An Ah 11 
 fregit for tol you mah fam ly been grow on 
 t udder en of it. Mah fader an mudder come 
 for leeve long to me." 
 
 " What, you ben gettin on ye a father ? Was 
 
90 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 he borned, tew, sen I went away? You didn t 
 uster hev none, an I did n t s pose you ever hed 
 one in the nat ral way, but they kinder faound 
 ye in a kittle o pea soup." 
 
 44 Oh, One Lasha, Ah 11 fraid you 11 ant 
 growed gooder no more as you 11 grow holer. 
 Ah 11 fraid you 11 ant go to meetin s in de Wes . 
 Prob ly dey 11 ant gat some dere yet, hein ? No, 
 sah, One Lasha, Sam fin mah fader an mudder 
 daown to de lake w en we was go feeshin , an it 
 was sup-prise of all of it. An den, bombye, 
 Ah 11 have it hoi man s an hoi hwoman s come 
 leeve long to me an Ursule an Ah 11 was glad 
 for be liable ta care of it, me." 
 
 " Thet s right, Ann Twine," said Uncle Lisha 
 heartily, " an don t ye never gig back on yer ol 
 folks." A shade of sadness flitted across the old 
 man s kindly face, and his wife breathed a sup 
 pressed sigh. 
 
 " All 11 goin brought hoi man over for see 
 you pooty soon," Antoine went 011, as he whittled 
 a charge of homegrown tobacco from a twist and 
 ground it in his palm. " An gat you for mek it 
 some boot, so he can beegin for be Yankee. An 
 Ah 11 can mek you laughed for hear Sam talk 
 French at it. Bah gosh, he 11 holler at it so you 
 can hear it in de Forge w en he goin . An he 
 t ink f he can holler laoud nough hoi man s can 
 help for on stan, prob ly." 
 
AMONG OLD FRIENDS. 91 
 
 " Antwine," said Sam, threatening the Cana 
 dian with the empty cider tumbler, and then filL 
 ing it for him, " don t ye poke no fun at my 
 French. It s the geniwine article, an thet s the 
 reason you Canucks don t onderstan it. Ef you 
 was tu go tu France, you d hear em a-speakin 
 on t jest as I du." 
 
 " If dey spik it jes sem as you was," said An- 
 toine, briefly disposing of the cider, " Ah can go 
 daown on de shore of de nocean an heard it. 
 Wai, you 11 goin after dat black fox to-day, 
 prob ly?" 
 
 " Who seen it ? " Sam demanded. 
 
 " Joe Hill tol me he 11 seen it an he tol me 
 come tol you, but mah pinion he was lie jes for 
 sup-prise me of One Lasha. Wai, Ah 11 be go, 
 naow." And having fired his pipe with a coal, 
 he went his way, leaving a long, odorous wake of 
 rank tobacco smoke trailing far behind him. 
 
 " An we must be goin , tew, Sis," said Mrs. 
 Purington, " I hain t hed a chance tu say a word, 
 but I must go." 
 
 " Why no, mother," Huldah protested, " you 
 an Sis must stay tu dinner." 
 
 " No, no, I got tu git back an git his dinner 
 an it s a-gittin late. I on y come over tu chirk 
 ye up, as I hope I hev at last, an ask ye all tu 
 come over tu Thanksgivin tu-morrer tu aour 
 haouse. We hain t goin tu hev no gret, jest a 
 
92 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 turkey an some high bush cranb ry sass an* 
 punkin pie an sech, but sech as t is we want ye 
 tu jine us, all on ye." 
 
 44 "We wa n t cal latin* tu go home this year 
 nor nowheres," Huldah began faintly objecting. 
 
 44 Wai, you got tu come. He s clean sot on it 
 an you must come. Aunt Jerushy an Uncle 
 Lisher, we want the privilege o fillin ye up tu 
 start on wi sech as we ve got. An you must 
 come, tew, Timothy." 
 
 There was general assent, and so, having made 
 hospitable amends for the discomfort she had 
 created, she departed. Panting as she gathered 
 headway in her course across lots, she reminded 
 Uncle Lisha vividly of the fussy little steamer 
 that towed him to the last port of his recent 
 voyage. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 
 
 THANKSGIVING festivities were over, and Uncle 
 Lisha had been several days among his old neigh 
 bors, yet in deference to them, as in turn they 
 were his entertainers and guests, and to himself 
 as a returned traveler, he continued to wear his 
 best clothes with heroic endurance of discomfort. 
 
 " I ben dressed up so long I begin to feel like 
 a minister," he said, as he rapped the ashes from 
 his pipe on Sam s stove hearth one morning when 
 he had finished his after-breakfast smoke. " Ef 
 I don t shuck myself aouten my t other clones 
 pooty soon, I shall be a-preachin er duin suthin 
 onbecomin ." 
 
 " Sho, Lisher, no you won t nuther," said his 
 wife, casting an admiring glance upon him, and 
 then fluttering across to remove a speck of lint 
 from his trousers with a moistened forefinger* 
 " But you have got tu take em off, Lisher Peggs. 
 There s a gret grease spot half way t yer knee 
 That s some o Mis Pur n t n s Thanksgivin 
 turkey s gravy. An you got a gaub o punkin 
 pie on your weskit. It s a massy you did n t hev 
 yer cut on, er you d ha spilte it." 
 
94 DsiNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Ketch me a-tacklin Thanksgivin wi my cut 
 on. But I be goin tu shuck my high duck clo es 
 jest as soon s I go tu Solern s an* Joel Bartlett s 
 an daown t the store. I 11 du that fust I du du, 
 but fust of all I got tu seddaown an write George 
 a letter. Hev you got s m ink an a sheet o 
 writin paper an a pen, Huldy ? " 
 
 Diligent search was rewarded by the discovery 
 of a sheet of foolscap, the great freestone inkstand 
 was taken down from the mantel and its half- 
 dried contents diluted with water, and the quill 
 pen made last winter by the schoolmaster was 
 brought from its long rest and sucked into amen 
 ity of possible use. When the breakfast table 
 was cleared to give Uncle Lisha an ample place 
 for operations, he drew his chair to it, hooked his 
 toes inside the front legs, set his elbows wide 
 apart on the table, and, fencing in the paper with 
 his arms, glared down upon it as if he would com 
 pel the words of his message to appear on the 
 blank surface. 
 
 Except the baby and the hound, each member of 
 the little audience had at infrequent intervals 
 suffered the pain of letter-writing, and they 
 awaited in sympathetic silence the first throes 
 of the old man s self-imposed torture, wherein 
 hand and brain bore equal part. Aunt Jerusha s 
 needles clicked almost inaudibly, scarcely a clatter 
 of the dishes in the pan denoted Huldah s occu- 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 95 
 
 pation, while Timothy Lovel performed the 
 usually noisy operation of feeding the fire without 
 a sound, and Sam as silently drew the slide to get 
 a coal for his pipe. 
 
 When Uncle Lisha had reckoned the day of 
 the month on his fingers, he probed the depths of 
 the inkstand with his pen and entered with cau 
 tious determination upon his labor. Except for the 
 slower movement, the sound of his pen-strokes was 
 much like that of his flote when he scraped the 
 pegs from the inside of a boot, and, as he pain 
 fully fashioned each letter, his tongue went about 
 his rounded mouth, and he emphasized the down 
 strokes with a corresponding movement of his 
 head. Holding the first line for inspection half 
 way in its straggling formation, he roared out in 
 vexation : - 
 
 " Good airth an seas. Ef I hain t gone an* 
 writ Danvis the 24th." 
 
 " You hain t," cried Aunt Jerusha, darting 
 from her seat like a frightened hen and fluttering 
 over to his side, where she adjusted her spectacles 
 and scrutinized his work. " Why, that hain t 
 nothin , Lisher, you jest write, 4 of November 
 arter 24, or jest Nove. for short. An that s a 
 turrible harnsome D, most like print." 
 
 Mollified by this compliment, Lisha set about 
 rectifying his mistake, while Aunt Jerusha went 
 back to her rocking-chair. When the old man 
 
96 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 was fairly settled down to his work, Sam and his 
 father went to their husking in the barn, and 
 Iluldah, having finished her dishes, sat down to 
 sewing and a whispered conversation with Aunt 
 Jerusha, their guarded voices and the buzzing of 
 the last bluebottle fly of the season in the sunny 
 window quite overborne by the slow scratching of 
 the pen and the vexed ejaculations of the writer 
 when there was an uncommonly vicious splutter 
 of his complaining implement. 
 
 " There," he cried at last, with a great sigh ol 
 relief, " I ve got to the eend o the dumb turkey 
 tracks. They look s ef someb dy ben shootin at 
 em wi a shotgun all the way along," he com 
 mented as he scowled upon the sheet from various 
 points of view. "Here, Jerushy, read it over, 
 but don t ye read it aout laoud, an then see ef 
 you c n du it up. Women s handier at duin 
 up n what men be. They re uster duin up 
 sheets an clo es ev ry week s i nin ." 
 
 " It s jest like printin , Lisher Peggs, an I 
 c n read it right through," as she slowly followed 
 the lines to the end, " an I do know no way tu 
 better it thaout you spelt Thanksgivin wi a big 
 T, an I do know but a big G on caount of us 
 bein so thankf l tu git back." 
 
 Envelopes were not known in Danvis, and it 
 needed the united endeavors of the old couple and 
 Huldah to properly fold the letter and to tuck it 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 97 
 
 into itself. Then Uncle Lisha lost the only avail 
 able wafer in a back corner of his mouth, whence 
 it was not rescued until it had become a shapeless 
 pulp, and there was nothing for it but to seal the 
 missive with a lump of spruce gum which was 
 stamped with the handle of a pegging awl. The 
 superscription was written and carefully dried 
 over the stove. Then Uncle Lisha laid the letter 
 into the crown of his beaver hat, wadded it in 
 place with his bandanna, put the hat on his head, 
 struggled into his high-collared, tight-sleeved blue 
 coat, and set forth toward the office with the 
 dignity due to his important mission. 
 
 Though his feet were incased in his tight best 
 boots, the familiar path was pleasant to him as to 
 his eyes were all the wayside objects, the old wall 
 parting with its gray lines the sumach thickets, 
 now stripped of all their autumnal glory but the 
 enduring scarlet of the bobs, the rail fence zigzag 
 ging among rank goldenrods whose riches were 
 taking flight on white wings. A red squirrel 
 tacked along the top rails in alternate nearer and 
 further attendance upon him, yet keeping contin 
 ually abreast till he came to a great butternut- 
 tree, and, scrambling up its grooved bark, began 
 jeering at his wayfaring comrade as impudently 
 as his forebears had in bygone years. His gibes 
 did not disturb the old man s equanimity as they 
 might have ruffled the boy s. He smiled up at 
 
98 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 him amusedly, and turned the squirrel s mockery 
 to anger by picking up a brown nut and cracking 
 it on the big rock that stood, as such are sure to 
 do, the convenient adjunct of the butternut- tree, 
 and, having cracked it, ate it under the very eyes 
 of the self-assumed owner of all the nuts in 
 Dan vis. 
 
 The kernel had not the sweetness of those that 
 Lisha had hopelessly stained his youthful hands 
 to get sixty years before, yet it had something of 
 the sweetness of the stolen meat and he assured 
 himself : 
 
 " A Danvis but nut was better n one o them 
 Westconstant shagbarks, that, big as they was, 
 cracked disappointing like airthenware, an was 
 more disapp intin when you come to eat em." 
 
 There was a well-remembered beech, whose un 
 shed golden-brown leaves were beginning to bleach 
 to a pale tint, wherein a flock of silently industri 
 ous jays displayed brief glimpses of bright color. 
 The spread of its wide branches and the girth of 
 its huge trunk seemed scarcely increased by the 
 many years of lusty growth since he carved the 
 letters " E. P." and " J. C." entwined in a love 
 knot on the smooth bark, yet initials and emblem 
 and date of the dead old year were moss-grown 
 scars. The old man smiled in kindly pity on the 
 half-forgotten folly of the youthful lover, and 
 then, looking about to see that no one saw him, 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 99 
 
 got out his knife and scraped the moss from the 
 letters and love knot. 
 
 Then he stumped briskly forward, brushing the 
 frost-blackened Mayweeds with hasty footsteps 
 till he was startled by a vagrant partridge that 
 burst from a clump of weeds close beside him and 
 sailed on set wings away to the woods. 
 
 " Good airth an seas," he exclaimed, as he 
 watched the bird s arrowy flight, curving down to 
 cover at the woodside, " ye might s well kill me 
 as skeer me tu death. Oh, if you d sot still an 
 I d seen you an hed me a gun, I d ha got you. 
 An I druther hev you n tew perairie chickens." 
 
 Crossing a little bridge, he presently came to 
 the homestead of the Goves, on whom he called 
 and found a warm welcome. After Mrs. Gove 
 had bustled about to seat the visitor in the most 
 comfortable chair and to send the youngest girl 
 to call her father from the barn, she sat down 
 opposite her old neighbor and devoted a few mo 
 ments to a careful consideration of his appearance. 
 
 " Wai, Uncle Lisher," she said, with an exhal 
 ation of satisfaction, "lookin at you, an not 
 lookin back, it don t seem s ough you d ben 
 gone six mont s. You hain t altered a mite. An 
 is Aunt Jerushy as chirk as you be ? I wanter 
 know ! Well, the Western kentry has agreed wi 
 you, oncommon." 
 
 " It greed wi aour health better n what it did 
 
100 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 wi aour feelin s. We toughed it aout s long \ 
 we could stan it an back we come tu bother aour 
 ol neighbors endurin the rest o aour days. * His 
 eyes came down from roving along the limp 
 skeins of pumpkin hung to dry upon poles above 
 the stove and settled with an inquiring look upon 
 her face. 
 
 " You hain t never bothered nob dy an you 
 won t never," she said heartily, and then bustling 
 toward the door. " I wonder what s a-keepin 
 Levi ; finishin a bundle, proberbly, but I 11 go 
 an git him." 
 
 " No, don t ye. I can t stop but a minute, an 
 I 11 jest g waout an say haow de du. Fact 
 on t is," he said impressively, " I ben writin a 
 letter n I m a-kerryin of it tu the pos -office. 
 But where s Peltier ? " he turned at the door to 
 ask. 
 
 A troubled look overcast Mrs. Gove s cheerful 
 face. " I do know where Peltier is. Mebby 
 he s gone lookin at his mink traps, an mebby 
 he s over tu tu the village. Peltier s in a 
 mis able, mopin way, Uncle Lisher. He s ben 
 dis p inted. Expectin* tu marry a gal, even so 
 fur s tu go tu git merried, an she was gone wi 
 another feller, an it s nigh abaout ondone him. 
 He mopes an he goes tu Hamner s, an I m 
 afeared he drinks. I wish t you d talk tu him, 
 Uncle Lisher, he allers sot so much by ye, mebby 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 101 
 
 your talkin ould mount tu suthin . Me V his 
 father an Sam s don t take no holt on him." 
 
 " Peltier was allus one o my boys," the old 
 man said ; " I made him his fust boots an showed 
 him haow tu ketch his fust traout, an he d hear 
 to me. I will talk tu him, Mis Gove." 
 
 Levi Gove was too industriously inclined to 
 quit labor for visiting, and after a brief but loud 
 interchange of greetings, carried on amid the rus 
 tle of cornstalks, the old man went on his way to 
 the store. 
 
 There he found the merchant and postmaster, 
 as lank, alert, and clean shaven as ever, and as 
 constantly saying . Yes " in varied inflections of 
 assent or query, and effusive in the cordiality of 
 his welcome. 
 
 The contents of the store were so unchanged 
 that it seemed to the returned wanderer as if 
 trade must have been dull during the three years 
 of his absence. There were the bunches of whip 
 lashes, the home-made hickory stock and the finer 
 ones covered with leather or braided linen, the 
 two strings of globular Boston bells still vainly 
 inviting customers with the immovable smile of 
 their brazen lips, the dusty, fly-specked tinware, 
 the placards advertising Sherman s lozenges, 
 which it was declared that worm-affected children 
 cried for, and Hive Syrup, Down s Elixir and 
 Spavin Cure, all displayed in the dusty windows 
 
102 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 just as he had left them when he had no expecta 
 tion of ever seeing them again. 
 
 The whole interior was almost as unchanged. 
 The cracks in the rusty sides of the great box 
 stove had lengthened a little, the service of an 
 other crippled chair prolonged by nailing a strip 
 of shoebox cover athwart its legs, the incrusta 
 tion of dust a little thicker on the floor, the pol 
 ish of the counters a trifle heightened by the 
 elbows and posteriors of customers and loungers, 
 and the marks of their heels worn deeper on the 
 sides; but the shelves bore the same rolls of 
 calicoes, ginghams, jeans, hard-times, and cotton, 
 and at the top, above them, out of danger of 
 breakage, were rows of blue-edged plates and 
 figured tea-sets, paper boxes of spool thread, and 
 bundles of leather and yarn mittens. A few 
 loaves of sugar in dark purple paper wrappings 
 hung from a beam overhead, beside dust-pans, 
 brushes, brooms, mopsticks, and washboards, each 
 in its familiar place. 
 
 " Glad to see you, Mr. Peggs. Haow s every 
 thing an everybody aout West, Mr. Peggs ? All 
 a-gettin rich, I p sume to say ? Yes ? A great 
 kentry, but you did n t feel tu hum. We won t 
 go baek on ol V mont, will we, Mr. Peggs? 
 Leastways, I won t, for all I ve ben tu New 
 York city an clean into the weste n part of York 
 State ; I won t go back on my natyve State." 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 103 
 
 Uncle Lisher sympathized so fully in this alle 
 giance that he was treated to a glass of frothy 
 mead, and then, with a sudden recollection of his 
 most important business, he carefully took off his 
 hat and drew forth the letter. 
 
 " There s a letter," handing it to the postmas 
 ter, " I wanter hev go tu my son, George Peggs, 
 in Wesconstant. I suppose it will go all right, 
 won t it, Mr. Clapham?" 
 
 The postmaster held it at arm s length above 
 the level of his eyes and scrutinized it from that 
 point for a while, then laid it on the counter, and, 
 leaning over it on his elbows, as intently scruti 
 nized it from above. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Peggs," he said confidently, " that 
 letter 11 go tu its deestination, without a daoubt. 
 Yes, wonderful tu think on, hain t it," as he 
 slowly wrote the postmark on the corner of the 
 letter, " haow a message can go from here to the 
 far distant West in ten days or a f ortnit ? Yes, 
 eighteen and three-quarter cents is the postige 
 your son 11 hafter pay, which he won t begretch 
 it, for hearin from his ven able parents." 
 
 " It s a dumbd sight more n its wuth to read, 
 but I would n t ha writ it for that. I d ruther 
 tap tew pair o boots." 
 
 When the letter was safely deposited in the 
 drawer devoted to outgoing mail matter, Uncle 
 Lisha readjusted his spectacles and inspected 
 
104 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 the contents of the showcase that stood on the 
 end of the counter, flanked by a wooden bowl of 
 flints that still held their place against the in 
 vading percussion caps. The glass-covered trea 
 sures were, as of old, several pairs of yellow, 
 wooden pocket-combs, shutting into each other, 
 jewsharps on three-cornered wooden blocks, an 
 array of jack-knives with checked bone handles, 
 half a dozen razors, a tin shaving-cup with a 
 square compartment built out one side, some 
 cakes of perfumed soap, bundles of fish line, a 
 box of very much mixed hooks, and paper boxes 
 of caps, emblazoned with the letters " G. D." and 
 an inscription said to be in French, which some 
 doubted, for Antoine could not translate it when 
 it was read to him. Beside these still lay the 
 spring-top copper powder flask, a little more worn 
 by the handling of impecunious admirers, and its 
 companion in unsalableness, the wonderful shot 
 pouch with a brass charger, both too expensive 
 for the Danvis market. There was an exhibition 
 of the choicest candy of the establishment, sticks 
 with red and white spiral bands, bullseyes of like 
 variegation, and sugar hearts so big and sweet 
 that they might be hoped to soften the heart of 
 any maiden. 
 
 " See anything you d like to purchase, Mr. 
 Peggs ? " and Clapham sidled behind the counter 
 and examined the contents of the showcase as 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 105 
 
 interestedly as if he had just discovered it, " them 
 razors, naow, is fust chop. I ve used one of em 
 four year an it s as good as t was the fust day. 
 Yes ? Wore out yourn a-travelin ? " and while 
 speaking he took out a razor and combed his 
 scanty locks with his fingers. Having selected a 
 hair from the harvest thus secured, he succeeded 
 in splitting it after several efforts. " It s keen 
 as a brier. Yourn all right ? Yes ? I p sume 
 to say the one t I sold you. Them s abaout the 
 best combs t I ever hed in my store. They 
 kinder coax aout snarls thout pullin . Yes, 
 shavin -brushes. That shavin -soap 11 make la 
 ther at a cat 11 eat for cream an never know the 
 diffunce till she s troubled wi wind on her 
 stomerk." 
 
 " I guess I don t want none. It s tew high 
 duck parfume tu go with the smell o sole luther. 
 What s these ere sugar hearts wuth ? " he asked, 
 tapping the glass above them with his forefinger. 
 
 " Them s a cent apiece ; haow many shall I put 
 7* up?" 
 
 " I guess I 11 git one on em fer Samwill s boy, 
 as.* I guess I 11 git a cent s wuth o snuff fer 
 Jerushy, an , lemme see, a snuff bean, she lost 
 Kern a comin hum." 
 
 While the storekeeper wrapped the articles in 
 icugal bits of newspaper, Uncle Lisha s roving 
 eyes alighted upon a bundle of furs dangling from 
 
106 DsiNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 a nail in the back part of the room, and being of 
 the fraternity of hunters, his interest was at once 
 aroused. 
 
 "Buyin some furs, be ye?" he asked, going 
 over to the peltry and handling skin after skin of 
 muskrat, mink, raccoon, and fox, and parting the 
 fur of each with his breath. 
 
 " Wai, not to no great extent yet," said Clap- 
 ham, coming to him with the parcels. "Fur 
 hain t none tu prime yet, but I take it off folkses 
 hands jest tu commerdate. But there s one re 
 markable fine skin, Mr. Peggs, remarkable and 
 oncommon," and he drew out a dark gray skin 
 and displayed it with great pride while Uncle 
 Lisha readjusted his spectacles for a close inspec 
 tion. 
 
 " That is a mighty harnsome coon-skin ; I do 
 Know s ever I see a darker one." 
 
 " Coon-skin, Mr. Peggs ? I m s prised thet a 
 ivan of your experience an jedgment should call 
 that a coon. It s a gray fox, sir, and I paid the 
 vally of half a dozen coon-skins fer it." 
 
 " Mebby, but I never seen a fox wi rings on 
 Ids tail." 
 
 " It s a peculiarity o the gray fox," insisted 
 Oapham. 
 
 Uncle Lisha only snorted his disbelief as he re 
 placed his glasses in their steel case and shut it 
 with an emphatic snap. 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 107 
 
 A bloomer off duty at the forge came lounging 
 in, and to him the merchant appealed for some 
 admiration of his late acquisition. 
 
 " It s a pooty fair kind of a coon-skin/ said 
 the bloomer, helping himself to a handful of chest 
 nuts from a half bushel that stood 011 the counter. 
 
 " It s a gray fox ; I bought it for a gray fox, 
 an that s what it is," Clapham said severely. 
 
 An amused grin spread across the unwonted 
 cleanliness of the bloomer s face. " Bought it 
 fer a gray fox," and his brawny form doubled 
 over the counter in a fit of laughter out of which 
 he ejaculated, " Oh, by Jeems Price, if that hain t 
 a good one." 
 
 The sound of his laughter brought in others 
 alert for anything to break the monotony of life, 
 and as they stared from one to another, searching 
 for the cause of mirth, their faces assumed a 
 blankness of expectancy ready to be illumined 
 with a laugh. 
 
 " Look at the gray fox-skin that Clapham s ben 
 a-buyin ," cried the bloomer, pointing at the skin 
 which its owner, though no longer proud of, stood 
 by in sullen defiance. 
 
 " Du you pur tend tu call that a fox, Mr. Clap- 
 ham ? " inquired one, and getting no answer 
 appealed to the bloomer, who nodded assent. 
 " Why, good land o massy, t ain t nothin but a 
 darned ol dog coon." With a universal assent 
 
108 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 to this verdict the company broke into a boister 
 ous laugh. At the first lull of merriment Clap- 
 ham snatched down the questionable peltry and 
 said with savage solemnity, " It s a gray fox, gen 
 tlemen, but it s makin altogether too much talk 
 an I ain t goin to keep it on exhibition no 
 longer," and throwing it spitefully up the stair 
 way to the chamber, he slammed the door and 
 shut off further inspection. 
 
 Amid a renewed burst of merriment Uncle 
 Lisha withdrew quietly and took his way home 
 ward. As he plodded past the Gove homestead 
 the wandering thoughts that bore him company 
 turned toward his young friend Pelatiah. He 
 cast a searching glance about the premises, half 
 hoping and yet half fearing that he might dis 
 cover him, for he shrank from the duty to which 
 he was committed. 
 
 " I s pose I d ort tu stop an find the boy an 
 give him a talkin tu, tu rights," he soliloquized, 
 " but I guess I d better wait an ketch him 
 kinder accidental. This ere cornerin a feller up 
 an rammin advice intu him somehaow don t make 
 it set so well as it does to kinder coax it intu him 
 julluk a pill in a spo ful of apple sass." 
 
 He quickened his pace till he had passed the 
 house and come to the little bridge that spanned 
 Stony Brook. As he lingered there idly watch 
 ing the flow of the stream whose every bend and 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 109 
 
 purling rapid and trout-haunted pool he knew as 
 well as the corners of his old shop, and listening 
 to its changing babble, familiar to his ear as the 
 thud of the hammer on his own lapstone, he dis 
 tinguished amid its liquid tones the sharp, metallic 
 clink of a trap chain, coming, as a moment s lis 
 tening assured him, from directly beneath the 
 bridge. 
 
 " Someb dy s ketched a mink er a mushrat," 
 said he to himself, " V I m goin tu meddle wi 
 other folkses business tu the extent o puttin the 
 poor creetur aouten his misery." 
 
 He descended to the bank, picking up a conven 
 ient cudgel as he went. When he peered into 
 the dark shadow of the bridge he was not a little 
 startled to discover the figure of a man sharply 
 defined against the light. He was kneeling on the 
 gravel between the abutment and the stream, so 
 intently engaged in setting a trap that he was 
 not aware of an intruder till Uncle Lisha tossed 
 a pebble at his feet. The old man felt pretty 
 sure of the trapper s identity, and was not sur 
 prised when Pelatiah s face was suddenly turned 
 toward him with an expression of wonder over 
 bearing its now habitual ruefulness. 
 
 His own silhouette, fore-shortened as he 
 stooped beneath the low bridge, bracing his hands 
 upon his knees, was not recognized at first, but 
 there was no mistaking his hearty hail, "Good 
 
110 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 airth an seas ! Peltier, don t ye know yer Uncle 
 Lisher ? " resounding with exaggerated volume 
 through the narrow passage. 
 
 Pelatiah left the half-set trap and came crouch 
 ing forth, brushing his soiled palm on his thigh 
 in preparation for the vigorous hand-shaking that 
 awaited him. When greetings were exchanged 
 the two seated themselves on projections of the 
 abutment and surveyed each other with kindly 
 scrutiny. 
 
 " You hain t growed old a mite," said Pelatiah. 
 
 " I Ve ben a-growin young sen I come back 
 makin up what I lost in three year." 
 
 44 An Aunt Jerushy, is she tollable well ? " 
 
 " Jest as smart as a cricket, an tickled tu 
 death tu git back hum again. An haow s things 
 goin wi you, Peltier ; well, I s pose ? " 
 
 " My health s good nough," said Pelatiah, 
 sighing as if that were an affliction, but Uncle 
 Lisha did not heed it. 
 
 " Trappin some, be ye ? " 
 
 u Some ; got a few traps sot f er mink an mush- 
 rat. The s a mink a-ha iitin raound this ere 
 bridge." 
 
 " I heerd your trap a-jinglin an thinks, says I, 
 the s suthin er nother sufferin intu a trap an 
 1 m a-goin tu be marciful an kill it, ef taint a 
 skunk. My marcy don t extend tu skunks, erless 
 I ve got a gun. It s tough for any creetur tu be 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. Ill 
 
 in a trap, whether no he s humern or a dumb 
 critter. Both git intu em, an , more times an not< 
 the hain t no gittin aout, on y by death er takin 
 off a laig. Most any dumb critter d ruther git 
 free at the price of a laig er foot an tu stay an 
 die er be knocked in the head, an they re sensibler 
 an lots o folks which they 11 jest hump theirselves 
 an grunt an squall er flummix permisc us till 
 they git t other foot an like s not both han s intu 
 another trap, an there they be. The grip o the 
 trap gits sorer and sorer, an they quit a-pullin* 
 an give clean up, which hain t no way fer a man 
 tu du." The old man beamed a kindly smile 
 upon his companion, who sat with downcast eyes, 
 slowly grinding the gravel beneath the heel of his 
 cowhide boot, upon which Uncle Lisha s eyes 
 finally fell, to note with displeasure that it was 
 ripped and red for lack of grease. 
 
 " An you ve goddaown tu buyin store boots. 
 Goo fer nothin things, made aouten split luther 
 an stuck tugether wi short paigs. An the idee 
 of a feller at ketches mushrat, an hes their ile, 
 lettin his boots git as red as a fox s tail." He 
 evidently thought Pelatiah in a desperate strait 
 and spoke with such sudden sharpness that the 
 young man was startled from his listless attitude. 
 " But you come up," he said with less asperity, 
 " an lemme take the measure o yer hommels an 
 I 11 make ye suthin at you 11 know you ve got on 
 
112 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 when you wear em, an that 11 be wuth spendin* 
 a leetle ile on." Then, almost without pause, he 
 said, irrelevantly, " Why, Peltier, from what I 
 heerd I spected tu find you merried an settled 
 daown, stiddy." Pektiah flushed and made a 
 quick, impatient movement. " Wa n t you ex- 
 pectin tu, one spell ? " 
 
 "Ef I was, I hain t naow, nor never shall 
 ag in," the young man said in a low voice. 
 
 " Why, what s the motter ails ye ? Merryin s 
 a good thing when ye find the right one." 
 
 " Haow in tunket s a feller goin tu tell when 
 he hes ? " Pelatiah asked, rising in such excite 
 ment that he bumped his head against the planks 
 and sat down as suddenly as he had risen. 
 
 " Hurt yer head much ? " 
 
 " Wisht I d knocked the dumb thing off n my 
 shoulders," he replied savagely. " Haow s a 
 feller goin tu tell ? That s what I d like tu 
 know. I thought I d faound the right one, an I 
 thought more on her an all the hull world. I 
 worshiped the airth she walked on. She might 
 ha walked on me she did pooty nigh, an I was 
 praoud tu hev her. An I, dumb fool, thought 
 she liked me jest as much. Mebby she did, fer a 
 spell, an thought she d faound her mate, it s 
 hopesin she wa n t foolin me the hull endurin 
 tune, an then at she had n t. She promised tu 
 hev me an we was a-goin tu be merried, an the 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 113 
 
 time was sot, an then at the last minute she went 
 off wi another feller an an I s pose they re 
 merried, but I can t seem tu think on her as 
 belongin tu nob dy else. She d ort tu suffer 
 some, but I hope she s happier n what I be. She 
 might be, an yit be in hell." 
 
 " You hed bad luck, Peltier, but all women 
 hain t alike." 
 
 " The hain t none no better n she was," 
 Pelatiah said vehemently. " The wa n t never 
 one harnsomer, an haow could there be one bet 
 ter otherways ? They re all fickleder n the wind 
 that blows, an lighter an the blubbers on this 
 brook." 
 
 " T ain t no sech a thing," said Uncle Lisha, 
 emphasizing each word with a downward jerk of 
 his head. " I Ve roosted wi one womern goin 
 on tow-ards forty year that s ben faithful an 
 true all them years, an ther s lots more o the 
 same sort, f er I don t cal late I m the on y lucky 
 man on the livin airth. You got intu a trap 
 nat rally nough, bein t was baited wi a pooty 
 face, an it kinder leggo, an naow ye c n shake a 
 loose foot which you d ort tu be thankful it 
 didn t take a laig, so tu speak, er mebby yer 
 life." 
 
 " It might s well. I wisht it hed," said Pela 
 tiah, grinding the gravel away savagely with his 
 heel. 
 
114 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 "Sho, no, you don t, nuther. Say, Peltier, 
 what d ye du wi yer fur ? Sell it tu Clapham, 
 du ye ? You did n t sell him that aire gray 
 fox ? " 
 
 Pelatiah could not witlihold a laugh. " No, 
 that was a feller f m over the maountain." 
 
 " You du seU tu Clapham? " 
 
 " No, Hamner s hed most on t." 
 
 " Hamner ? He don t pay cash ? " 
 
 " No ; " but Pelatiah did not look up. 
 
 " Look a-here, Peltier Gove," said the old man 
 impressively, " you re a-flummuxin intu a wus 
 trap n the fust one was, a-tryin tu draowned yer 
 trouble wi rum, specially Hamner s pizen. 
 Rum may cure a belly-ache, but not never a heart 
 ache, not tu stay cured. It 11 numb it fer a 
 spell, but it 11 make it come on wus n ever, an 
 need heftier dostin every time tu numb it ag in. 
 I do know haow long you ben a-tryin on t, but 
 I du know at you ve faound it jest s I tell ye. 
 An you ve got tu stop it right stret off er you re 
 a gone sucker. Right stret off. Not no foolin 
 wi one more drink, ner no tu-morrers, ner birth 
 days, ner New Years, ner leavin off gradwil. 
 It 11 be a tough job, but you c n du it. Shet 
 your maouth as tight as if t was sewed up wi a 
 waxed eend, an don t ye onrip it fer no coaxin , 
 inside er aout. You Ve got tu du the job yer- 
 Belf , not but what God A mighty 11 help ye, but 
 
THE COUNTRY POST-OFFICE. 115 
 
 you Ve got tu boost, tew. I cal late f the s go- 
 in tu be any prayin done, a feller hed better du 
 it f er himself. It 11 maount tu more n all the 
 ministers this side o kingdom come, a-prayin for 
 him. An naow I ve said my say, an you c n 
 go on settin your mink trap. Bait it wi mush- 
 rat f you ve got it, it s better n fish. Don t 
 forgit what I ve said tu ye, an come an see 
 Aunt Jerushy soon s you can. I shall git settled 
 daown tu work in tew, three days, an I want all 
 on ye tu come in, jest as ye uster in th ol shop. 
 Good-by." 
 
 He stooped his way out with due care for his 
 head and its precious covering, and clambering to 
 the roadway resumed his homeward course. 
 
 " There," he said, with a sigh of relief, " I ve 
 gi n the boy his pill. I d know but I forgot 
 the apple sass, but it s hopesin it won t set bad 
 an 11 du him good." 
 
 Pelatiah sat long after his old friend left him, 
 with his chin upon his hands, staring abstractedly 
 on the swift current of the brook, in whose voice 
 he seemed to hear the kindly words of advice 
 repeated again and again. When he arose and 
 resumed the setting of his trap his face wore a 
 stronger and more hopeful expression. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PARING-BEE. 
 
 NEXT morning Uncle Lisha laid aside his holi 
 day attire with a sense of great relief from the 
 constraint and care which their wearing had im 
 posed upon him, and put on his ordinary garb 
 with the comfortable feeling of being rehabili 
 tated in his real self. Making such haste with 
 his breakfast that Aunt Jerusha said he was " in 
 a bigger hurry n a boy a-goin a-fishm ," he put 
 on his leather apron and set about the odd jobs 
 of mending for the family. 
 
 Sam and his father went out to their husking, 
 and the door between the kitchen and the shop 
 being opened, that the old man might have the 
 companionship of the women folks, the house 
 presently rang with the merry thud of the ham- 
 mer on his lapstone. 
 
 Huldah was paring apples with a worn-out shoe 
 knife discarded from Uncle Lisha s kit, and Aunt 
 Jerusha quartered and cored them with frugal 
 care that the least possible share should go to the 
 pigs, while the baby made frequent excursions on 
 all fours between the two great objects of interest 
 presented by the two industries. 
 
THE PAEING-BEE. 117 
 
 Now he brought a chubby fistful of stolen shoe 
 pegs to his mother s knee, then made restitution 
 to the owner with a slice of apple, begrimed by 
 repeated contact with the floor during its trans 
 portation. 
 
 " Why, yes, bub," said the old man, beaming 
 down a kindly glance through his round glasses 
 upon the upturned baby face as he took the prof 
 fered gift and laid it on the bench beside him, 
 " it s turrible nice, but Uncle Lisher don t pear 
 tu feel like eatin on t jest naow. He hain t ap 
 ple hungry ; guess he eat tew much breakfus er 
 suthin . Ta keer. Don t put hisleetle hanny 
 ont the lapstun. Git it smashed finer n a barn. 
 No, bubby, could n t hev the wax. Gaum him 
 all up so t mammy d hafter nigh abaout skin him 
 tu git him clean ag in ; an haow she would scold 
 both on us, an haow we would cry, would n t we ? 
 Here, take a pooty paig to Aunt Jerushy an ask 
 her f she ever see sech a cur osity. Clipper, 
 naow." 
 
 " Thank ye, a thaousan times, you darlin cree- 
 tur," cried Aunt Jerusha, when the child had 
 scrambled to her with his gift. " I never see a 
 neater paig an I m a-goin tu keep it tu hev me 
 a shoe made. These ere apples seems ef they was 
 gittin turrible meller, Huldy, an wa n t a-goin 
 tu keep no gret spell." 
 
 " I know it," said Huldah, putting a thin slice 
 
118 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 between her lips and meditatively munching it. 
 " There s lots an sacks on em that s all squ sh, 
 an ef we save many of em we ve got tu hev a 
 parin -bee ef you an Uncle Lisher could stan the 
 rumpus." 
 
 " Stan it ! Law sakes. I could stan a lee tie 
 o the young folkses catousin, an he d enj y it 
 jest as much as any on em, furzino. But apple 
 cuts is tumble wasteful an mussin an gin ally 
 cost more n they come tu." 
 
 " But we d get the apples worked off an the 
 young folks d have a good time. I wonder if 
 father Lovel woidd care ? " 
 
 " Law sakes alive," said Aunt Jerusha, " if he 
 c d stan S manthy twenty year, I guess he c n 
 stan one eveniu s catousin. But hear me talk, 
 an she an ol neighbor an your mother-in-law ef 
 she was a-livin . Lisher ! " she called, " du you 
 s pose you an Timerthy could stan it, ef we had 
 a apple cut ? " and she shook her knife at Hul- 
 dah while they paused in their work to hear his 
 answer. 
 
 " A apple cut ? A parin -bee ? Good airth 
 an seas ! You jest try it an see. I bate ye, me 
 an him 11 shake our hommels wi the spryest on 
 em." 
 
 " What d I tell ye ? " Aunt Jerusha whispered 
 triumphantly. 
 
 When the subject was broached to them at 
 
THE PARING-BEE. 119 
 
 dinner, Sam and his father made no objections, 
 and it was settled that the entertainment should 
 be given as soon as the necessary preparations 
 could be made. 
 
 A whole day was spent in bountiful if not 
 elaborate cooking ; the frying of at least a bushel 
 of doughnuts and the making and baking of 
 pumpkin pies, whose crowded ranks filled half 
 the pantry shelves. Then the rooms were put 
 in cleanly order, which Aunt Jerusha declared, 
 while giving her best efforts to it, " A useless 
 work, a-scrubbin an puttin tu rights jest tu 
 hev em mussed an cluttered intu jest a hoorah s 
 nest." 
 
 Meantime invitations were issued, not on per 
 fumed paper, but by hearty word of mouth, and 
 given pretty generally yet discreetly. 
 
 " Don t ye gin no invite tu none o them Forge 
 fellers," said Huldah as Sam lingered on the 
 threshold in indecision between the various 
 routes. " They re such a rantankerous passel o 
 critters, allers fer raisin a rumpus. An don t 
 ye forgit tu gin Tom Hamlin a bid, an his parin - 
 machine, both on em, for one hain t no good with- 
 aout t other. An come raound by Joel Bart- 
 lett s an git ten paound o his best cheese, but 
 don t let him know what ye want on t. He 
 would n t knowingly let his cheese git mixed up 
 wi no sech worl people s fryvolity." 
 
120 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Sho, I guess his screuples hain t wuth more n 
 seven cents a paound," said Sam irreverently. 
 
 " An I hope you 11 make it a pint tu give 
 Peltier a bid tu the apple cut," Uncle Lisha 
 called from the shop ; "he needs chirkin up wust 
 of any on us, the poor love-cracked creetur. Ef 
 Danvis gals is pooty s they was when aour 
 womern was gals, Samwill, the 11 be some here 
 pooty enough tu take his mind off m that lake 
 shore gill flirt, maremaid, I d know but she is. 
 Did he find her in the lake, Samwill? An ef 
 ye can scare up a fiddler, git him. What s come 
 o that leetle hump-backed feller at, when he sot 
 in the corner a-fiddlin , you could n t see nothin 
 on, behind his fiddle. But good airth an seas, 
 he d saw that fiddle all up into tunes. He d be 
 ekernomical for a kitchen tunk, gitten intu a 
 corner so, aout n the way." 
 
 Sam hurried away before he should be bur 
 dened with further instructions, lamenting as he 
 went the loss of so fine a hunting morning. 
 
 On the evening appointed for the entertain 
 ment the full moon was seen, but as a pale and 
 dimly defined blotch behind the gray veil of cloud 
 that overspread the sky and blended with the 
 vague rim of the horizon. 
 
 There was a dull, sullen chill in the air, which 
 was motionless in the expectancy wherewith 
 nature so often awaits her changes. The night 
 
THE PABING-BEE. 121 
 
 was jarred by the rumble of wagons jolting over 
 the frozen roads and pierced by the merry voices 
 of coming guests. 
 
 Some of these were occupants of the wagons, 
 above whose rumbls and clatter they strove to 
 make one another hear between abrupt breaks of 
 the thread of conversation when a wheel struck a 
 stone or dropped into a rut. Some were coming 
 across the fields on foot in couples and squads, 
 but it was noticeable that the couples emerged 
 from the half gloom before their voices were 
 heard, while the gabble and laughter of the 
 groups ran far before them to herald their com 
 ing. 
 
 Beams of light shone hospitably forth from 
 every window of the kitchen and square room, 
 and the heavy latch clanked and the door slammed 
 announcement of the frequent arrivals. 
 
 The women folks came from the bedroom, 
 where they had bestowed their hoods and shawls 
 and cloaks on Huldah s bed, each with an apron 
 shielding the front of her tidy calico or homespun 
 woolen gown. The men hung their coats on the 
 pegs of the kitchen wall and became comfortable 
 in their accustomed indoor shirt-sleeves. 
 
 Soon pans and knives were brought forth, 
 bushel baskets of apples lugged in, chairs drawn 
 into convenient groups, and the business of the 
 evening began. 
 
122 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Tom Hamlin and another almost as famous ail 
 apple parer bestrode their machines, placed on 
 the seats of high-backed chairs, and entered upon 
 such a strife for the championship that the clat 
 tering din of their clumsily geared machines was 
 almost incessant, and the parings spurting from 
 their knives in curved jets were scarcely broken 
 in the quick shifting of the apples on the forks. 
 Presently a dozen pairs of hands were busy quar 
 tering the peeled apples, as many more were 
 coring them, while others strung them with wire 
 needles on long strings of pack thread, for 
 drying. 
 
 Every one except Tom Hamlin and his rival 
 was talking, and almost every voice strove to 
 make itself heard above every other and the deaf 
 ening clatter of the machines. Some couples with 
 heads close together utilized the uproar to say 
 things meant for no other ears. 
 
 In the centre of an interested group, Uncle 
 Lisha, splitting apples with his shoe knife, roared 
 like a lion concerning the wonders of the West, 
 and to as interested a feminine audience, Aunt 
 Jerusha quavered shrilly of the discomforts of 
 Western life while she industriously strung the 
 quarters of apples in her pan. 
 
 "Fifty an a hunderd acres in one field o 
 wheat an the hull on t as level as the Forge 
 Pawnd," Uncle Lisha shouted. 
 
THE PAEING-BEE. 123 
 
 " Ten mile tu the nigliest store," shrieked his 
 wife to her group of listeners, " an when you got 
 to t, the tea an snuff they kept wa n t wuth a- 
 kerryin hum, though goodness knows they ast 
 enough for em. Land sakes ! how be I goin to 
 git a pinch o snuff, wi both my han s in these 
 ere apples ? " 
 
 " Jest look o Mandy Varney," cried a buxom 
 damsel to those around her. " She hain t done 
 nothin only chank every identicle quarter she s 
 cored, an listen to that Jim Putman, sence she 
 soddaown. Wonder ef she thinks it s a-sparkin 
 bee steaddy a parin -bee? " 
 
 " What s pose the reason is, the hain t none o 
 Cap n Peck s folks come?" inquired another 
 high-keyed voice ; to which a middle-aged matron 
 answered, with a backward toss of the head, while 
 she kept her eyes rigidly fixed upon her apple 
 and knife, " Proberbly they re bove goin to such 
 common duins, naow t he s sot in the Leegislatur. 
 Ef t was fore lection the d all ha come fast 
 nough." 
 
 " They du say at on the stren th on t she s 
 ben tu Vgennes an bought a hull set o flowin 
 blue dishes. Clapham had n t nothin quite good 
 enough for a member o the Leegislatur s wife," 
 cried another. 
 
 " Highty tighty," said the elder matron, " an 
 there be them at hain t so turrible old that 
 
124 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 remember when the hull fam ly eat the puddin 
 an milk aouten braown airthenware bowls, an* 
 glad nough to get em." Even Dan vis was not 
 without its social jealousies. 
 
 " Suthin ben a ketchin Joel Bartlett s sheep," 
 announced one of a knot of married men, who, 
 assembled apart from their wives, were not labor 
 ing very assiduously. " Some thinks it s dawgs 
 an some thinks it s a animil." 
 
 " T ain t no ways likely it s a bear," another 
 remarked; "the time o the year s ag in that. 
 But it might be a painter." 
 
 " Wai, no, I don t favor the idee, cause the 
 was ten or a dozen sheep t was killed aout an aout ; 
 jest the tlirut cut. A painter would n t ha killed 
 more n one or tew, an sati fied hisself a-eatin the 
 meat. Hain t that so, Samwill ? " appealing to 
 their host, who had come within call as he moved 
 from group to group to see that each was properly 
 provided for. 
 
 " I cal late it s a wolf," he said, " from what 
 I ve hearn tell o their duins. More n all that, 
 I ve consaited all the fall at the was one a-hangin 
 raound, fer I ve seen signs at I could n t lay to no 
 other critter. But ef he don t make himself scace 
 fore many hours, I reckon we 11 have a chance 
 to find aout what he is, fer ef it don t snow be 
 fore mornin I miss my guess." 
 
 " I m a-goin aout tu take a look o the weather 
 
THE PARING-BEE. 125 
 
 jest fer greens," said one of the party, rising with 
 a sigh of relief and dropping his pan in his chair. 
 After an absence which must have enabled him 
 to make a thorough study of the weather, he re- 
 entered the kitchen so powdered with snow that 
 he did not need to proclaim that " it was snowin 
 like fun." 
 
 Many of the company needed further ocular 
 proof of his report, and hastened forth to obtain 
 it, while others were content to cool their noses 
 against the window panes and stare out upon the 
 landscape grown more obscure behind the veil of 
 falling snow, all dull and lifeless, but for the 
 candles weird reflections unreal lights by 
 which, perhaps, witches were holding carnival. 
 Perhaps it was the hope of beholding them that 
 so long kept some fair cheeks in close proximity 
 to bearded ones. 
 
 " If it holds up by mornin I 11 take a ran- 
 tomscoot up back o Joel s and see what tracks I 
 c n find," Sam said, and hurried away as Tom 
 Hamlin, tossing away the last apple and kicking 
 over the empty basket, shouted, " Fetch on your 
 apples ef you want em skinned." 
 
 So with unflagging zeal and unabated clamor of 
 voices, and clatter of implements and machines, 
 the work went on till half a dozen bushels of 
 apples were on the strings and ready to festoon 
 the kitchen walls and poles that hung from hooks 
 
126 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 in the ceiling, and the welcome announcement was 
 made that the labor of the evening was over. 
 
 " Naow, then," said Sam, making his way with 
 careful steps across the floor slippery with scat 
 tered skins and cores, " we 11 clear up the thick 
 est o this mess and then we 11 see ef aour 
 womern folks has saved any cold victuals fer us. 
 I believe I saw some cold taters in the buttry 
 an I do know but the s some o Drive s johnny- 
 cake left." 
 
 But before the floor was cleaned, a dozen girls 
 must try for their lover s initials with apple 
 parings whirled thrice above their heads and 
 cast over the right shoulder to the floor behind 
 them. 
 
 " Wai ! fer all the world," cried Amanda Var- 
 ney, blushing as red as the apple peeling she had 
 just cast behind her, and was now regarding with 
 surprised delight, " ef it hain t a perfect P." 
 
 " It might be most anything," said Mary Ann 
 Jones, who in the early evening had called atten 
 tion to Amanda s flirtation. 
 
 " T would be good enough ef you d ha made 
 it," said Amanda ; " I 11 leave it tu Uncle Lisher 
 ef t ain t a good P," as the old man drew near 
 the circle widening to admit him. 
 
 "Yes," he said, after adjusting his spectacles 
 and critically examining the initial. " It s julluk 
 handwritin . But it don t stan fer Putman nei 
 
THE PARING-BEE. 127 
 
 fer Peggs. It s tew long and lank. Guess it 
 stands fer Peltier. Come here, Peltier. * 
 
 The young man, who was moping in a corner, 
 made his way toward them. "It pears tu be 
 p in ted by fortin at you ve got tu dance long 
 wi Mandy. Naow, you be ready tu take your 
 place wi her soon s we get suthin tu eat." 
 Then whispering into his ear like a blast of 
 northeast wind, " Naow du try tu shake some o 
 the sorrow aout o your heart when th dancin 
 begins." 
 
 " Gosh, Uncle Lisher," said Pelatiah, aghast 
 at the plan, and casting a hopeless glance upon 
 his big boots. " I can t dance no more n a 
 thirty-foot ladder." 
 
 " Wai, f you hain t got the tools, I do know 
 who hes, an you ve got tu use em if I hafter 
 yard ye top o the hot stove. Come, gals, le s 
 git things sot tu rights so t we c n eat an git tu 
 the rale business o the evenin ." 
 
 Then the guests, ranged along the walls of the 
 kitchen and spare room, were amply served with 
 Huldah s doughnuts, pies, and cheese, and Sam s 
 cider received its usual compliments. 
 
 Then the young people engaged in romping 
 games, the Needle s Eye, wherein every one who 
 could sing and every one who could not, sang, 
 or tried to sing, at the top of their voices : 
 
 " The needle s eye, that doth soffy the thread that runs so treue, 
 It has caught many a smiling lass and naow it has caught yeou 1* 
 
128 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 or with a volume and zest that would have pleased 
 Gran ther Hill more than the melody, " We re 
 marching onward tow-ard Quebec." In every 
 game the forfeits were invariably kisses, given 
 and paid in the simplest and most direct manner, 
 or when so decreed, in the contortions of a " dou 
 ble and twisted Loddy massy." The movements 
 of another popular game were timed to the words 
 of " Come, Philander, le s be a-marchin ." The 
 elders looked on in amused toleration, while a few 
 joined the young folks games only to be re 
 minded, by grudgingly paid forfeits, that the 
 freshness of youth had departed from their 
 wrinkled cheeks. 
 
 "Come," at last cried Uncle Lisha, who by 
 tacit consent assumed the office of master of 
 ceremonies, " you young folks orter be abaout 
 cl yed wi bussin an we ol folks has eat saour 
 grapes long nough, so le s all turn tu an hev a 
 leetle sensible enj yment a-dancin . Where s 
 thet aire leetle fiddler." 
 
 " He hain t come anigh," Sam answered. " He 
 promised he d come sartin sure, but I m most 
 afeerd he s run ag in a snag tu Hanmer s at he 
 won t git clear on, fore niornin . It s tew tarnal 
 bad." 
 
 " Well, that s a pretty haow de du," said the 
 old man, " but we won t be cheated aout n aour 
 dancin by one drunken fiddler. Tom Hanilin, d 
 
THE PARING-BEE. 129 
 
 ye fetch yer jewsharp in your pocket ? er can you 
 dig one up, Samwill ? " Tom " hed n t never 
 thought on "t," nor could Sam find the only in 
 strument upon which he ever played. 
 
 " Wai, then, I ve got tu sing, which I 11 make 
 you hear me, ef I don t charm none. Chuse your 
 pardners naow or never an form ont the floor. 
 Come, Peltier, git Mandy and stan up tu the 
 dough dish." 
 
 Pelatiah hung back bashfully till Amanda, 
 seeing her rival, Mary Ann, led out by Putnam, 
 blushing with vexation, met him more than half 
 way, and he found his unwilling feet taking him 
 to his place in the waiting ranks. 
 
 " All ready. Naow I m goin tu sing," shouted 
 Uncle Lisha, and began to roar in stentorian 
 tones : 
 
 " Lum tiddle, lum tiddle, t l law day, 
 Lum tiddle 
 
 " Good airth an seas ! Why don t ye start 
 yer hommels ? D ye s pose I m goin tu set an 
 holler all night for you tu stan an gawp julluk 
 tew rows o stancheled calves ? " 
 
 Thus adjured the first couple paddled and 
 sailed down the middle, when he again took up 
 his wordless song, and twenty-four pairs of feet, 
 impatient for their turn, began to stamp and 
 shuffle to its rhythm : 
 
130 
 
 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Lum ticl - die, him tid - die, t l law day, 
 
 N 
 
 
 lum tid -die, lum tid -die, t l law day, 
 
 PS 
 
 day hum, do day hum, do day hum, t l law day. 
 
 Antoine, sitting by Uncle Lisha, and attempt 
 ing to catch the tune in snatches of undertone, 
 played an imaginary fiddle and pranced time 
 with both feet after the Canadian fashion, evi 
 dently considering himself the chief performer. 
 
 The dancers quickly caught the inspiration of 
 well-meant, if unmelodious, strains, and whirled 
 and capered in perfect abandonment to their 
 influence. Even Pelatiah s bashfulness melted 
 away in the excitement, and he made wild rushes 
 at wrong moments and in wrong directions, which 
 involved him and his partner in bewildering en 
 tanglement with other couples. 
 
 * Turn yer pardener half way raound, 
 Lum tiddle, lum tiddle, t l law day, 
 Half way raound, half way raound, do day hum, t l law day." 
 
 Uncle Lisha sang at him vociferously, and 
 Antoine chimed in with, "Turn yo pahdny 
 
THE PAEING-BEE. 131 
 
 wrong side aout," to Pelatiah s complete bewil 
 derment. Then young Putnam, striving to outdo 
 his own agile steps, as he pranced down the mid 
 dle with Mary Ann Jones, slipped on a fragment 
 of apple peel and fell headlong, plowing his way 
 along a rank of dancers and turning a furrow of 
 them on top of himself. Uncle Lisha still sang 
 on, his voice rising above the din of shrieks and 
 laughter, till it dawned upon him that no one was 
 dancing and his music was being poured forth to 
 no purpose. 
 
 In the lull that presently succeeded the confu 
 sion the company became aware of the notes of a 
 fiddle, whence coming no one could conjecture, 
 faintly yet distinctly playing the familiar air of 
 "Money Musk." While all listened, some puz 
 zled and some breathless, and some superstitiously 
 alarmed, Solon Briggs oracularly voiced the pre 
 vailing feeling, in a solemn, awe-stricken tone : 
 
 "That fiddle hain t performed by no livin 
 han s. Watson Farmer has pairished, mis rable, 
 in the element of the snow, and his speerit has 
 come to fulfill his pintment made to Samule. 
 It s Watson Farmer s indivisible apperagotion." 
 
 " Beeswax," cried John Dart, listening at the 
 open door. " Go to thunder wi yer speerits ! 
 It s someb dy in the woodshed. Gimme a light 
 an I 11 see who tis." 
 
 Taking a candle and protecting it with his hoi- 
 
132 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 lowed hand, he made his way to the woodshed, 
 followed by the bolder of the company, close at 
 his heels, the more timid crowding one another in 
 the rear, where the light of the open door mistily 
 illumined the falling snow. Under cover of the 
 shed, and held high above Dart s head, the candle 
 struggled with the gloom, till it disclosed a dis 
 mally comic little figure crouched in a limp heap, 
 with its back against a barrel, its disproportion 
 ately long legs looped over the bar of a sawhorse 
 on which it had attempted to seat itself. The 
 snow-laden hat had fallen over the face, and the 
 short body was hidden by the fiddle which the 
 owner was playing with a skill that had survived 
 inebriation, while in a thin and drunken voice he 
 prompted the movements of a country dance. 
 
 " Firsh cou le. Daow er mi le. Balansh. Daow 
 a rou shide." 
 
 " Wai, I swan," Dart ejaculated, " f t ain t 
 speerits, arter all. Hamner s, inside o Wat Far 
 mer. Hamner d ortu be kicked tu death by 
 cripples for a-lettin on him git so. Wat," tak 
 ing the hat from the fiddler s face, shaking the 
 snow from it, and adjusting it in its proper place, 
 " don t be a-wastin your music on the wood pile. 
 You can t git no dancin aout on t. Come intf 
 the haouse." 
 
 But the hunchback s face, vacant of every 
 thing save its habitual expression of pain, only 
 
.THE PAEING-BEE. 133 
 
 stared blindly into space and the merry tune 
 went on. 
 
 " You might as well talk tu a post. Take a 
 holt o the light, some on ye ; " and giving the can 
 dle into other hands, he got behind the little man, 
 and, placing his arms under the limp legs, lifted 
 him as easily as one might a child, and in such a 
 position the playing of the violin was not inter 
 rupted, and so, preceded by the candle-bearer, 
 carried him into the house. As they entered, 
 Palmer s drunken fancy moved him to strike 
 up, " The Campbells are Coming." 
 
 "The camels is comin ," cried Beau Putnam. 
 " Don t ye see the hump ? " 
 
 " Shut yer head, you blasted monkey," Dart 
 growled so savagely that the grin faded out of 
 Putnam s face, and the laugh that his coarse jest 
 created died out in a suppressed titter. 
 
 " Here s your music, Lovel," Dart announced, 
 as he deposited his light burden on a chair, " the 
 best fiddler in Charlotte county. He s a leetle 
 mite tired jest naow, but when he gits rested 
 he 11 set all yer feet flyin in spite of ye. Mis 
 Lovel, won t ye give him a cup o tea, hot an* 
 strong?" 
 
 When the little man had been somewhat re 
 stored to his proper self, he tuned his violin and 
 then drew from it such blithe and melodious 
 strains that all forgot his deformity. Even he, 
 
134 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 with loving eyes fixed upon his instrument, his 
 worn face alight with a tender emotion that soft 
 ened the lines which pain and dissipation had 
 drawn upon it, seemed for the time also to have 
 forgotten it. 
 
 Uncle Lisha, relieved of his musical labors, 
 abandoned himself to the pleasures of the dance 
 with a grace and agility that filled Aunt Jeru- 
 sha s heart with pride, albeit they were such as a 
 sportive bear exhibits. Aiitoine was given the 
 floor for a while, as, to a tune of his own choos 
 ing, he danced a Canadian jig. Every one was 
 a wide-awake and active participant in the gayety 
 except the baby and the old hound, the one sleep 
 ing, undisturbed by the noise and commotion, 
 whereof the other was a resigned but unhappy 
 spectator under the circumscribed shelter of the 
 stove. 
 
 When the dance ended, and the guests, even 
 now acknowledging no fatigue, began to depart, 
 the morning star was shining through the break 
 ing clouds and the day was faintly dawning upon 
 a world whose new whiteness looked strange to 
 eyes that last beheld it, dun and gray with the 
 dreariness of late autumn. 
 
 " Naow fetch on that leetle fiddler," John Dart 
 commanded when he had tucked his Sarah Ann 
 snugly in the buffalo-skins. " I m a-goin tu git 
 him safte past Hamner s ef I hafter lock him up 
 
THE PABING-BEE. 135 
 
 in his fiddle box. "We wanter keep him for an 
 other apple cut. Here, Wat, cuddle in there 
 twixt me an Sary Ann, we re both on us small. 
 Here ye be. Good-night, Lovel, ef t ain t tew 
 airly. I 11 be on hand ef the s a wolf hunt. 
 G lang, Bob." 
 
 " It s complete trackin snow," said Sam to a 
 group of hunters who lingered last at his thresh 
 old, and he stooped to imprint the snowy bank 
 ing with his finger. " I 11 see what it s got tu 
 tell us an let you know. Good-mornin ." 
 
 The wagons moving over the muffled roads, 
 and the quiet of the sleepy junketers, marked 
 their departure with silence as noticeable as the 
 noise of their coming. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN THE LINTER. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the prolonged revels of the 
 previous night, several neighbors dropped in at 
 the shop in the Linter the evening of the follow 
 ing day to learn of any news of the ravager of 
 Joel Bartlett s flock. Sam had not yet returned 
 from his quest, and, while they awaited his com 
 ing with different degrees of patience, they fell 
 very naturally into the accustomed ways of the 
 old shop. 
 
 Solon Briggs took his seat behind the stove, 
 Joseph Hill seated himself with laborious care on 
 the chair of most doubtfid stability, Antoine sat 
 on the floor with legs crossed after the fashion of 
 Turks and tailors, and Pelatiah perched uncom 
 fortably, as became his state of mind, on the 
 corner of the shoe bench. With the autocrat of 
 the little realm on his leathern throne, the social 
 pipes alight, Pelatiah ruminating his innocuous 
 cud, they could hardly realize that the old fa 
 miliar intercourse had suffered a three years 
 hiatus. 
 
 Uncle Lisha yawned over his work till he 
 
IN THE LINTEE. 137 
 
 pounded his thumb with a misdirected stroke, 
 and then, while he sucked the injured digit, 
 impatiently cast aside hammer, awl, and lasted 
 shoe. 
 
 " Consarn it all," he grumbled, " carummuxin 
 don t tarve so well wi seventy odd as it does wi 
 twenty odd year. Jest one night on t hes made 
 me sleepier n a Quaker meetin , but when I was 
 Peltier s age I c d go it eight nights in a week 
 an work busy s a bee all day. Dumbd if I try 
 tu work. Seem s ef t was baout time for Sam 
 tu come hum." 
 
 "I should raly like to know what specie of 
 savagarous beast has been a-deevastatin Joel s 
 sheep." 
 
 " Proberbly," said Joseph, venturing to tilt his 
 chair on its front legs to enable him to spit at 
 the stove hearth, " it s a wolf er suthin ." The 
 chair gave a creak ominous of collapse, and he 
 carefully readjusted it to its complete if preca 
 rious support of his weight. " Seem s ough 
 this ere chair was a leetle mite more weewaw an 
 it uster be," and he leaned cautiously to one side 
 and the other to inspect the spreading legs, " but 
 I don t know as it is," slowly bending forward 
 for a general survey of them, between his spread 
 knees ; " I guess it 11 stan a spell." 
 
 "I wish t you d bust the tarnal ol thing, 
 Jozeff," said Uncle Lisha, with nervous impa* 
 
138 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 tience. " It s squeaked an it s squoke till I am 
 sick an* tired of it." 
 
 " It best was, you 11 sect where Ah 11 was, 
 Zhoseff, den it an t be danger for fall off or 
 broke up you sit, an t it ? " 
 
 " Judgin f m what I hearn," said Uncle Lisha, 
 after watching the chair with a hope of the ful 
 fillment of his wish, " I s pect it s a wolf. It s 
 ben a good spell sen there s ben one on em 
 raound these parts. It s a massy the varmints 
 ain t so thick as they used tu be. When I was a 
 boy you c d hear em a-yowlin up on the maoun- 
 tain, most any night, nough tu make yer back 
 freeze. Naow an ag in, they used tu kill folks, 
 I s pose. I never knowed o their killin any 
 body fer sartain, but some on em lowed they 
 killed Cephas Worth an eat him clean up, an 
 then ag in, some cal lated they did n t." 
 
 " Haow was t ? " Pelatiah asked, agape, the 
 swab, wherewith he was greasing his boot, ar 
 rested halfway between it and the pot of neat s 
 foot oil. 
 
 "If it wa n t at I got feelin s fer ye," said 
 Uncle Lisha, regarding his employment with 
 some severity of expression, " I would n t allow 
 you tu waste that precious intement on none o 
 Clapham s store boots. That aire was made for 
 honest boots, but it don t signify ; ile away. Why 
 the way on t was, ye see Cephas was sugarin 
 
IN THE LINTEE. 139 
 
 way up on the aidge o the maountain a mild f m 
 hum. He hed him a shanty an kerned up pro 
 visions tu last him tew, three days an wouldn t 
 go hum on y abaout oncte in so often, jest puttin 
 in his best licks makin sugar, when there was a 
 big run o sap. Wai, it run along one spell, 
 nigh onter a week, an he did n t come hum, an* 
 his womern begun tu tew abaout him, cause it 
 wa n t no gre t sugar weather an she knowed his 
 victuals must be all used up, cause he was hearty 
 tu eat, an bimeby she raousted aout the neigh 
 bors tu go an look him up. Another thing at 
 made em oneasy abaout him was at the wolves 
 was turrible sassy that spring, an they d hearn 
 em a-yowlin up in the neighborhood o Cephas s 
 camp oncommon, so up they went, Beedy along 
 wi the rest on em. Obedience her name was, 
 but they all called her Beedy. When they come 
 to t, the shanty was hove hither an yon, an tore 
 tu flinders, an not a sign o Cephas, on y a piece 
 o kwut, an a dozen bones gnawed clean. Some 
 was cock sure they was his n, an some hed the* 
 daoubts on t, an there was some sprinkle o 
 blood an wolf tracks all raound thicker n spat 
 ter, an ev rything clawed and chawed, ceptin 
 the tub o sugar. Beedy hed it kerried hum an 1 
 sol it off spry. I s pose the was a kin of a 
 skeery flavor tu it made folks hanker arter it. 
 " Wai, Beedy took on dreffly an hed a tantry 
 
140 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 bogus fit on caount o Cephas bein killed an eat 
 up by wolves so t there wa n t nough on him left 
 fer a fun al, scacely. But she made em pick up 
 the bones an they took em hum an there was 
 quite a respectable fun al considerin the remains, 
 wi preachin an prayin an cryin . An Beedy, 
 she hed a gravestun sot up, an , twixt hoein an 
 hayin , she pulled up stakes an went off some 
 where, said she could n t stan* it tu stay where 
 she d suffered sech a loss. But there was lots o 
 folks at did n t believe the was no casion fer a 
 fun al. Cephas was turribly in debt an his cred 
 itors a threatenin tu jail him, the useter jail 
 folks fer debt in them times, an he was awful 
 skeered o bein shet up, an so they cal lated he d 
 jest made a show o bein clawed an chawed an 
 eat up, an had cleared aout, an Beedy d gone 
 tu fin him. An the was others at stuck to t 
 he d raly been killed. I do know the rights on 
 t, mebby he was, an mebby he wa n t, but tew, 
 three year arterward the was a peddler, name o 
 Treuman Weeks, at useter travel over three, 
 four States, come raound here an he toF tu the 
 tarvern baout a feller t he staid with, way aout 
 in York State, at faound aout he d ben in these 
 parts an inquired turrible particler baout every 
 body in Danvis. But the nub on t was the 
 feller said he d lived in Vermont forty year, a- 
 warrin with God and wild beasts till they beat 
 
17V THE LINTEE. 141 
 
 him an he d gi n up an put aout there, tu scape 
 em. The feller s name as he gin it the did n t 
 nob dy remember, but the peddler said he d allers 
 remembered the name the feller called his wife, 
 t was sech a odd saounding one, Beedy. Puttin* 
 this an that together, folks s mised t was Cephas 
 Worth, but I d know. Why on airth," turning 
 and peering out of the broad, low winder, " don t 
 that Samwill come along hum ? " 
 
 " Dat mek me rembler," cried Antoine, hasten 
 ing to improve the first opportunity offered him 
 to speak, " baout one mans in Canada 
 
 " Consarn that everlastin man in Canady," 
 Uncle Lisha growled. 
 
 " But Ah 11 wan tol you baout it an baout de 
 loup garou dat was be mans wen hee 11 min to, 
 an wolfs wen hee 11 min to." 
 
 " Antwine, shet yer head. Samwill s comin 
 an he 11 hev suthin wuth a-tellin ." 
 
 The noise of stamping feet was heard on the 
 doorstep, and Samuel entered. All eyes were 
 turned inquiringly upon him, for he wore the tri 
 umphant air of one who bears important tidings. 
 
 "Wai?" Uncle Lisha laconically voiced the 
 impatience of the audience. 
 
 " Arter a good deal o sear chin , I faound the 
 track an follered it tu a spreuce cobble a mild 
 east o Joel s, an I cal late he 11 lay up there till 
 he gits hungry ag in. I ve tol ev ybody long 
 
142 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 my way hum, an naow you fellers want to start 
 right straight aout an pass raound word to ev y- 
 body to rally in the mornin an meet at Joel 
 Bartlett s. S posin Solon an Jozeff notify the 
 folks up their way an Antwine them up his n, an 
 Peltier daown west, an as soon s I get a bite o 
 suthin tu eat, I 11 go over to the store where 
 there 11 be a lot a-loafin raound at I can send 
 word to heaps o folks. It s airly in the evenin 
 an the s time tu raoust aout a party at 11 make 
 it lively for the ol wolf. Turn em aout, Uncle 
 Lisher." 
 
 The visitors arose to depart, Antoine sighing as 
 he went. 
 
 "Ah ? 11 hope it ain t one loup garou. Ah 11 
 goin tol you ? baout dat, firs chance Ah 11 gat 
 of it." 
 
 " Make it a p int tu stop int Varney s an tell 
 him baout the wolf hunt, Peltier," Lisha whis 
 pered, as he followed his visitors to the door. He 
 watched them depart their several ways in the 
 moonlight, and then looked up to the star-bejew- 
 eled sky. 
 
 " It s clear as a Christian s conscience an not 
 a breath a-stirrin . I s pose I might go aout an 
 holler the news in the doo yard so t some on em 
 c ld hear it. But I might skeer the wolf an so 
 I guess I 11 go tu bed. It 11 be a good day fei 
 the hunt, Sam." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 
 
 THE morning sunlight had not touched the 
 tree-tops of the crest of the western Danvis hills, 
 when half of the arms-bearing population of the 
 township were arriving at, or tending toward, the 
 appointed gathering-place, some in sleighs, some 
 on foot, each bearing some sort of firearm. The 
 morning was not far spent, when a formidable 
 force had gathered about the premises of Joel 
 Bartlett, a strangely warlike array to be mustered 
 in those peaceful precincts, yet Joel beheld it with 
 a kindly and approving eye as he stood in the 
 doorway, with Jemima peering timidly out be 
 hind him. 
 
 " It s a heavy weight on my mind to see so 
 many men bearin carnal weepons," she said with 
 a very audible sigh ; "it seems too much like the 
 marshalin of the hosts for battle." 
 
 " But thee sees, Jemimy, it hain t for no pup- 
 pus of sheddin humern blood ner even for larnin 
 an ? practysein the weeked art o war, but jest tu 
 quell the ravenous beasts of the wilderness, which 
 
144 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 can t be wrought upon by the Word nor by re- 
 turnin good for evil." 
 
 " Yes, I s pose thee s right, Joel ; but I can t 
 help my mind a-dwellin on what guns was mostly 
 made for, in times formerly. Ah, me. But t 
 Joel, won t thee tell these good folks to come in 
 an get some nut cakes and cheese if any on em 
 has occasion. Some must have eat breakfast un 
 common airly this momin ." 
 
 Joel loosened the pucker of his lips, and loudly 
 proclaimed the " invite," which was accepted with 
 great alacrity by many who stood in no need of 
 refreshment, and with more diffidence by some 
 who already were reminded they had breakfasted 
 at an unwonted hour. 
 
 " Wai, I guess abaout ev ybody s got here at s 
 comin ," Sam Lovel said, after a careful survey of 
 the roads and cross-lot bypaths, " an we d better 
 choose a captain an be a-moggin . I move we 
 hev Captain Peck for aour captain. Half his 
 comp ny s here an 11 f oiler his orders nat rally." 
 
 " If they don t du better n they du tu trainin , 
 it 11 take a corp ral tu ev ry private tu keep em 
 in line," said John Dart, struggling with a dry 
 mouthful of doughnuts and cheese. " Then, ag in, 
 he hain t no hunter. We want you, Lovel." 
 
 " No, it 11 look better tu hev Captain Peck," 
 Sam insisted ; " you secont him, Dart." 
 
 " Wai, I don t care. I secont Cap n Peck, wf 
 Sam Lovel for lef tenant." 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 145 
 
 "You hear the nommernation," Solon Briggs 
 said, taking upon himself the office of moderator. 
 " As el Peck for capting of this hunt, wi Samwill 
 Lovel for leftenant, sort of aidycong to give ad 
 vices and et cetery. You that s in favor, say 
 aye, contrary minded, say 4 no. The ayes have 
 it, an you chose the above-mentioned to serve you, 
 as here to before stated." 
 
 Captain Peck, a brisk little man, somewhat 
 swelled up with the importance of his dual offices, 
 held a brief consultation with Sam, and then in 
 his biggest military voice, usually reserved for 
 trainings, gave the order, " Fall in, men," and, 
 presently, " Forrid, march," and the motley com 
 pany, numbering a hundred or more, went forward 
 in disorderly ranks toward the objective point. 
 
 " You must stop your gab, men," Sam continu 
 ally insisted, as he passed along the talkative line, 
 "erless you ll skeer that aire wolf clean tu N 
 Hampshire. You hain t got nothin to say but 
 what 11 keep till we git a line araound the cobble, 
 an then you c n shoot off your maouths as much 
 as you re a min ter." 
 
 A half hour s march brought them to the foot 
 of a rocky hill densely clad with a black growth 
 of spruce and fir, whose blue shadows deepened 
 into a twilight obscurity that the infrequent 
 shafts of sunlight pierced but to make the deeper. 
 Three sides abutted on partially cleared fields, the 
 
146 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 other swept up with a long curve to the steepei 
 declivities of the mountain. 
 
 The triple column, now separated in two single 
 files, one led by Captain Peck, the other by Sam, 
 began to inclose the hillock. When the leaders 
 met on the further side, without discovering the 
 outgoing track of the wolf, word was passed that 
 the circuit was completed, and the order given for 
 the men to take proper distances and move to 
 ward the centre. Gradually the circle narrowed. 
 The gloomy depths of thicket after thicket were 
 invaded and passed. Each moment, the more 
 excitable hunters grew nervous with expectation, 
 the cooler, more steadily alert. To sonie, every 
 moving shadow took on a wolfish semblance ; 
 steadfast rocks and stumps became endowed with 
 grim, alert life ; now a gun was leveled to an un 
 steady aim and its useless discharge forestalled by 
 the sharp, peremptory caution of some clear-eyed 
 and cool-headed veteran, till at last the word 
 came too late to prevent one careless shot, which 
 was the signal for a scattered fusilade from vari 
 ous posts of the encircling line. 
 
 The random firing aroused the wolf from his 
 lair and sent him sneaking from one border of 
 his constricted limits to find another as effectu 
 ally guarded against his passage. Then he swept 
 around the circle, searching with eager eyes for 
 some vulnerable point, disclosing fleeting glimpses 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 14? 
 
 of himself that drew upon him occasional shots, 
 which increased his long, regular lopes to a wild, 
 scurrying flight, now bounding from side to side 
 of the cordon, now skirting it in an agony of 
 fear, whimpering as he ran, now halting, half 
 cowering, while he looked in vain for some loop 
 hole of escape. 
 
 Once, as he thus crouched for an instant, 
 Sam s quick eye caught sight of him, and, taking 
 an instantaneous aim, he saw the sight shining in 
 bright relief against the dark gray fur of the 
 wolf s side. As he felt the trigger yielding to 
 the pressure of his finger, his heart filled with 
 anticipated success, but, with the dull click that 
 was the only response to the fall of the striker, it 
 collapsed and sank like a plummet. 
 
 " Cuss them caps o Clapham s," he groaned 
 wrathfully, " if one on em ever does go, I wish 
 he might be shot with it." 
 
 A shot from Captain Peck s gun cut loose a 
 shower of evergreen twigs above the wolf, who 
 cringed beneath their light downfall and then 
 sprang away, vanishing like the shadow of a 
 wind-tossed branch in the gloom of the thicket. 
 
 Pelatiah s post was on the valley side of the 
 hill where he had caught sight of the wolf several 
 times, and once had taken a hasty and ineffectual 
 shot. It had all happened in a flash, and he was 
 confusedly trying to remember whether he fired 
 
148 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 at the wolf or into the tree-tops, and to forum* 
 late an excuse for his miss that should be satis 
 factory to himself as well as to others, when he 
 was startled by a sudden crash of dry twigs on 
 the crest of the ledge just above him, and almost 
 at the same instant he saw the animal flying at 
 full speed down the sharp declivity directly be 
 hind him, so close upon him that he could only 
 think to shout lustily and brandish his gun to 
 scare the brute- back into the woods, but it only 
 swerved a little from its course and rushed madly 
 on. 
 
 Not many paces to Pelatiah s left stood Beri 
 Burton, as gaunt and grim as the wolf himself, 
 and so transfixed with surprise at the sudden ap 
 parition that he stood stock still, his large jaws 
 agape till the wolf was within his gun s length of 
 him, and he stepped backward to make way. 
 His heel caught a fallen branch, and he fell 
 sprawling on his back. The wolf, snapping and 
 gnashing his white fangs, swept over his prostrate 
 form, and, clear at last of the perilous cordon, 
 sped away toward the hills. 
 
 Pelatiah vainly attempted to cover him with a 
 pottering aim for a moment, then took the track, 
 and presently disappeared among the blue shad- 
 ows and gray tree trunks. 
 
 Beri Burton slowly got upon his feet, sputter 
 ing and mumbling, till, having come to as intelli* 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 149 
 
 gible speech as was possible to him, he shouted 
 loudly : 
 
 44 Wolf gone. Wolf gone ter Jerooslum. 
 Gol dumb sech er wolf." Then as one and an 
 other of the party came hastening up, he related 
 again and again the incidents of the wolf s es 
 cape. " Gol dumb sech er wolf. Run kerchug 
 right ergin me an knocked me over, kerwollopp. 
 Flopped one foot int my maouth. Wisht I d 
 bit foot off. Yes, sir, flopped dumb foot right 
 square in my maouth." 
 
 44 Can t blame him as I knows on," said John 
 Dart. " He d got tu put his foot somewheres." 
 
 44 By the gre t horn spoon ! we re a smart lot 
 o men," said Sam, joining the gathering group, 
 44 to let that wolf git away from us in that way. 
 All Adams an Pocock 11 be pokin fun at us fer 
 a year to come." 
 
 44 Why did n t some o you smartins shoot him, 
 then ? " Beri growled ; 44 hed chances nough, I 
 reckon, by the bang-whangin . Gol dumb sech 
 shootin ." 
 
 44 Don t seem s ough Adams an Pocock hed 
 no casion to laugh," said Joseph Hill. 44 It 
 wa n t their wolf, leastways it hain t got the ear 
 mark er brand o ary one o the towns, fer s I 
 c n see." 
 
 44 T ain t aour wolf nuther, fer s appears," . 
 said Sam. 44 But what way did he head? 
 
150 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Where s Peltier ? Someb dy said he seen him 
 last." 
 
 " Dumb fool s chasin on him," Beri mumbled, 
 44 Spec he s goin tu ketch him, prob ble." 
 
 44 Peltier was mos crazy in hees head," An- 
 toine explained. " He was kanna he-widder, cos 
 hees gal goin leff him, fore he 11 got marree to- 
 gedder." 
 
 44 His head s straighter n aourn on this busi 
 ness," said Sam, "an we might as well mog 
 along arter him. The hunt is up for tu-day. 
 But the critter may lay up on Hawg s Back to 
 night an* give us a chance to-morrer." 
 
 And so the dejected and disappointed wolf 
 hunters made their way into the clearing, each 
 one loudly blaming every one else, and himself 
 silently and less satisfactorily, for the barren re 
 sult of the hunt. 
 
 On the morning of the great hunt there were 
 at least two non-participants, who through being 
 such were quite as heavy-hearted as were now 
 any of the baffled hunters. Uncle Lisha sighed 
 heavily as he returned to the shop after the last 
 of several tours of observation which he made 
 into the back yard, where he could look across 
 the fields to the rendezvous and see the men 
 already clustering in knots in Joel Bartlett s 
 yard, and hear the subdued jangle of arriving 
 bells. 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 151 
 
 " Ho, hum, I m tew short-winded and stiff- 
 j inted tu keep within hollerin distance of the 
 oldest an laziest on em, an I might jest as well 
 seddaown an go tu work, but I wisht a feller s 
 laigs wouldn t grow oF no faster n his speerits. 
 Ho, hum ! " and settling himself into his seat, he 
 picked up his board, leather, and knife, and en 
 deavored to lose sight of age and infirmities in 
 the intricacies of his craft. 
 
 Aunt Jerusha looked in through the open 
 kitchen door, and seeing his hands resting idly 
 on the board, and his eyes staring abstractedly 
 out of the window, she said in a coaxing voice : 
 
 " What makes ye try to work, Lisher ? I 
 would n t ef I was you. The hain t no men folks 
 workin to-day. Put on yer kwut an hat an 
 mittens an go over to Joel s. You c n see em 
 start an git the fust news when they come back. 
 Would n t you, Huldy?" 
 
 " Sartainly. It 11 do you good an I sh d like 
 to go myself," Huldah said encouragingly, as she 
 looked in over Aunt Jerusha s shoulder, and the 
 baby, pushing between their skirts, scrambled 
 over to the old man, bearing one of his mittens in 
 his milk teeth. 
 
 " Wai, I swan, ef bubby an the hull kit on 
 ye are sot on gittin red on me, I guess I ll 
 hafter." And so smiling down upon the crowing 
 child, as he donned his outdoor gear, he trudged 
 forth across the fields. 
 
152 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " It s a mighty pooty idee at I hain t a goin* 
 hi turn aout along wi the rest on em. Tew ol ? 
 Hain t so spry s I useter be? I m younger 
 an spryer an you be, Joe Hill, ef I be risin 
 eighty-seben." So Gran ther Hill growled and 
 roared as he stamped to and fro across the 
 kitchen in his stocking feet, glowering at his son s 
 abashed face, as at each turn it was brought 
 within range of his angry eyes. 
 
 " Don t seem s ough it ould be noways best, 
 father," Joseph feebly argued, " it s tew exposin ; 
 you d get rheumatiz an neurology." 
 
 " Rheumatiz an ol rology more like. Ef I 
 got em they wouldn t hurt me none. A man 
 at s marched tu Canady in the winter hain t 
 agoin tu be skeered aouten a wolf hunt by a pain 
 in his laigs er a toothache, specially when he 
 hain t got no teeth. Naow, look a-here, Jozeff," 
 turning before his son and assuming a less ag 
 gressive tone, " I ve got to go an show em haow. 
 The hain t a man jack on em at knows beans 
 about wolf huntin , never see a wolf an would n t 
 know one if they did see him. T ain t no ways 
 likely the is a wolf, but ef the is, he d orter 
 be hunted as he d ortu be." 
 
 " Jes so, father," said Joseph, catching hope 
 fully at the veteran s skepticism, " I don t b lieve 
 the is no wolf, an the hain t no need o you er 
 nob dy else s goin ; t ain t nothin on y dawgs." 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 153 
 
 " You must be a idjit, Jozeff Hill, tu think at 
 dawgs ould kill sheep in the way them was killed. 
 I tell ye it s a wolf, an by the Lord Harry I m 
 goin tu help kill the cussed varmint. Gi me 
 that aire gun." 
 
 " The hain t a ball er a spoo ful o shot in the 
 haouse, father." 
 
 " That s almighty pooty haousekeepin ; no 
 shot ner ball? You d a tarnal sight better be 
 ketched wi out tea an sugar, yes, or rum, an 
 wi out ammernition. Bub, where s yer fish lines ? 
 Fetch me ev y sinker you got." 
 
 The younger Josiah obeyed the order with an 
 alacrity stimulated by a desire to further his 
 grandfather s purposes, which, if carried out, 
 might make him his necessary attendant. 
 
 " I would n t go if I was you, father," pleaded 
 his daughter-in-law, " it s tew hard fer you, an* 
 then ag in, I want you tu stay an ta care o me." 
 
 "You don t need nob dy. The wolf hain t 
 a-goin tu come in the haouse an eat you. Jozeff 
 c n stay." 
 
 " But you see, father, I sorter promised tu go, 
 an I ve got tu." 
 
 " So hev I got tu. Gimme my boots." 
 
 " Father," said the son, playing his last card, 
 with an air of deep dejection, " I m turrible sorry, 
 but I took em over to Uncle Lisher s las night 
 tu git em mended ; " and he breathed a silent 
 
154 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 prayer, " The Lord forgive me fer lyin an keep 
 me from gittin ketched at it." 
 
 "You etarnal, infarnal, meddlin idjit," his 
 father roared, his voice shaken with anger, " haow 
 dast ye send my boots to git mended ? Haow d 
 you know I wanted em mended, say? It does 
 beat hell amazin ly, what tarnal luck I did hev, a 
 bringin on ye up. I don t wisht you was dead, 
 but I swear, I wisht I hadn t never hed ye. 
 Clear aout. Go an hunt yer tarnal wolf, but ye 
 shan t take my gun. Not a step aouten this 
 haouse does that aire gun go, thout me a ker- 
 ryin on t. You c n take Bub s bow-arrer, it s 
 good nough fer you. Er bony Joel Bartlett s 
 ol britch-burnt, hang-fire, Quaker gun. Yeou 
 shoot a wolf, Lordermighty ! " 
 
 Joseph fled in dismay from the rattling volley 
 of his father s wrath, nor stayed his steps till 
 they brought him to the meeting place, while his 
 wife, with all the children but the eldest boy, re 
 treated into the fastnesses of the pantry. Little 
 Josiah, secure in his position as his grandfather s 
 favorite, remained, the sole and undismayed spec 
 tator of the old man s rage. 
 
 " Blast em. Kerryin off my boots," the 
 veteran fumed, still pacing the rounds of the 
 kitchen. " I m a good minter go in my stock- 
 in feet, jes tu spite em. I hope the Lord it 
 hain t nothin but a dawg. The idjits would n t 
 know the diffunce." 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 155 
 
 The boy held out two plummets of hammered 
 lead and one half bullet. " What was you goin 
 to do wi em?" 
 
 " Load this ere gun wi em," was the hoarsely 
 whispered reply. "I ve made killin shots at 
 two-legged and four-legged varmints wi wus slugs 
 an these. Gimme me a holt on em an I 11 
 load her jest fer the fun on t." He took the 
 big gun from its hooks and carefully measured in 
 his palm a charge of powder from the great ox- 
 horn, poured it into the barrel and wadded it with 
 tow, dropped the sinkers in one by one, wadded 
 them and primed the piece, while the boy s eyes 
 closely followed every movement. 
 
 Maria heard the clang and thud of the iron 
 ramrod and peered anxiously through the pantry 
 door. 
 
 " Why, father, what be you a-duin ? " 
 
 " I m gittin ready tu ta keer on ye ag in the 
 wolf tackles ye, M rier," he chuckled scornfully. 
 " Shet the door, M rier, an tend tu yer cookin ; 
 me an Bub s stan in guard." He fondled the 
 gun and wiped the dust from the barrel with his 
 coat sleeve, and aimed at the clock. 
 
 " Du ye wanter go awfle, gran ther ? " whis 
 pered Josiah. 
 
 The old man nodded his head repeatedly with 
 out withdrawing his aim from the centre of the 
 clock face. 
 
156 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Sh-h-h, I know where your boots be. In 
 the paoundin berrel in the back shed. I 11 
 fetch em when ma goes down suller arter the 
 takers." 
 
 The grandsire s slow, senile stare gradually 
 gave way to a look of intelligence, and the two 
 conspirators, in pantomime, enjoined secrecy. 
 
 Wondering at the sudden silence, Maria 
 peeped through a cranny of the door and saw the 
 old man quietly seated in his chair, and called to 
 him as she bustled about her work : 
 
 " I in tumble glad you gin it up so sensible, 
 father." 
 
 "Sho, I hedn t no idee a-goin . I was jest 
 a-foolin Jozeff. Ketch me a-goin dawg huntuV 
 along wi that mess o 1 id jits," and he winked 
 hard at his grandson, who, under cover of the 
 stove, was growing red with smothered mirth. 
 
 " My sakes," said Maria, coming out and look 
 ing at the clock, " I mus git the pertaters and 
 put that fish a-fresh nin ." 
 
 As her step was heard on the last cellar stair, 
 Josiah stole out to the back shed and presently 
 appeared with the boots, which his grandfather 
 drew on in tremulous haste, while the boy, after 
 driving the small children back into the pantry 
 and closing the door upon them, brought the old 
 man s hat and cane. 
 
 " Hain t it lucky Ruby s over to Briggses ? 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 157 
 
 Hurry up, gran ther. Ma 11 be up in a min 
 ute," he whispered as he hovered about the an 
 cestral chair in a fever of excitement. Then he 
 opened the door and the old man passed out as 
 noiselessly as his stiff joints would let him, with 
 his long gun trailed in careful avoidance of lintel 
 and posts, just as the muffled thud of the last 
 potato announced the filling of the pan. 
 
 " Can t I go with you, gran ther ? " Josiah 
 asked eagerly ; but his heart sank as he read re 
 fusal written in the stern yet half-regretful face 
 bent upon him. 
 
 " Could n t nohaow, sonny ; t would n t du any 
 good an might du hurt. Them idjits 11 shoot 
 awful keerless an might hit you. You gwup an 
 look aouten the saouth garret winder, an you c n 
 see Haidge Hawg Cobble where they say the 
 wolf s lyin up. Naow go an tell em I ve gone 
 aout tu the barn, an so I hev, an mebby a leetle 
 bey end." He gave the boy an approving pat on 
 the head that gave some comfort, though it drove 
 the coarse seal-skin cap over his eyes. 
 
 The veteran s departure was covered by the 
 barn from the observation of the inmates of the 
 house. As he plodded across the snowy fields 
 his thoughts went back to the old days of hum 
 ble, unrequited heroism, when he marched with 
 Warner and his Green Mountain boys to Canada. 
 In a misty day dream he saw the frozen level of 
 
158 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Champlain stretching in lifeless loneliness behind 
 the rangers march, the wintry gloom and desola 
 tion of the forest opening to them the only path 
 beyond, lie heard again the click and swish of 
 snowshoes, the low, cautious word of command 
 drifting back along the triple files. For a little 
 space it quickened his pulse and pace, and for a 
 moment he was young again, till, tired by climb 
 ing a high rail fence, he leaned against the near 
 est stump to rest, and realized that he was but a 
 feeble old man, the superannuated, sole survivor of 
 the band, to follow whom, he lingered a little on 
 the verge of the eternal mystery. 
 
 " A goo for nothin ol critter as orter stay tu 
 hum wi women an* young uns," he sighed, half 
 minded to turn back, when his eye was caught 
 by a moving speck far away toward Hedge Hog 
 Cobble. Something familiar in the movements 
 of the distant object drew upon it the veteran s 
 closest scrutiny. 
 
 " That hain t no dawg, it s tew big fer a fox. 
 By the Lord Harry, it s a wolf, an he s a-com- 
 in stret tu me." 
 
 He sank stiffly behind the stump and cocked 
 his gun while he steadfastly watched the beast s 
 swift approach. Now he could see the wild, cun 
 ning eyes, now the red tongue hanging slavering 
 from the white-fanged jaws, and now he aimed, 
 with all the skill that eye and nerve could com- 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 159 
 
 mand, just before the pointed nose, and with a 
 prayer as devout as he ever uttered, pulled the 
 trigger, as with swift, long lopes the wolf ran 
 past, fifty yards away. With a snarling yelp, a 
 long, floundering fall, and a quicker recovery of 
 his feet, with a broken foreleg helplessly dangling, 
 the wolf charged wildly at the fence, clung a 
 moment to the top rail, fell back, and then 
 plunged at the nearest but too narrow interstice 
 between the rails. The impetus of the leap drove 
 him halfway through, but there he was caught 
 at the hips. He pushed desperately with the un 
 injured foreleg and clawed vainly with his hind 
 feet for a hold on the nether rail, and was slowly 
 worming his way through, when Gran ther Hill 
 pounced upon him, seizing him by both hindlegs, 
 and, bracing his own feet against the fence, he 
 held on and shouted lustily for help at the top of 
 his high-pitched, cracked voice. 
 
 The wolf writhed from side to side, and snapped 
 his wicked jaws within two feet of his captor s 
 hands, without being able to harm him, but his 
 struggles were fast exhausting the strength of the 
 old man, who, almost in despair, saw the prize 
 slipping, inch by inch, through the fence. 
 
 Then he heard rapid steps, and turning his 
 head he saw Pelatiah s lank figure close beside 
 him. 
 
 " Ketch a holt here, quick," he gasped. 
 
160 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Pelatiah lent one strong hand to his relief, and 
 the old man loosed his hold. Snatching the gun 
 from Pelatiah, he staggered to the fence, and, 
 with a cruelly deliberate aim at three feet range, 
 bored the wolf s skull with the heavy charge of 
 buckshot. " There," he panted, as with a grim 
 smile he regarded the last struggles of his victim 
 when Pelatiah had drawn it forth from the fence, 
 " he knows naow what he gits by runnin ag in a 
 real ol -fashioned hunter. S pose he cal lated 
 the waVt none left, an the hain t on y one. 
 But I m almighty glad you come, young Gove, 
 fer I was nigh abaout tuckered, an ef I lied tu 
 let go, the critter might ha flummixed along a 
 good piece afore I c ld ha loaded up. Good 
 Lord," he gasped, aghast at the sudden recollec 
 tion that he had no ammunition, " I hed n t an 
 other charge. Wai, I be glad you come, young 
 Gove. Where s the rest of the id jits ? Git up 
 on ter the fence an holler like a loon." 
 
 Pelatiah s triumphant shouts soon brought in 
 the foremost of the straggling pursuers, who, as 
 they beheld the dead wolf and heard the story of 
 his death, were variously moved with admiration 
 of his slayer s prowess and chagrin for their own 
 lack of it. 
 
 " By the gret horn spoon ! " cried Sam, strok 
 ing the wolf s gaunt side almost tenderly and 
 looking up at the old man s serenely happy face, 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 161 
 
 " I d ha gi n the ol Ore Bed 1 tu ha shot the 
 critter myself, but I do know but I m gladder 
 you done it, Cap n Hill." 
 
 "I reckon at my chances is gittin a leetle 
 scaser n yourn, Sammy. But you might profit 
 more by them at you git, ef I d hed the bringin 
 on you up. I consait you hed the makin s of a 
 hunter in ye ef ye d on y hed me er even Peleg 
 Sunderlan tu eddicate your nat ral gifts." 
 
 " Hooray for Danvis ! " roared John Dart as 
 he came upon the scene. " Adams, ner Pocock, 
 ner nary other town can twit us o losin aour 
 wolf naow, Lovel. I was growin shameder an 
 shameder tu meet any on em, an was studyin 
 more lies tu tell em an I c ld ever ben forgive 
 fer under any circumstances. You ve saved the 
 credit of your taown, Cap n Hill, an mebby my 
 soul." 
 
 " Gol dumb sech savin ," Beri Burton growled. 
 " Danvis hain t got much tu brag on when it s 
 got tu ressureck the dead a most, tu kill a wolf." 
 
 " Shet yer head," Dart growled savagely. 
 
 " An call aout the infants," Beri persisted. 
 " He would n t er shot er wolf if that aire 
 shimble-shanked Gove boy hed n t er hel his 
 laigs." 
 
 " He d waounded him, so t he could n t but 
 jest go, an he d got him e en a most killed when 
 I come up," Pelatiah magnanimously protested. 
 
 1 A famous gun, so called for its great weight. 
 
162 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 " It was some pooty good lucky dat wolf s ant 
 be one loup garou. You 11 can keel dat kan o 
 wolfs less you 11 shot it wid silver ball." 
 
 " Wai, I swan that was lucky," said Dart ; " I 
 don t b lieve you could rake up a charge o silver 
 amongst the hull bilin of us. I don t s pose cop 
 per change 11 pass wi them aire thingumbobs, 
 woidd it, Antwine ? Wai, le s stop our gab an 
 start aour caravan. We ve got tu show tu the 
 village this arternoon. Where s Cap n Peck ? " 
 
 " Skinned it fer hum, half an hour ago," some 
 one answered. 
 
 " Wai, let him go. I was goin tu propose at 
 we fired a s lute, but nev mind. Who s got a 
 gun s long s Cap n Hill s ? Fetch it here. Lay 
 it daown longside o his n. Naow, lay the wolf 
 top on em. Naow, Cap n Hill, you set top o 
 the wolf." 
 
 " Yis, du ! Yis, du ! " other voices shouted 
 with Dart. The hero of the day rather reluc 
 tantly complied. 
 
 " Ketch a holt o the muzzles, Lovel, an I 11 
 take the butts. Up he goes," and the veteran 
 hunter and his grim quarry were lifted aloft and 
 borne forward, amid the cheers of the party. 
 
 "What s up?" Joseph Hill panted, breathless 
 with his exertions to overtake his comrades. 
 
 "Your superannual, ancient sire is, Jozeff," 
 said Solon, " him an the wolf. Hain t you hearn 
 how he slewed him ? " 
 
THE HUNTING OF THE WOLF. 163 
 
 " Good Lord," Joseph groaned ; recognizing 
 the elevated countenance of his father, his eyes 
 anxiously sought his feet. 
 
 Catching sight of him the old man bent upon 
 him a frown, the severity of which was somewhat 
 softened by the pride of his achievement, and 
 laughed down at him scornfully, " You ondutiful 
 leetle cuss, you hid my boots, did you ? Did you 
 s pose a man at had took Ticonderogue an fit tu 
 Ben n t n an went tu Canady long wi Seth 
 Warner an hunted Tories wi Peleg Sunderlan , 
 could n t smell aout his own boots ? You must 
 be a almighty smart boy." 
 
 Though conscious that his artifice was justified 
 by his headstrong father s infirmities, Joseph fell 
 to the rear in confusion, and the procession con 
 tinued its triumphal progress to Joel Bartlett s. 
 
 Uncle Lisha had waddled forth to meet it, 
 roaring a welcome that was heard at every house 
 in the neighborhood. When Joel beheld the 
 grim trophy he was startled from his accustomed 
 propriety, by the whistle that escaped unwittingly 
 from the long-puckered lips. 
 
 " Friends," he said, chanting in the monotonous 
 tune to which his sermons were set, " I feel to 
 thank you, one an all, for a-girdin on your swords 
 an* a-goin forth tu battle against the beasts of the 
 field which they ravage aour folds, an , as it ware, 
 spile our barnyards. I thank you, friends, fer 
 
164 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 a-stretchin forth your carnal weepons in behalf of 
 a man whose ways has ben more led untu the 
 plowshare an the prunin hook an tu the sword 
 an the spear. There s suthin due more n thanks 
 tu mortal man, an I feel it bore in on me tu ask 
 you, one an all, tu enter my haouse " (as he 
 paused and ran his eye over the company, as if 
 making a mental computation of its numbers and 
 capacity, more than one hungry stomach yearned 
 for the anticipated offering of doughnuts and 
 cheese), " an git intu the quiet an render silent 
 thanks tu Him at has been pleased to reward 
 your indivors with victory. Arter which," Joel 
 continued after a solemn pause, "Jemimy, my 
 wife, will pervide some sustenance for your carnal 
 bodies, tu which you will be most welcome." 
 
 Few were inclined to accept the invitation to a 
 repast, the first course whereof was likely to be 
 long and unsatisfying to their present need, and 
 so with thanks and excuses almost all hastened to 
 avail themselves of the more exhilarating and sub 
 stantial refreshments that were to be found at the 
 tavern and store. 
 
 Gran ther Hill s crown of laurels was further 
 weighted with fresh contributions, some sprigs of 
 which he generously permitted to adorn the youth 
 ful brow of Pelatiah, and was more content to en 
 robe himself in the misty glories of the past alone 
 than to share these present, flimsy honors with 
 another. 
 
CHAPTER IX, 
 
 HASTY PUDDIN. 
 
 DESERTION by its men folks had not brought 
 complete quiet to the Lovel homestead, any more 
 than to others that day similarly deserted in Dan- 
 vis, for the women s tongues enjoyed unrestrained 
 freedom to wag at will. 
 
 Aunt Jerusha fully realized the privilege, when, 
 after stopping at the shop window to watch her 
 husband s slow progress across the fields, she re- 
 entered the kitchen, and, seating herself restfully 
 in her favorite chair, she took out her snuffbox 
 and regaled herself with a long-inhaled pinch of 
 the fragrant powder, to which she in turn invited 
 each nostril with impartial twists of her mouth 
 from side to side. When she had returned the 
 box to the deep pocket and fumbled forth her 
 copperas-checked, homespun handkerchief, she 
 settled back in her chair and made declaration : 
 
 " I will say, Huldy, twixt you an me an the 
 whippin pos , at it s a raal comfort oncte in a 
 while tu be clean red o men folks. Not tu say 
 but what I set store by well-behaved men folks, 
 sech as aourn be, an consider em a necessary 
 
166 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 blessin , but you do git cl yecl o the best o things 
 arter tew long spells." 
 
 Huldah picked up the baby from the floor, 
 seated him on her lap, wiped his chubby cheeks 
 with a moistened corner of her apron, and kissed 
 them with long inhalations of their subtle fra 
 grance that only a mother can catch, before she 
 answered. 
 
 " I spect at th was a time when you could n t 
 hev tew much of Uncle Lisher, an begun to 
 hanker arter him the minute he was out of sight." 
 
 The russet of the wrinkled cheeks was tinged 
 with a faint blush that kindled a responsive glow 
 in Huldah s conscious face, and both laughed an 
 acknowledgment of the touch of nature that makes 
 youth and age akin. 
 
 " I hain t denyin young folkses foolishness, 
 but that don t signify. What I du say is, at 
 when folks gits settled daown to the tussle o 
 livin , there be times when it s restin tu hev 
 men folks aouten the way. Women wants a 
 chance tu talk about their consarns, an argy their 
 own way. Somehaow men can t argy, but keep 
 a-givin their reasons an their whys an where 
 fores. Women know a thing is so, an jest 
 stick tu it, an thet s argyin at gin ally fetches 
 men araound er shets em up, which answers the 
 puppus." 
 
 " Yes," Huldah concluded, as she trotted her 
 
HASTY PUDDIN\ 167 
 
 boy at arm s length and looked at him in absorbed 
 admiration, " I s pose the common run o men 
 folks is sot an onreasonable, but it does n t seem 
 s ough Sam was, on y mebby a leetle grain baout 
 goin huntin an sech." 
 
 " Wai, I can t say at father is nuther, not in 
 a giii ral way, ner yet yer father Lovel. Semanthy 
 argy d him aouten that. But all men folks ain t 
 like aourn, an I like tu git shet of even them 
 oncte in a while, an have a raal ri daown womern s 
 talk. I do know as I enj yed it much wi George s 
 wife, cause she was everlastin ly blamin George, 
 which went ag in my gizzard; fer if there 
 ever was a commerdatin , clever man, George is, 
 if he is my son, an she d orter know it. But 
 with you, Huldy, I enj y talkin ." So they fell 
 into comforting discourse, which continued until 
 Huldah became aware that the fire was burning 
 low, and a glance at the clock apprised her that 
 it was drawing toward noon. 
 
 " My sakes ! " she cried, hastily setting the baby 
 on the floor and rising with the same movement, 
 " ef it hain t jest warnin fer twelve an I hain t 
 done a stroke baout dinner." 
 
 " Wai, Huldy, it don t signify. Le s don t 
 git a reg lar dinner, but jest make us a cup o 
 tea an hev a col bite ; the hain t no men folks 
 tu be p tic lar." 
 
 " I tell ye what," said Huldy, moved with a 
 
1C8 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 sudden inspiration, " le s hev some hasty puddin . 
 I ben hankerin arter some this ever so long, but 
 Sam says it s dog-robbin , an father LoveL, he 
 don t like it. You like it, don t you ? " 
 
 " Good land, guess I du. The hain t no hul- 
 somer ner cleaner-tasted victuals, ner cheaper ner 
 easier got. Lisher likes it, tew, but he says it don t 
 stay by him none, an ef he s goin tu eat pud- 
 din an milk fer supper he wants tu ondress him 
 fust an sit on the aidge o the bed an swaller it as 
 quick as he can, an then tumble in an 7 go tu 
 sleep afore he gits hungry. My land, these ere 
 apples is a-dryin complete," as she ran her hand 
 along the tawny festoons and critically pinched 
 some of the lower quarters, " they feel raal 
 luthery a ready. Be you goin tu sell em tu 
 Clapham er trade em off tu peddlers ? I s pose 
 you can t git cash nary way." 
 
 " They say they pay cash for em tu V gennes, 
 an I m goin tu coax Sam tu take em down 
 there when he sells his fur," Huldah said, amid 
 the clatter of setting the kettle of water on the 
 stove. 
 
 " Wai, so I woidd ; the hain t no sense in let 
 ting Clapham er peddlers make tew profits on sech 
 barter. Du you wet up your meal in col water 
 fust er stir it right in when the water biles ? " 
 
 " Oh, I stir it right int the kittle as soon as it 
 biles," said Huldah, bringing the pudding-stick 
 
HASTY PUDDIN*. 169 
 
 and the basin of meal, "an I salt it well when 
 it s abaout as thick as gruel." 
 
 "So du I," and the old woman nodded em 
 phatic approval of the dry meal method. " It s 
 more partic lar work and there s more danger of 
 it s bein lumpy ; but it need n t be, if you re 
 keerful tu sprinkle in slow an keep a-stirrin the 
 same way all the time. I think it s tastier made 
 so. Old ways is best ways as a gin ral thing. 
 But, law sakes, I du despise lumpy puddin . 
 Crumbles o dry meal breakin up in your maouth 
 an chokin you, when you re expectin nourish 
 ment ! " 
 
 She critically watched Huldah as she sifted 
 the meal into the seething kettle with one hand 
 and stirred it with rapid turns of the other, while 
 the wholesome fragrance of the boiled meal and 
 the parching of the few grains scattered on the 
 stove began to diffuse itself through the room. 
 Then when the stick was lifted and dripped its 
 burden in an even stream, her face relaxed to an 
 expression of satisfaction. 
 
 " It s as smooth as lasses, Huldy. Naow be 
 you goin to make a lawful puddin ? " 
 
 " I never heard abaout no law fer puddin ." 
 
 " Wai, there was in Connecticut in an airly 
 day. Ye see most ev ybody at was anyways 
 forehanded useter hev printice boys an* gals 
 bound tu em till they come of age, an some on 
 
170 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 em useter keep th printices on hasty puddin , 
 an made it so thin at it wa n t much more n 
 gruel an starved the poor creeturs so t they 
 would n t sca cely make a shadder ; an so the 
 Leegislatur passed a law at they got tu make 
 hasty puddin so thick at the puddin stick ould 
 stan right up in the middle of the kittle. But 
 I d ruther not have it quite so thick fer me tu 
 eat, bein at I hain t a printice gal. You ve got 
 it thick nouffh. Naow set it on the back o 
 
 O 
 
 the stove an let it blubber a spell. Oh, hum 
 suzzy day ! Haow that blubberin kittle o b ilin 
 hot puddin does kerry me back tu ol times, 
 when the bear come right int the haouse an 
 tipped over aour kittle o puddin . Didn t I 
 ever tell ye on t ? Wai, t was when I was a gal 
 an we lived in a lawg haouse, an father an mo 
 ther d gone off tu see a sick neighbor an left us 
 young uns tu keep haouse. But we let the haouse 
 keep itself pooty much, an hed high jinks till it 
 got tu be long in the arternoon, an the childern 
 begin tu git hungry, an I sot tu make a kittle o 
 puddin fer em. Wai, I d took it off n the 
 trammel an sot it on the hairth tu cool, an the I 
 childern was stan in raoun wi the maouths ; 
 a-waterin an the wooden bowls an pewter spoons 
 in the hands, when I ketched a glimpse of a shad 
 der tu the open door, an , lookin raound, what did 
 I see but a gret, monst ous bear a-lookin in at 
 
HASTY PUDDING 171 
 
 us. My, if I did n t hustle them young uns up 
 the ladder int the charmber an I up arter em 
 an pulled the ladder up arter, quicker n scat. 
 We c ld hear the critter s claws clicken along the 
 floor towards the fireplace, an when we got over 
 bein scairt a leetle, we peeked daown through 
 the cracks an seen him go up tu the kittle an 
 smell on t. Then he poked his nose in an 
 lapped a mou ful, an he kinder squealed aout 
 an lapped his chops. He made at it ag in an 
 got burnt ag in, an that made him mad an he hit 
 the kittle a whack at sent it clean across the 
 floor an sent the puddin flyin , fer it wa n t 
 lawful puddin , an he got some on tu his feet, an , 
 of course, it scalt him, an you d orter seen that 
 creetur dance araound an whine an suck his 
 paws, julluk a boy wi his finger pinched, an we 
 lay there an snickered. He got a taste o the 
 puddin an took a sensible view o the case, an 
 sot tu an eat up ev y smitch on t, an arter awhile 
 went #-shoolin off. We lost aour puddin , but 
 we cal lated we hed fun nough tu pay for t. 
 Ho, hum ! Folks was thankful tu git hasty pud- 
 din an samp them times. Father an mother 
 come here jest afore the Sca ce Year when lots 
 o folks hed tu bile beech an basswood leaves tu 
 live on. Aour folks hed one caow at they fed 
 on browse nough tu keep her givin a leetle mess 
 o milk, an father d ketch traout an minnies an 
 
172 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 mother \\ kinder stew em in the milk an they 
 kep soid an body tugether on sech livin till 
 things took a turn. More n oncte next winter 
 father went forty miles on his snowshoes tu git a 
 bushel o Injun meal an left mother an my old 
 est brother, not so ol* as bubby here, wi the 
 wolves a haowlin all araound the lawg haouse. 
 I wonder f aour men folks will git that aire 
 wolf. Haow Gran ther Hill will tew, cause he 
 can t go. Course they won t let him, but I don t 
 wanter be in M rier s shoes this day. In course 
 I 11 draw up," and Aunt Jerusha hitched her 
 rocking chair to the table and tasted her first 
 mouthful of pudding and maple sugar, and still 
 continued to discourse of the old pioneer days. 
 
 " Folks was glad an thankful tu git hasty pud- 
 din an milk an johnny-cake in them times, or 
 even no-cake. You never hearn o no-cake ? Wai, 
 that was parched corn paounded up in a mortar 
 an eat wi milk ef they hed it, an ef they hed n t, 
 jest mixed up wi water. They 1 arnt that >of the 
 In j ins, an they lowed it ould stan by a man 
 longer n any other Injin corn fixin s. Then they 
 uster make samp in the Plumpin mill, big mor 
 tars they was, at went wi a spring pole, an they d 
 change off ontu samp when they got sick o no- 
 cake. Hasty puddin an johnny-cake they could 
 n t hev, thout gittin the corn graound tu a reg - 
 lar mill, an them was mebby forty miled off 
 
HASTY PUDDIN\ 173 
 
 Bimeby they got tu raisin wheat, an then some 
 folks begin to stick up the noses at Injin. But 
 aour folks did n t, cause they come f m Rho 
 Dislan an allers sot gret store by all sorts o 
 Injin victuals. Father allers would hev his 
 johnny-cake fer breakfus an hev it baked on a 
 board, long after they hed em a stove. You 
 never eat a johnny-cake baked on a board ? You 
 don t say. Wai, then, you do know what johnny- 
 cake is, Huldy. Haow did they make em ? Wai, 
 jest stirred up the meal wi b ilin water an salt, 
 not tew thick ner tew thin, an then spread it ontu 
 a oak board at was made a-puppus, an sot it up 
 afore the fire, tilted a leetle mite at fust ag in a 
 flat iron, an kep a-settin it up stretter an stretter 
 till that side was done, an then turn it over an 
 bake t other side, an all the time keep a-bastin 
 on t wi sweet cream, an then eat it an be thank 
 ful at the Lord made Injin corn tu grow an give 
 his creeturs the knowledge tu use it proper. But 
 as I was sayin , the was folks at got shamed o 
 eatin Injin, cause once they d ben obleeged tu, 
 an they just turned the backs on the ol friend 
 they was so much beholden tu, jest as folks allers 
 has, an will. The s folks here now at won t 
 tech Injin. They say Cap n Peck hes got some 
 three-pronged forks, an they re jest a-starvin 
 smselves tryin tu eat their victuals wi em, but 
 I d know. Haow father did useter laugh," she 
 
174 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 continued meditatively, stirring the maple syrup 
 into her saucer of pudding, " a-tellin baout oncte 
 when he went intu a neighbor s, an they sot tu 
 the table eatin breakfus , an he seen the womern 
 ketch up suthin an hide it under her apron. Of 
 course they ast him tu set by, an he did, for all 
 he d jest eat, an fust thing arter he d set daown, 
 he says, Molly Hackstaff, take that aire johnny- 
 cake outen your apron, fer I want some, an she 
 did. Most o folks lies got over sech foolishness, 
 but there s some at hain t an denies emselves 
 good hulsome victuals outen pride. But my land 
 sakes, Bubby hain t a-goin tu ; du jest see that 
 chil reachin fer the spoon faster n you give it 
 tu him," and she looked intense approval of the 
 baby s assaults upon the pudding, " an his cheeks 
 is all daubed wi lasses, but it can t make em no 
 sweeter, no, it can t. No, thank ye, I can t eat 
 another maou ful." 
 
 " Then, I guess," said Huldah, beginning hur 
 riedly to clear away the few dishes, " I 11 git the 
 tilings washed up an the puddin kittle aout o* 
 sight fore " 
 
 44 Why, Huldy Lovel," Aunt Jerusha laughed, 
 " I du Vlieve you re afeared the men folks 11 
 come hum an find aout we ben hevin hasty pud- 
 din . Why, there s puddin nough left for 
 Drive s supper, ef you don t fry it fer breakfus , 
 an it is propper good fried." 
 
HASTY PUDDING 
 
 The men did not return from the village till 
 the evening chores called them. Huldah could 
 scarcely share her husband s satisfaction in the 
 achievement of Gran ther Hill, for it seemed to 
 her that the honor should rightfully have fallen 
 to the mightiest hunter of Danvis. The supper- 
 table talk and the later conversation around the 
 glowing fire were all of the day s events, nor was 
 the subject exhausted when some of the tired 
 hunters, frequenters of the shop, began to drop in. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 LE LOUP GAROU. 
 
 " I DON T see," Joseph began, as he fortified 
 the unstable chair by setting its back against the 
 wall, " haow father ever got a holt o his boots 
 when I d hid em in the paoundin berril, an 
 made him b lieve they was over here a-bein 
 mended." 
 
 " It was a jedgment on ye fer lyin ," said Uncle 
 Lisha. 
 
 tk It waVt exactly lyin , cause I was cal latin 
 tu fetch ein over." 
 
 " Proberbly they was revealed tu him in a pro 
 vision," Solon remarked. 
 
 ^ " However he got em, I m glad he did," said 
 Sam with an emphatic squeak of the roll of sole 
 leather on which he sat. " If he hed n t, we d lost 
 the wolf." 
 
 ^ " Wai, he s tickleder an ef he d hed his pen- 
 sion doubled an was promisin Josier five dollars 
 o the baounty fer his sinkers an fer 4 you knows 
 what, bub, " says he. "By geewhitteker," he 
 ejaculated, his mind suddenly illumined, " I 11 bet 
 fo pence ha penny that aire boy ramshacked raound 
 an faound em fer him." 
 
LE LOUP GAEOU. 177 
 
 " I was kinder runnin things over in my mind 
 arter you was here t other night," said Uncle 
 Lisha, rolling a length of shoe thread on his 
 aproned knee and then carefully splicing it to a 
 split bristle, " an I got tu thinkin baout ol Bart 
 Johnson s scrape wi the wolves up on Tater Hill. 
 He was a kinder half-cracked ol critter at useter 
 come a-wanderiii raoun here abaout oncte a 
 year when I was a young feller, an useter stop tu 
 aour haouse, off an on, fer a week or two at a 
 time, an poke raoun on the maountain days, 
 a-lookin fer his treasure, as he called it. He d 
 ben a soger in the ol French war, endurin which 
 he went on a expedition ag in the Canady Injins 
 under a Major Rodgis, I b lieve his name was. 
 Wai, they s prised the Injins an destr yed the 
 village an fetched away lots o stuff at they d 
 got from aour folks, trinkets an silver an goold 
 an money an a silver idolatry imidge at weighed 
 more n twenty paounds jest clean silver. 
 Wai, off they started back, a-luggin the booty, 
 wi a fresh lot o Injins arter em, so t they 
 headed off toward the Connect cut River. Pooty 
 soon they begun tu git short o provision an they 
 divided up inter small parties, each one shiftin 
 fer himself, an they come tu terrible straits, 
 grubbin fer rhuts an gnawin bark, an most on 
 em hove away their plunder an hed n t no thought 
 o nothin , on y savin the mis able lives, which 
 
178 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 was more n some on em done. But ol Bart 
 hung tu what he d got, a lot o money an I do 
 know but the silver i midge, an he wandered off 
 by himself till he come tu the top of a high 
 maountain, an seen the lake an knowed where 
 Crown P int was. An he come daown this side 
 a piece, an bairied his stuff, an arter a spell he 
 got tu Crown P int, nigher dead an he was alive. 
 When the war was eended he begin tu look fer 
 his plunder an he consaited Tater Hill was the 
 maountain he d left it on, an so year arter year, as 
 long as he lived, he d come an s arch an s arch fer 
 the stuff at was goin tu make a rich man on him. 
 Some cal lated it wa n t but a crazy notion he d 
 got intu his head when he was a-wanderin in the 
 woods, and some thought he raly hed hed suthin 
 of vally. One day he "d ben a-s archin way up 
 toward the haith o land, till eenamost dark, an 
 fore he goddaown halfway tu a clearin it was 
 darker n a stack o black cats wi the eyes put 
 aout, an then the wolves begin a-callin , an 
 a-screamin owooo here and owooo there, drawin 
 in cluster on him, till he begin tu feel his hair 
 a-liftin on him, an he clawed raound fer a tree he 
 c d climb, an he run ag in one he c ld git his arms 
 araound, an he scrabbled an buckled tu like a 
 good feller, till he was clean aout o breath an* 
 kinder settled back onter a big limb at ketched 
 him, an there he sot a-huggin the tree fer deaf 
 
LE LOUP GAEOU. 179 
 
 life, his toes a-ticklin an his skelp a crawlin , ev y 
 yowl the wolves gin. An so he sot the hul en- 
 durin night, oncte in a while jes savin himself 
 fr m goin tu sleep an tumblin off an breakin 
 his neck, till bombye, arter abaout a week he 
 thought, it come light, an the wolves clearn aout 
 an he started tu climb daown, but he couldn t 
 giddaown no f urder, fer lo an behol ! he was 
 a-settin right on the rhuts o the tree. Bart use- 
 ter tell on t an laugh jest as hearty as any on us. 
 Poor ol critter, he died on the taown daown tu 
 Lakefield an his bairied riches never done him no 
 good, thaout it was in expectin on em, which is 
 abaout all the sati f action any on us gits." 
 
 " I should admire tu know if he ever tried the 
 myraculous paower of a witch hazel crotch," said 
 Solon. " I c n find veins of water with em onf ali 
 ble, an the hain t no daoubt at they hev jest as 
 paowerful distraction tow-ards gold and silver, hid 
 artificial, or growin nat ral in the baowels of the 
 airth. Mebby he did find it an spoke afore he 
 got his hand on t an it moved. It sartinly will, 
 ef you speak a audible laoud word. The is allers 
 a sperit a-guardin bairied treasure, an ef you 
 speak afore you lay your hand on t, it gives the 
 sperit paower to move it, the s no tellin haow 
 fur." 
 
 " Oh, shaw, Solon," Uncle Lisha snorted, 
 " that s jest an ol granny notiern. Ef I struck 
 
180 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 a chest o money I should holler, I know I should, 
 an I d resk even my hollerin a-startin on t. 
 I don t make no gret caoimt o sperits guardin 
 nothin . The nighest I ever knowed one come tu 
 doiii anythiii good was 
 
 " O, bah gosh," cried Antoine, who had just en 
 tered and was prancing about in a burning fever 
 of impatience, " Ah 11 ben hoi dat storeez baout 
 de wolfs so long he mos bust mah inside off. 
 Ah 11 gat for be delliv r of it fore Ah 11 died or 
 fregit." 
 
 " It s aither a lie er no caoimt, but let s hev 
 it ef it 11 save yer life, Ann Twine." 
 
 Antoine dropped to his favorite seat on the 
 floor and began cutting a charge of tobacco with 
 frequent interruptions of gesticidations, now with 
 his knife, now with his handful of tobacco,. and 
 many emphatic jerks of his head. " Wai, seh, 
 boy, one tarn, mah fader s broder-law 
 
 " Must ha come pooty nigh bein your uncle," 
 Sam remarked. 
 
 " Mah fader s broder-law," Antoine repeated. 
 
 "Wai, I s pose hevin brother-in-laws run in 
 the fam ly then, as naow." 
 
 " Sam, you shet up you beesiness. You Yan 
 kee tink it was be awfly beeg for feefty mans 
 keel one wolf, but Ah goin tol you what mah 
 fader s broder-law was be do, one tarn. One 
 naght, he 11 load off hees gaun wid four, prob ly 
 
LE LOUP GAROU. 181 
 
 tree ball an han ful of shot-buck an he 11 took 
 twenty-fav foot rope, an he 11 rrrubby rrrrubby 
 all wid hawg blood, he jes be keel, an he 11 
 jomp on hees traine, hees cutters, you know, an 
 he 11 drove off on de hwood, wid mah fader for 
 drove, an drag dat ropes behin de traine of it. 
 An bambye de wolfs beegin fer feel smell of it, 
 an he 11 scratter togedder an foller dat traine, 
 more as twenty, t irty of it, an den he 11 touch 
 hoi dat ropes, one, two, tree, ten, feefteen, so 
 many, de hoss he mos can pull it. Wai, seh, 
 den mah fader s broder-law, he pant hees gaun 
 raght long dat ropes, an he 11 shot, pooom, an , 
 seh, haow many you s pose he 11 keel, ten of it, 
 an fav , he 11 go off flap, flap, guer-a-ouou, wid 
 hees laig broke off an hees jaw spile up for bit 
 some more. Dat ,was de way in Canada, two 
 mens keel ten wolfs, not feefty fer keel one, an 
 hoi mos -dead-mans do it den." 
 
 " Ef it wa n t fer spilin this last," said Uncle 
 Lisha, breaking the silence which followed this 
 recital, " I d knock yer lyin head off with t." 
 
 "One Lasha, dat head can lied," Antoine 
 protested, between laborious puffs of his pipe. 
 " Naow, wait till Ah 11 goin tol you baout de 
 loup garou. Ah dat was so bad ting, it mek me 
 scare for tink of it ever sen Ah 11 leetly boy 
 an de hoi mans an de hoi whomans tol of it. 
 Den we 11 seet an squeeze de fire, an be scare 
 
182 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 fer look beliin of us, fer see de shadder creep, 
 creep on de floor an jomp on de wall, fer fred it 
 be de loup garou." 
 
 " What specie of predarious animil is these ere 
 loose garooses, Antwine ? Be they anythin of 
 the human nater of a or nary wolf or a loosevee, 
 or a woollyneeg, or what ? " 
 
 " Ah, Solem, dey was dev more as anyting," 
 said the Canadian in an awestricken voice. 
 " Dev , dev . Some tarn dey was mans jes lak 
 anybodee, an den dey was be wolfs, oh, more 
 wusser as wolfs. Dey ketch dead mans in grave 
 yards an heat it, dey ketch live mans, an heat it. 
 Oh, dey was awfuls. Ah b lieve dey ant gat 
 some more in Canada, naow, but in de hoi tarn 
 dey had it. One tarn, niah gran -graii nmdder, 
 he 11 gat so hoi he 11 mek off hees min s hee 11 
 die, an mah gran fader he 11 was go fer pries in 
 de naght, an long, long way t rough de hwood, 
 an he drivin long on hees traine, can hear no 
 nowse cep de snow scroonch, scroonch under de 
 runner an de hoss feet of it. Wai, seh, mah 
 gran pere was drovin long, ant tink for much, 
 cep for hurry fas . lie 11 was goin on smooze 
 road t rough de hwood wen hees hoss was beegin 
 fer go slow an he 11 can mek it go fas , all he 11 
 wheep it. De hoss jes pull hard lak he 11 draw 
 more as two ton load an sweat so he 11 smoke 
 lak stimboat an melt de snow on de road wid de 
 drop of de sweat. 
 
LE LOUP GAEOIT. 183 
 
 " Bambye mah gran pere look behin of it, an , 
 sell, he 11 see great beeg, beeg black dawg, mebby 
 wolf, he do know if it ant prob ly, wid hees fore- 
 foots on de liin en of traine, an he pull back 
 more harder as de dev . 
 
 " Mah gran pere was mad, an scare more as 
 he 11 was mad, an he stroke dat ting wid hees 
 whip, an dat ting jomp raght on de traine an 
 put hees before feet on mah gran pere shoulder of 
 it, so heavy, he mos squeese him. Mah gran 
 pere feel of hees knife fer cut at it, cause ef you 
 drew bleed of de loup garou he 11 turn mans 
 raght off an go away. 
 
 " But he can fin hees knife, an he 11 ant 
 know what he 11 do. De hoss was scare an run 
 lak hoi hurricanes, cause de loup garou gat hees 
 behin foots off de graound an can pull back 
 some more. 
 
 " Mah gran pere feel dat hell ting s hot bress 
 froze hees neck, an hees hairs bresh hees face lak 
 needle, an he ll shut off hees heye, so he can 
 see dat awfuls yallar heye clost hees hown, an he 
 give up for tink he dead, jes as de hoss run in de 
 pries gate, an he holler an de pries run aout 
 an say some word quick an laoud an de loup 
 garou be mans raght off so quicker as you mek 
 some wink an run off in de hwood. 
 
 " My gran fader was so scare it was took more 
 as mos half pant of de pries whiskey-en-esprit to 
 brought it to." 
 
184 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " I snum," said Joseph, going to the stove 
 hearth to light his pipe, " seem s ough I m most 
 willin tu be skeered by one o the creeturs a leetle 
 mite." 
 
 Giving no heed to the interruption, Antoine 
 went on in the same awed voice : " An , seh, dey 
 was mans leeve neighbor of mah gran fader, was 
 carry mark of wheep on hees face of it, for good 
 many day." 
 
 " Did it put an end tu his uselessness, so tu 
 speak ? " asked Solon. 
 
 " Which o them stories is treue, Ann Twine, 
 an which is a lie ? " 
 
 Antoine s scared face gave evidence of his im 
 plicit faith in the story of the loup garou, but he 
 did not hesitate to testify to the equal truth of 
 the other tale, though it was but just improvised 
 in his fertile brain. 
 
 " Bose of it, One Lasha, sem always Ah 11 
 tol you." 
 
 " Wai, wal, mebby so, but wolf huntin is pooty 
 gtrainin work, an I guess we d all better be a- 
 gittin tu bed." 
 
 And so desertion and darkness presently per 
 vaded the shop, while the guests went plodding 
 homeward over the snowy fields. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST. 
 
 SOLON BRIGGS heaved a contented sigh when 
 he had established himself in his favorite seat, 
 with his back against the wall and his left knee 
 nursed in his locked hands. 
 
 " What was t you was a-goin to tell t other 
 night, Uncle Lisher, when we was discoursin 
 consarnin speerits an apperagotions an Ant- 
 wine come a-protrudin in his Canady stories ? " 
 
 " Lemme see," said Uncle Lisha, stimulating 
 his brain with the point of an awl. " Oh, yes, 
 I Ve got a holt on t." 
 
 There was an expectant lull in the conversa 
 tion, while Uncle Lisha meditatively splashed a 
 tap in the little tub beside him. At last he said : 
 
 " I sca ce ever wet a piece o luther in that aire 
 tub thaout thinkin o ol Uncle Ebenezer Hill, 
 Jozeff s uncle, at it useter belong tu. He was a 
 shoemaker, an a turrible hones man, as shoe 
 makers mos gen ally is, Ann Twine." 
 
 " Sometam dey was be," Antoine laconically 
 commented. 
 
 " Most allers, an he wa n t no exception tu the 
 
186 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 rule. When he died an his things was sol off 
 tu vandue, I bid off his kit an this ere tub 
 mongst em, an it most allers makes me think o* 
 Uncle Eben." He let the tap soak while he 
 scraped out the heel of his pipe with a crooked 
 awl, and filled it with a fresh charge of tobacco, 
 with a deliberation painful to his audience. 
 
 " Wai, there was a man at ondertook to cheat 
 him arter he was dead. You see, the way on t 
 was, Uncle Ebenezer had got tu be toFable well 
 off when he died, and when his state come tu be 
 settled, Bijer Johns begun to s arch raound tu 
 see f he couldn t bring some claim ag in Uncl6 
 Ebenezer fer hides at he d sol him. 
 
 " Wai, when the commissioners sot, he kerried 
 it in s prompt s a major, an the commissioners 
 said they guessed they d hafter low it. When 
 he come hum, his womern wanted tu know where 
 he d ben an what arter, an he lied to tell her. 
 * Why, s she, 4 1 did n t s pose Eben owed you 
 nothin . But he said women didn t remember 
 nothin an did n t allers know all baout ev y- 
 thing, though they consaited they did ; an he 
 went off tu feed his hawg, arshooin the hens off m 
 the swill berril, an a-dippin aout the swill an 
 a-puttin on the kiver kinder keerless, bein at 
 he wa n t altogether easy in his mind. 
 
 " Bimeby, it come dinner time, an he soddaown 
 n eat his dinner thaout no gret of a appetite t* 
 
THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST. 18? 
 
 eat, an then he went an lay daown on the settee 
 clus tu the open winder, but he could n t git a 
 nap on caount o them hides that wa n t never 
 raal ones, a-risin up continual afore his eyes when 
 they were shet er open. 
 
 " Bimeby he heard a n ise, julluk sloshin luther 
 in a tub, kerslosh, kerslosh, kerslosh, an then 
 whack, whack, whack, julluk hammerin a tap on 
 a lapstun. 
 
 " Hopy Ann, says he tu his wife, a-liftin up 
 his head an harkin julluk a hawg in a cornfiel , 
 what s that aire n ise ? I don t hear nothing* 
 says she, a-stoppin clatterin the dishes an lis - 
 nin , what is t ? 
 
 " It s a shoemaker tu work, says he, an* 
 there it comes ag in. An up he got, scairt s a 
 strange cat. Hopy Ann, says he, hev you ever 
 hearn tell o speerits walkin in broad daylight ? 
 
 " Bijer, are you clean aouten your head ? 
 says she. 
 
 " No, I hain t. But if ever I heard Uncle 
 Eben Hill a-sozzlin a tap an hammerin on t, I 
 hear it naow. 
 
 " Haow can he do dat, One Lasha? Dat hoi 
 shoemaket don t keep fer do beesiness w en hee 11 
 be dead, ant it ? " interrupted Antoine. 
 
 " Wai," the old man continued, " he put on his 
 hat an kwut an off he went up tu Uncle Eben s 
 haouse where the commissioners hed n t goddone 
 
188 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 a-settin , an tol em at he d made a mistake, 
 which he d faound aout the state did n t owe him 
 nothin an his caount must be hove aout, which 
 the commissioners did heave aout, an he went 
 home turribly relieved in his feelin s. 
 
 " He sot tu duin up some o his chores fore 
 supper, an the fust thing he done was tu feed his 
 hawg, an as he got nigh the swill berril he heard 
 that same kerslosh, kerslosh, whack, whack, ag in, 
 on y not so laoud as afore, an all kinder muffled, 
 as ef it come aouten the airth onde neath, an he 
 groaned aout laoud, Ebenezer Hill, can t you 
 iemme lone when I ben an ondone what I done ? 
 An he was so scairt he could n t sca cely take the 
 kiver off m the swill berril, an jest as soon as he 
 did, kerslash, kerslash, kerwhack, whack, come 
 the same ol n ise laouder n ever, an right under 
 his nose. An what ye s pose it was? " 
 
 Uncle Lisha swept a slow, inquiring glance 
 around his audience. Only Antoine ventured an 
 answer. 
 
 " All do know f he ant prob Iy dat hoi shoe- 
 maket come back for get col off in de barril swill, 
 hein?" 
 
 The old man glowered upon him a moment be 
 tween his bushy eyebrows and the upper rim of 
 his spectacles before he said : 
 
 " It wa n t nobody ner nothin but a hen at 
 had tumbled int the berril, an th not bein swill 
 
THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST. 189 
 
 y nough in t tu draound her, she kept a-sloshin 
 an a-floppin the hull endurin time. 
 
 44 Bijer h isted her aout an hove her away so 
 spiteful at he nigh abaout killed her, an went 
 a-mumpin raound feelin wus n he did when he 
 thought Uncle Eben s ghost was a-hauntin on 
 him. 
 
 " He d withdrawed his caount an the wa n t 
 no help for t naow. Seben dollars, says he, 
 4 an fifty cents in money, at I might jest s well 
 had s not, gone to thunder. I wisht that dumbed 
 ol hen had died fore ever she tumbled int that 
 swill berril, con-sarn her. An that s haow thank 
 ful he was tu hev her savin him f m committin a 
 sin." 
 
 " He had certingly ortu ha ben thankful that 
 it was a mortal hen stid o the apperagotion of a 
 defuncted man at come tu save him from com 
 mittin a grievious crime," Solon Briggs com 
 mented as he dropped his right leg from across 
 the left and with both hands lifted the left to the 
 uppermost place. 
 
 " Dat mek me tink rembler," said Antoine, who 
 had for some tune been impatiently waiting an 
 opportunity to speak, " baout one man Canada 
 
 " One man Canady," cried Uncle Lisha. " I 
 wish t the hed n t never ben but one man in Can 
 ady, an he d ha stayed there." 
 
 44 Oh, One Lasha," said Antoine, in a grieved 
 
190 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 voice, " s pose dat was me, haow lonesick you 11 
 was be some tarn an what troublesome Ah 11 was 
 gat for ta care all clat beeg country all of inah- 
 se f." 
 
 " Wai, wal, go ahead an tell yer story, Ann 
 Twine," said Uncle Lisha. " It 11 be a lie, but 
 you 11 have tu tell it." 
 
 " It was baout a man dat was gat save hees 
 laf by one hoi hen. Yas, sah, prob ly two of it, 
 one for be keel, tudder for be hang up for keel de 
 man. F you 11 ant b lieved it Ah can tol you 
 hees nam, bose of it, but f you ll ant goin 
 b lieved it Ah 11 ant goin tol you." 
 
 " I guess we c n stan it. Go ahead." 
 
 " Wal, seh, boy," - - Antoine rapped the ashes 
 from his pipe and laid it upon the stove, " dar 
 was one hoi man Canada nem Pierre Gautier, Ah 
 guess so, an he 11 gat more as honderd nacre Ian 
 an he pooty good up. An he leeve all lone wid 
 hees waf . Wal, seh, one tarn he 11 go on de hwood 
 market to La Prairie an sol up hees wheat an 
 tree, four, prob ly six fat hoi peeg, an he ll 
 brought home lots o money fer it, prob ly more 
 as mos two honderd dollar. 
 
 " Wal, seh, dar was fellar, nem of Gabriel Sa 
 Michel, was veree bad, do-not ing fellar was too be 
 on de market an see hoi man Gautier gat all dat 
 money, an he 11 mek off hees mm he 11 goin gat 
 dat heese f f he ll had to keel Bon Homme 
 Gautier." 
 
THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST. 191 
 
 44 Good airth an seas, Ann Twine, you jest said 
 his name was Peair, an naow you re a-callin on 
 him Burnham." 
 
 " Oh, dat ant be hees nem of it, more as One 
 was you nem. Dat mean jes de sem lak One , 
 honly it mean good man ; dey too polite f er call 
 it you, hein ? " 
 
 " Wai, wal, go on wi yer Gaushy, er yer Burn- 
 ham, er yer Gauby Clamshell," cried the old cob 
 bler, prodding the air with his awl in Antoine s 
 direction. 
 
 "Wal, seh, dat hugly-ant-nt-for-be-decent Ga 
 briel, he 11 went dat naght for robber Bon Homme 
 Gautier, stinkin long in de darks jes lak skonk 
 goin for robber some negg on a hen rouse." 
 
 " Sneakin long, you mean tu say, Ann Twine ; 
 skunks don t go stinkin long on sech business." 
 
 " Sneakin den, ef dat was please you more bet 
 ter, but Ah b lieve Ah 11 was tol dis storee, me. 
 Wal, le me see where Ah 11 was be. 
 
 " Gabriel was goin long caffly all stoop da/own 
 close up bah hoi Pierre hees haouse, an , seh, fus* 
 ting he know it he walk almos top of a skonk. 
 An , seh, zhweetz, dat leetly causs preffume heem 
 raght on bose hees heye of it, an mek it so bline 
 he was mos can see for swear, an hurt heem so 
 fer crazy heem. 
 
 " He 11 can tink fer robber, he 11 can see fer 
 robber, all he tink was fer fan brook fer wash off 
 
192 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 hees heye, an* den go home. An den he gtt 
 stiukin , Ah bet you head, One Lasha." 
 
 " Proberbly." 
 
 " An he 11 tink le Bon Dieu was sen dat skonk, 
 f er kept him from robber poor hoi Bon Homme 
 Gautier, an dat was de true. An dat was de way a 
 skonk keep one man from be keel an one man from 
 be hang up." Antoine waited for applause in a 
 blank silence, wherein his audience waited for the 
 conclusion of his story. 
 
 " Why, Ann Twine," Uncle Lisha said at last, 
 " ef that s the hull on t, I don t see s there was 
 no hen hed nothin tu du with t." 
 
 " Oh, bah gosh ! " cried Antoine in unwonted 
 confusion, clutching his head with both hands. 
 44 You 11 mek me so bodder wid tol* me haow 
 Ah 11 tol it, Ah 11 gat two story all twis up. 
 Ah b lieve Ah 11 tol wrong story." 
 
 " I hain t no doubt you ve tol a wrong story, 
 Ann Twine ; you re allers a-tellin wrong stories." 
 
 " Antwine s julluk a haoun pup," said Sam, 
 " at goes off on the fust scent he comes tu at 
 crosses the track he s on." 
 
 " Ho, Sam," cried Antoine, turning towards 
 him, " Ah 11 glad for be heard you spoke. You 11 
 ant say not ing but smoke all the evelin. Ah 11 
 be fred you loss you vowse." 
 
 " I do know as that was the way on t," Joseph 
 Hill said as he came to the stove to light his pipe 
 
THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST. 193 
 
 with a splinter, " but mebby the skunk eat the 
 hen fore Antwine could git to t." 
 
 " An Zhozeff can spoke," cried Antoine in 
 feigned surprise, " Ah 11 ant tink he was mek off 
 hees min so quick." 
 
 " Wai, go on, Ann Twine. You promised us 
 a story wi a hen in t, and a hen we Ve got tu hev. 
 Naow patch up your lie an go ahead." 
 
 " Ah tol you f you 11 ant trouble me all up 
 an mek me fregit for rembler de story Ah 11 was 
 beegin," said the Canadian when the laughter of 
 his companions subsided ; and as they promised no 
 further interruption, he began : - 
 
 " Wai, seh, dat Gabriel S Michel, he 11 goin 
 long jes sem Ah 11 say, honly he 11 ant walk on 
 top of skonk. He was very f on of cheekin hesef . 
 An gret many tarn de folkes loss dey hen an 
 lay it to skonk an wezil an chat sauvage, w en 
 dey 11 ant to blem. 
 
 " Dis tarn he feel inside of hesef, he was be 
 dreffle hongry, an he tink haow good was tase 
 one of hoi Pierre fat chickens, w en he 11 gat 
 finish hees job of robber de money. 
 
 " He 11 tink it was bes way for gat hees 
 chicken fus, so he be all ready for go wen he do 
 dat job. So he crep in de hen rouse an beegin 
 felt raoun in de darks, and de firs hen he touch 
 hoi of it was de beeg hoi rouster. 
 
 " He be hurry, so he pull de hoi rouster off de 
 
194 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 rouse, an fore he can stop off hees win dat hoi 
 rouster holler lak ev reeting, 4 keraaw, keraaw ! 
 keraaw, keraaw-uk, wen Gabriel shut hees neck. 
 
 " De nowse wakin up de hoi hwomans of her 
 sleep an he 11 punch hoi mans of hees rib an 
 holler, Woke up. Skonk on de hen rouse. 
 An hoi mans jomp off de bed an gat hees gaun 
 an shove de winder an look on de darks. 
 
 " It was be darks, but no so very darks, for he 
 can see mans creep it off de hen-rouse, an hoi 
 Pierre he 11 shot off hees gaun over hees head of 
 it, an Gabriel so scare he t row de rouster 
 an run more as t ree mile, prob ly two, fore 
 he 11 stop for gat hees breeze, an den he give up 
 all hees plan for robber. 
 
 " Den he very glad for tink he 11 ant do so 
 weeked an evree year dat sem day, he take de 
 pries beeg fat cheekin, so you see dat hoi rouster 
 he 11 do gret many good. He 11 save hoi Pierre 
 from be keel, he 11 save Gabriel from be hang up, 
 prob ly. An he 11 inek de pries more fatter as 
 he was." 
 
 " Why, Ann Twine," cried Uncle Lisha, while 
 the story-teller looked from one to another in ex 
 pectation of approval, " your hen s turned aout tu 
 be a ruster arter all. Haow be you goin tu fix 
 that up ? " 
 
 " Oh, One Lasha," cried Antoine, as a trium 
 phant grin swept the shadow of perplexity from 
 
THE SHOEMAKER S GHOST. 195 
 
 his face, " haow you s pose dat Gabriel was goin 
 tol what he touch hoi of in de darks. Ah 11 ant 
 to blem f he 11 touch hoi of rouster wen he 11 
 meant for git hen, ant it ? " 
 
 " Wai, Ann Twine, you got aout on t pooty 
 well," said the old man, laying aside his tools and 
 the boot he was at work upon, " an naow it s 
 gittin toward nine o clock, an I move we close the 
 meetin afore the critter thinks up another lie tu 
 tell er abaout another man in Canady." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A MORNING OF SONG. 
 
 THE low, dark, gray sky, that had seemed to 
 threaten a bodily smothering descent upon the 
 earth, now began to scatter down a thickening 
 shower of flakes, which the rising wind drove far 
 aslant, dappling with flecks of down, then pad 
 ding with white cushions, the windward sides of 
 trees, fences, and buildings. 
 
 A great flock of snow buntings reveling hi the 
 storm swept along in the driven slant, like an 
 accession of bulkier flakes, and settled in a long 
 drift among the bent weeds, as heedless of the 
 storm as its own wind-tossed flakes. 
 
 The further hills were quite hidden by the 
 nearer woods, and isolated trees and dwellings 
 were vaguely revealed through the drifting veil ; 
 and the snow, beating with a soft patter against 
 the shop window, blurred it to deeper dullness with 
 clinging flakes and the slow trickle of their 
 melting. 
 
 No one but a shoemaker could work, and the 
 rest of the world could only go a-visiting. Uncle 
 Lisha futilely wiped the inside of his dull pane 
 
A MORNING OF SONG. 197 
 
 and stared forth, but there was revealed to him 
 only the distorted image of a woodpecker clinging 
 to the leeward side of the nearest tree. Sam 
 came in to smoke a second pipe, as did his father, 
 in violation of his ordinary custom of sitting with 
 women folks, whose unaggressiveness was a pleas 
 ing revelation after the experience of his later 
 years. 
 
 But Uncle Lisha was not disappointed in his 
 expectations ; the stamping of feet on the doorstep 
 announced visitors, and Solon, Joseph, Pelatiah, 
 Antoine, and his father drifted in, in a snow-laden 
 file, as if they had come down with the storm and 
 were a noisier adjunct of it ; and each scattered 
 from him his burden of snow in a circle of melt 
 ing moisture. 
 
 " Dis was ma fader, One Lasha Pegg," said 
 Antoine, leading his desiccated parent to the shoe 
 bench. " He 11 gat great many hoi , One Lasha, 
 he 11 gat some hoi . Ah 11 mek you intro-duce." 
 
 Uncle Lisha stared almost savagely at the old 
 man, who bowed profusely and said : " Comme est 
 ca va, M sieu Pegg ? " 
 
 " Hear the ol critter callin me a shoe peg," 
 Uncle Lisha growled in an undertone, and roared 
 in a voice so startling that the old Canadian re 
 coiled before it : 
 
 " Commadgy vaw. Good airth an seas. Ef 
 it s talkin French yer arter, I ^m jest the man. 
 
198 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Polly voo Francy. Sacree. Mushdaw. There ! 
 He s a sassy critter, a-callin on me a shoe peg in 
 iny own shop." 
 
 " Oh, no-no-no, bien no, One Lasha," Antoine 
 protested. " He 11 ant call you not ing, honly 
 M sieu Pegg ; dat was Mister Pegg, dat was all." 
 
 " Oh, I wanter know," Uncle Lisha ejaculated in 
 some confusion. " Wai, that comes o speakin 
 in unknown tongues. I c n talk French consid - 
 able, but I can t onderstan it noways clear when 
 other folks talks it. Seddaown by the stove, Ann 
 Twine s father, an make yourself tu hum." 
 
 The old Canadian stared at his host in bewil 
 derment till Uncle Lisha repeated the invitation 
 in what he considered more intelligible phrase, and 
 with a roar that he was sure must make it under 
 stood : 
 
 " Sittey daown, smokey you peep," which being 
 accompanied by a wave of the hand and a panto 
 mimic sucking of the thumb, and interpreted by 
 Antoine, induced the old man to take a seat be 
 hind the stove and fill his black pipe with rank, 
 liome-grown tobacco. 
 
 " An naow what s the news," Uncle Lisha de 
 manded, as he laid a tap on the sole of a boot, 
 fastened it with three pegs and trimmed the edge 
 with his knife. " The must be some, the hul 
 caboodle on ye turnin aout in sech a snowstorm." 
 
 " Wai," said Solon, not to be forestalled but 
 
A MORNING OF SONG. 199 
 
 with seemly hesitation, " the is what you might 
 call eenamost discredible news." 
 
 Uncle Lisha held his hammer suspended while 
 he cast an inquiring glance at Solon. 
 
 " The s a feller," Solon continued, " hes come 
 up to the village an instigated hisself as a mar- 
 chant in the Billins s saddler shop, an he s jest 
 cuttin in on Clapham like all smutteration, an is 
 jest a-gittin his hul onmitigated trade." 
 
 "You don t say," said Uncle Lisha, driving- 
 home a peg and fumbling abstractly for another. 
 " An who is the critter? " 
 
 " Feller f m V gennes, name o Bascom, an he s 
 jest a-givin away goods." 
 
 " Humph. Won t git turrible rich at that, I 
 don t cal late. Jest a-baitin folks. Wai, wal, 
 tew stores tu the village, an I remember when 
 the wa n t none." 
 
 " Ah 11 tol you, One Lasha, it was be jes sem 
 one man Canada, come to St. Ursule settin up 
 store an sol so cheap, evreebody crazy for bought 
 it, an dat man, he 11 borry, borry fave, ten, feefty, 
 honded dollar ev reebody, den fust dey ll know, 
 whoop, he 11 bus up, an gone where someb dy 
 ant know." 
 
 " I d know, but mebby he hain t sellin not tu 
 say cheaper n Clapham, for they du say his 
 paounds is almighty light an his yards pleggid 
 short, but I d know," remarked Joseph. 
 
200 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " He s a-sellin boots a half dollar cheaper n 
 what Clapham is," Pelatiah ventured to offer. 
 
 " Boots," Uncle Lisha growled in deep-toned 
 contempt ; " if he gin em away folks ould git 
 cheated. Boots ! 4 Tannin begretched an makin* 
 bewitched ! Le s hear suthin interestin . 
 Someb dy tell a story er sing a song. Ann Twine, 
 can t yer father give us a French song ? " 
 
 " Dat was de honly kan he 11 gat. He 11 ant 
 learn for sung Angleesh lak Ah 11 was." 
 
 " It s hopesin he won t," said Sam. 
 
 " Tune him up, Ann Twine," cried Uncle Lisha ; 
 and Antoine with a few words in French per 
 suaded his father to sing in a nasally sonorous 
 voice and with a feeling that was better under 
 stood than the words : - 
 
 " A la claire fontaine 
 
 M en allant promener, 
 J ai trouve* 1 eau si belle 
 
 Que je ra y suie baigne . 
 II y a longtemps que je t aime, 
 Jamais je ne t oublierai." * 
 
 Then without much persuasion, the old man 
 sang " Koulant ma Boule." 
 
 1 " Down to the crystal streamlet 
 
 I strayed at close of day, 
 Into its limpid waters 
 
 I plunged without delay. 
 I ve loved tliee long and dearly, 
 1 11 love thee, sweet, for aye." 
 From Songs of Old Canada translated by William McLennan, 
 
A MORNING OF SONG. 201 
 
 " Rouli, roulant, ma boule roulant, 
 
 En roulant ma boule roulant, 
 
 En roulant ma boule." 
 
 " I like that aire abaout rollin the bull almighty 
 well," Uncle Lisha commented when the songs 
 were ended, " but that aire Jimmy Jenny trouble 
 you, I can t make much on." 
 
 " Dat ant what it said, One Lasha. It was 
 Jamais je ne t oublierai, sem he 11 said, Ah 11 
 ant never goiii fregit. But Ah 11 goin sing 
 you, so you on stan," and he struck up more tune 
 fully than intelligibly, "The girl I left behind 
 me." 
 
 " De bee growl an weesh for save hees store, 
 
 De dove he shall turn over 
 An fall in de water, mek it roar, 
 
 If Ah 11 fregit for love her. 
 If ev ree chance Ah 11 gat dat way, 
 
 An she ant gat for sign me, 
 Ah 11 reckon up mah min for stay, 
 
 To de gal Ah love behine me." 
 
 " Lord o massy, yes, if a feller only knows the 
 song he c n onderstan it jest as easy as rollin 
 off a lawg. Now then, Solon, give us Brave 
 Wolf. " 
 
 The swelling drone of Huldah s spinning wheel 
 had ceased, and the shop door was softly set ajar 
 that the occupants of the kitchen might share the 
 musical treat. 
 
 " That aire French singin is turrible satisfying" 
 
202 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Aunt Jerusha whispered, as she sat with her ear 
 bent to the crack of the door and a pinch of snuff 
 halfway to her nose, " considerin you can t make 
 aout a word on t." 
 
 Then Solon, after much preparatory clearing of 
 his throat, struck up his doleful song hi a high- 
 pitched voice. 
 
 " Cheer up your hearts, young men ; 
 
 Le-at noth-ing fright yeou, 
 Be o-of a galliant mind, 
 Le-at that delight yeou." 
 
 When the hero of Quebec at last " died with 
 pleasure " in the arms of his " Eddy Konk," Jo 
 seph Hill lifted up his voice in commemoration of 
 another humbler and fairer victim of the great de 
 stroyer : 
 
 " It was all by the banks of a beauchif ul river, 
 
 As I walked aout in the sweet month of June. 
 A pretty fair maid I chanced tu diskiver, 
 
 As calmly she strayed by the light of the moon. 
 Nya sing derry daown derry, 
 Nya derry daown day. " 
 
 "An naow it s come your turn, Samwill." And 
 Sam, after such persuasion as a bashful singer 
 needs, sang of his beloved woods : 
 
 " In the spring, there comes the fishin 
 
 Mongst the summer s posies gay, 
 Comes bee-huntin , yit I m wishin 
 
 That the seasons won t delay 
 Till I hear my haoun a-hootin an a-tootin , 
 An hear my gun a-shootin , 
 
 When the fox goes streakin by. 
 
A MOBNING OF SONG. 203 
 
 " Oh, it s bright in the mornin airly, 
 
 Of a gay October day, 
 At I delight mos dearly, 
 
 Tu the woods tu take my way ; 
 Tu hear my haoun a-hootin an a-tootin , 
 An hear my gun a-shootin , 
 
 When the fox goes rus lin by. 
 
 " Ev ry painted tree s a-bringin 
 
 Back the posy beds o June, 
 Ef I miss the birds a-singin , 
 
 I shall hear a sweeter tune. 
 When I hear my haoun a-hootin an a-tootin , 
 An hear my gun a-shootin , 
 
 When the fox goes rus lin by. 
 
 " When the airth is kivered white 
 
 An the trees is naked gray, 
 O, then *t is my delight 
 
 Tu the woods tu take my way, 
 Tu hear my haoun a-hootin an a-tootin , 
 An hear my gun a-shorfri , 
 
 When the fox goes streakin by." 
 
 Then Uncle Lisha roared a song commemora 
 ting the gallant exploits of 
 
 " Tew lofty ships that from ol England sailed, 
 
 One was the Prince o Luther, one was the Prince o Lee, 
 rcwsin raoun on the coast of Barboree." 
 
 If he ran amuck among the titles of English 
 princes, the bold Briton, in quest of pirates, could 
 not have shouted his orders louder than the Yan 
 kee cobbler sang : 
 
 " Go aloft, cried aour Cap n, go aloft, shaouted he, 
 4 Look ahead, look astarn, look a-weather , look a-lee, 
 Crewsin raoun on the coast o Barboree ; " 
 
204 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 nor the corsairs have answered more boldly the 
 hail, 
 
 " We aire no men o war, no privateers, says they, 
 But we aire some jolly pierutts a-seekin arter prey, 
 Crewsin raoun on the coast o Barboree," 
 
 nor could the victorious British sea dogs have an 
 nounced with greater zest the just retribution that 
 overtook the pirates. 
 
 " For quatter, for quatter, so laoudly they did cry, 
 But the quatter that we give, we sunk em in the sea, 
 Crewsin raoun on the coast o Barboree." 
 
 The stove pipe rang with a responsive vibra 
 tion, and the cracked window panes rattled an 
 accompaniment to the loudest notes, while a rat 
 that had set himself to the task of gnawing through 
 the mopboard, was awed into a long cessation of 
 his labors. 
 
 " Lisher c n sing jes as pooty s ever he could," 
 whispered Aunt Jerusha admiringly. 
 
 "I swan," said Uncle Lisha, "Timerthy has 
 sneaked off wi out singin . An naow, Peltier, 
 you come in like what the shoemaker hove at his 
 wife, but you Ve got to be heard from, jest the 
 same. Tune up suthin lively, naow." 
 
 Pelatiah lingered diffidently on the verge of song, 
 feeling his way here and there with an unsatis 
 factory pitch till at last he launched forth with 
 the recital of experiences somewhat similar to hig 
 own : 
 
A MORNING OF SONG. 205 
 
 " T is of a poor young man, 
 
 Distraghted quite by love, 
 His storee I 11 relate, 
 
 Your tears all f er to move. 
 
 Conven-iunt a damsel lived, 
 
 No rose it could compare 
 A-with the damask of her cheek, 
 
 The color of her hair." 
 
 So Pelatiah continued his doleful strain till the 
 heart-broken hero went to sea to drown himself 
 and his sorrow. 
 
 " That aire s a turrible lunsome kinder song, 
 Peltier, an I m glad the hain t no more on t. 
 Good airth an seas, the hain t no sense in a 
 feller givin up that way." 
 
 " No," said Sam, " he d a tarnal sight better go 
 a/out an kill a wolf, er a fox, er suthin ." 
 
 " One Lasha, Ah 11 wan gat you medjy ma 
 fader his foot of it for mek it some boot. He 11 
 gat hees botte sauvage all wear hoff so hees foots 
 wet all the tarn." 
 
 " All right, fetch him over here," said Uncle 
 Lisha, picking up a splinter of pine and splitting 
 it to the desired size. " Gittin on him ready tu 
 go tu Colchester P int ? Wai, I d keep him here 
 a spell yit. Folks never come back f m the P int 
 no more n they du f m any other hereafter. 
 Why, they du say at you c n hear th bones an 
 skins a-rattlin fore you git within a mile o the 
 P int, an sech a pollyvooin ! " 
 
206 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Oh, One Lasha, what you talk so ? French- 
 mans dead when he gat ready, some tarn fore, jes 
 sem somebody. Wen le Bon Dieu call it, he 
 flew up an le Bon Dieu put it in veree high 
 roos ." 
 
 "Shets it in a coop, more like, Ann Twine. 
 But trot aout yer father over here. Pull off yer 
 boot, Ann Twine s father. Pulley hoff you butt." 
 Uncle Lislia was not surprised that his meaning 
 was comprehended by his customer, who cried, 
 " Oui, oui," very rapidly, and at once grappled 
 with his right boot and presently disclosed a very 
 dirty stocking. 
 
 u Naow set your heel ag in the side o the 
 haouse. Settey up you heely. No fersten ? He s 
 so ol he s forgot his own langwidge. 
 
 With Antoine s help, the old man was backed 
 up to the wall with his heel against the mop-board 
 and Uncle Lisha stooped over his foot with a 
 sharp-pointed jack-knife poised threateningly above 
 his toes which were instinctively curved. 
 
 " Quit a-wigglin yer dumbd ol toes. I hain t 
 a-goin tu jab em. No wiggly paw de toe. 
 There, I thought I could make you ondestan ," 
 and he succeeded in driving his knife in the floor 
 at the end of old Pierre s big toe. He transferred 
 the measurement to the pine stick and marked it 
 by a notch as he did several circumferences ob 
 tained with a string, and pronounced the prelim* 
 
A MOENING OF SONG. 207 
 
 nary labor accomplished, and the old Canadian 
 drew on his boot with an air of great relief. 
 
 The clatter of dinner-getting was a signal 
 for the departure of the visitors, who went forth 
 to find the storm spent and the landscape 
 smothered to silence in universal whiteness, and 
 to make their way homeward by unmarked high- 
 ways and by-paths. 
 
CHAPTER 
 
 THE FIRST FOX. 
 
 SAM moving about cautiously in his stockings 
 was attempting the impossible feat of building a 
 fire in the stove without making a noise, for it was 
 early and he hoped that he might not disturb any 
 of the family. 
 
 The wood tumbled about in the box as if en 
 dowed with perverse life. The griddles would slip 
 and clatter and the doors bang as if they were 
 made for no other purpose. Uncle Lisha being a 
 light sleeper was aroused and came forth to learn 
 the cause of the unseasonable disturbance, with his 
 waistcoat in one hand and buttoning his sus 
 penders fumblingly with the other. 
 
 " What on airth is the motter, Sam-will ? Baby 
 hain t got the croup er nuthin , has he ? " he whis 
 pered anxiously. 
 
 " No," was answered in a hollow whisper ; 
 " goin huntin . Thought I d hev me a baked ta- 
 ter and cup o tea tu start on, f I c d git em 
 thaout wakin the hull neighborhood, but this 
 consarned stove s ben dancin a jig sence I fust 
 touched it an the wood turnin summersets 
 
THE FIRST FOX. 209 
 
 But I ve got the taters in. Sorry I waked ye, 
 Uncle Lisher. Drive, you ol fool, quit yer whin- 
 in an caperin . We hain t goin yit." 
 
 " 1 d slep a plenty," and Uncle Lisha drew a 
 chair to the stove and toasted his feet comfortably 
 on the hearth. " Where be you goin , Samwill ? " 
 
 " Well," said Sam, carefully filling a powder- 
 horn while Drive watched the operation with in 
 tense interest, whining and treading the floor with 
 his front feet, " I m a-goin tu take Peltier a fox 
 huntin . I b lieve f I c n git him int rested in t 
 an hev him kill a fox er tew, it 11 git him over 
 mopin and honin himself to death arter that mis- 
 ible gal. The hain t nothin like huntin tu take 
 a feller s mind off m trouble." 
 
 " Wai," said the old man in a draughty whis 
 per that set the candle flaring, "Id know but 
 what it 11 help some, but I shall reckon more on 
 fishin . But I tell ye, I b lieve he s kinder taken 
 a shine tu that aire Varney gal, at was here tu 
 the apple cut, an that s a-goin tu cure him." 
 
 " T won t mount tu shucks. Peltier hain t that 
 kind o chap tu shift his likes sudden. I don t 
 b lieve he 11 ever keer a row o pins for any other 
 gal. The best at can be done for him is tu git 
 him from dwellin on his trouble, an I don t know 
 o nothin better n huntin . The quiet of the 
 woods an the noises, which is nigh about the same 
 thing, is mighty soothin , an the smell o dead 
 
210 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 leaves an the spreuce an balsam is stren thenin* 
 tu the narves, an when you git raly woke up with 
 the hoot in o the haound a-drawin* nigher an* you 
 hear the fox a-rustlin the dry leaves an snappin 
 the dry twigs, it sets your heart afire an burns 
 aout all the foolishness an trouble." 
 
 " Mebby," said the other, " but fishin is tum 
 ble soothin . I d ruther chance it on fishin an* 
 that Varney gal. She s a strornary nice gal." 
 
 Sain opened the oven door and tested his cook 
 ery with a pinch. " My taters is done. Set by 
 an ha some, Uncle Lisher ? " 
 
 But the old man chose to wait for a more elabo 
 rate meal, and Sam hastily swallowing his tea, 
 potatoes, and cold meat, and assuming his equip 
 ments, was ready to depart just as Pelatiah ap 
 peared, and the two held forth in the growing 
 whiteness of the winter dawn with the old hound, 
 sobering down to the business of his life, ranging 
 steadily before them. 
 
 There had been a hoar frost in the night, and 
 every fence and tree was turned to misty silver 
 and pearl, and the mountain arose before them 
 against the paling azure like a great cloud of 
 pearl, unstable, ethereal, as if the lightest breeze 
 might waft it away. There was a haziness in the 
 atmosphere giving it an apparent softness that 
 seemed to belong to another season, and make one 
 almost expect to hear the songs of birds coining 
 
THE FIRST FOX. 211 
 
 from the silver foliage and see the stir of insect 
 life among the feathery herbage of the frost, grown 
 in a night upon the snow. 
 
 But the few sounds that scarcely broke the 
 silence were all of whiter. The smothered chuckle 
 of the ice-bound brook, the resonant crack of a 
 frozen tree, the muffled crow of a housed cock, and 
 the discordant cries and flicker of the gay plumage 
 of a jay early faring abroad were the only signs of 
 life astir save the hunters and their hounds. 
 
 Old Drive soon found the warm trail of a fox 
 that had been mousing among the snow-covered 
 aftermath, and he presently set the mountain-side 
 and the hills to bandying melodious echoes that 
 awoke all the valley from its slumbers. 
 
 A dozen house dogs burst into vociferous bay 
 ing at the distracting multitude of airy voices and 
 as many cocks sent forth their ringing challenges, 
 and one by one the farmhouse chimneys began to 
 lift their slanted pillars of smoke against the pearl- 
 gray hills and blue sky. 
 
 There began to be signs of chorhig, the creaking 
 and slamming of barn doors, the lowing of cattle, 
 and men calling them to partake of their brown 
 loaves, the stacks. Then were heard the mellow 
 notes of horns and conchs, presently followed by 
 a cessation of the sounds of labor. These, after a 
 time, began again, with the clear, woody ring of 
 axe strokes, the muffled thud of flails, the shouts of 
 
212 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ox-teamsters and the drawling creak of theii 
 sleds. 
 
 The hunters gave heed to none of them. Only 
 to the voice of the hound were their ears attentive 
 as it tended toward the hills that buttressed the 
 mountain-side, letting here an echo fall asleep, 
 there awakening another to wild mimicry. 
 
 " Ef he hain t got him up, he will in less n five 
 minutes," said Sam after a moment of breathless 
 listening to the hound s eager baying. " You pull 
 foot for the saouth end o Pa tridge Hill. The s 
 a big hemlock in the aidge of a leetle clearin . 
 Stan there. If he gits past ye goin , he 11 come 
 back that way. Stick to t as long as the dawg 
 stays on the hill. I 11 go to the north end." 
 
 He struck off at a swinging gait, and Pelatiah 
 in a divergent course made his way to the point 
 indicated. He reached it much out of breath with 
 climbing and excitement, his heart beating such a 
 tumultuous accompaniment to the notes of the 
 hound, drawing nearer and nearer, that he could 
 scarcely hear their music. 
 
 He cocked his gun, and strove to settle his 
 trembling nerves while he strained his eyes to 
 catch a glimpse of the fox, for he could hear the 
 hound crashing through the brush and whining 
 and panting as he puzzled over a double of the 
 trail. Then his heart stood still at a sudden flash 
 of ruddy fur among the brush,, his gun was at his 
 
THE FIRST FOX. 213 
 
 shoulder, his finger feeling the trigger, but with a 
 qualm of disgust he saw a red squirrel scampering 
 along a log. 
 
 The music of the hound swept past, and Pelatiah s 
 heart sank with the sense of lost opportunity. 
 But he remembered Sam s assurance that the fox 
 would come back, and took hope again. He 
 backed into a comfortable position against the 
 hemlock and listened half dreamily to the pulsing 
 diminuendo of the hound s bugle notes and to the 
 minor voices of the woods. A party of inquisitive 
 chickadees sounded their cheery call close about 
 him, a nuthatch piped nasally as he crept in a 
 downward spiral along the branching trunk above. 
 A woodpecker industriously tapped a dead tree, 
 the squirrel dropped a slow shower of cone chips, 
 and a company of jays attuned their voices to un 
 wonted softness as they discoursed together. 
 
 Yet he was continually aware of the hound s 
 mellow notes overbearing all these sounds, though 
 faint and far away, till suddenly there broke above 
 them all the short, thin report of a rifle, and al 
 most with the fading out of the brief echo the 
 baying of the hound ceased. 
 
 " Wai," said Pelatiah, letting his hopes down 
 to the earth with a sigh. " The fox s dead, that s 
 sartain, but I should n t ha thought Sam would 
 ha cut hi ahead on me an shot him. That wa n t 
 the OF Ore Bed ! T wa n t laoud enough ! It s 
 
214 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 some skunk that s sneaked in an* stole aour fox, 
 an by gol, he 11 haftu hump hisself ef I don t 
 ketch him er run him in." 
 
 He pushed rapidly forward in the direction 
 that he heard the shot. His course was length 
 wise of the ledge, with so few obstacles that a half 
 hour s walk brought him to the end of the fox s 
 track, marked with a great blood-stained wallow 
 in the snow. Leading straight away from it 
 toward the little valley behind the hill went the 
 tracks of a big pair of boots with a disproportion 
 ate stride. 
 
 " A short-laiged critter," Pelatiah remarked, as 
 he settled himself upon the trail, " an I guess my 
 shanks hosses 11 fetch him." 
 
 The trail presently led him to a narrow clearing 
 and a little gray house that stood hi forlorn 
 nakedness of shade-trees and outhouses, close to 
 an untraveled highway. The big boot tracks held 
 straight across the poor little garden with its feeble 
 array of bean poles bearing their withered gar 
 lands of rustling vines, passed the starved wood 
 pile and its dull axe, to the neatly swept doorstep. 
 
 " Consarn his pictur ," and Pelatiah waxed hot 
 with wrath as the trail grew warmer, "he s 
 sneaked intu Widder Wigginses. But he need n t 
 cal late petticuts 11 save him. I 11 skin im if the s 
 a dozen women standin raound. The blasted 
 thief." 
 
THE FIRST FOX, 215 
 
 He stepped softly upon the plank doorstep, and 
 was about to enter, when he heard the excited 
 voice of a boy and stopped to listen. He also 
 heard the sibilant rush of air from the nipple of 
 a gun and the soft pop of a with-drawn patch min 
 gling with disconnected words and knew that the 
 speaker was cleaning a rifle. 
 
 " Oh, ma," cried a voice with a grunt that indi 
 cated the pushing down of a patch, " I tell ye, it 
 was fun. I popped him right plum through the 
 head, an , sir, I dropped him right in his tracks. 
 An hain t he a neat one ! An naow I m goin to 
 skin him an stretch him an take him daown to 
 Clapham s an sell him an git you some tea an 
 sugar." 
 
 " It 11 be turrible good tu hev some ag in, spe 
 cially when a body is feelin so peaked," said a 
 feeble voice. " An haow did you happen tu kill 
 a fox, BiUy ? That s men s game." 
 
 u Oh, I was up on the hill tryin tu git a pa tridge, 
 an I heard a haoun -dawg a-comin an I jes stood 
 still as a post, an fust I knew it, I seen the fox 
 come bobbin along an I up an let him hev, an 
 daown he flopped, an , sir, I couldn t b lieve t was 
 treue, an when I r aly got a holt on t I got 
 dizzy an all of a tremble, an the nex thing I 
 thought on was the tea an sugar fer you. An 
 then the haoun -dawg come up and chawed him a 
 spell, an then I slung him on my back an p inted 
 fer hum." 
 
216 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 All the fire of Pelatiah s wrath was quenched 
 and he was about to retire as silently as he had 
 come, when he was arrested by the voice of the 
 woman pitched to a tone of earnest reproof. 
 
 " Oh, Billy, you hed n t ever ortu done that. 
 You d orter waited an gi n the hunters the fox. 
 It s jest stealin . Father allus said so. Oh, Billy, 
 they 11 be arter you, an nob dy knows what they 
 won t du tu ye. Whose haoun -dawg was it, 
 Billy?" 
 
 " It was Sam Lovel s ol Drive. It s the fust 
 fox at ever I shot," Billy whimpered, " an haow 
 be I ever goin tu git yer tea an sugar ? " 
 
 " It don t make no diffunce ; you mus take that 
 aire fox right stret tu Samwill Lovel. You Ve 
 got tu take it tu them it belongs tu. Mebby the 
 Lord 11 pervide ; but I d know, it s long a-waik 
 in . Hang up the gun an start right stret off. 
 Take the fox an start right off like an hones 
 man." 
 
 Pelatiah broke in unceremoniously upon poor 
 Billy s mournful preparations for departure, his 
 unannounced appearance startling alike the boy and 
 his sick mother, who stared at him half frightened, 
 half indignant, from her uncomfortable support of 
 scant pillows. 
 
 " The don t nob dy want no fox, Mis Wiggins," 
 he burst out impetuously. " Samwill an me don t 
 want him, ner won t hev him, nuther. Bub c n 
 
THE FIRST FOX. 217 
 
 take him right daown tu Clapham s an git all he 
 can f er him. Dollar an a half, I should n t won 
 der. We won t have it, I tell ye. We would n t 
 tech tu take the fust fox at a boy ever shot. 
 We know how he feels, me an Samwill." 
 
 Certainly not by experience did Pelatiah know ; 
 but by sympathy, perhaps he did, to-day. 
 
 " Be ye much sick, Mis Wiggins ? Bub hed 
 better git Darktor Stun tu come up. I 11 hev 
 mother come over. Good-day." 
 
 He hurried to go, in as great confusion as that 
 in which he left the widow and her son, who 
 found not words but only grateful looks to thank 
 him. 
 
 He stopped at the meagre woodpile and plied 
 the dull axe with sturdy strokes till three or four 
 armfuls of wood were ready for the stove, and 
 then hurried away up the long eastern slope of 
 the hill. He laughed at himself as he recalled 
 his recent small adventure. " Poor leetle shaver, 
 a-floppin raoun in his dead father s boots an me 
 a-bilin myself up to lick someb dy. Gol ! " 
 
 Then through the stillness of the woods the 
 mellow cadence of the old hound s bugle notes 
 stole upon his ears, and. all his thoughts were 
 turned to the day s purpose. Listening to get 
 the direction, he became assured that the earnest, 
 insistent baying was almost confined to a fixed 
 point. 
 
218 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " By golly, he s started another, an holed 1dm, 
 I guess. But I 11 hyper over and git the dawg." 
 
 As he neared the place, the steep western side 
 of the hill, he found that the hound was moving in 
 small circles and felt renewed hope, and his heart 
 gave a great choking bound as he caught a glimpse 
 of the fox dodging among the rocks and brush of 
 the steep hillside. So steep and slippery was the 
 footing that Pelatiah was obliged to slip his arm 
 around a sapling to hold his position, and so stand 
 ing, he cocked his gun and waited, his heart ris 
 ing and sinking as Drive s notes approached and 
 receded. 
 
 Suddenly, like a ruddy blossom that had burst 
 from the wintry hillside, the fox appeared on the 
 top of the rock and turned to look back at the 
 dog. The sight was drawn against the arched 
 side, the trigger was pulled, there was a kick of re 
 assuring force, a responsive roar and a wreathing, 
 slowly-lifting cloud of smoke that for one moment 
 of sickening doubt Pelatiah tried to peer through, 
 and then he was filled with unspeakable joy at 
 sight of the fox lying beside the rock, gasping 
 spasmodically, while his magnificent brush was 
 moved with tremulous undulations. And then he 
 knew how Billy Wiggins had felt. Not till he 
 had laid hold of his prize did he find voice to 
 halloo to Sam, but then he did it with such re 
 peated vociferations that there was danger of 
 alarming all the valley. 
 
THE FIEST FOX. 219 
 
 Sam soon appeared on the scene, imperturbable 
 but congratulatory. 
 
 " You done almighty well, Peltier, but where s 
 your t other fox ? I hearn a shot an the dawg 
 come tu me." 
 
 "Wai," said Pelatiah, hesitating a little, 
 " Widder Wigginses boy shot him an I hed n t 
 the heart tu take it away from him. An she s 
 sick an they re poorer n snakes. No tea nor no 
 nothin ." 
 
 "An ye done almighty well, Peltier," Sam 
 said, after attentive consideration of the case. 
 " Huldy an me 11 go over there to-morrer an 
 see tu em. An* naow le s skin that aire fox, 
 By the gret horn spoon, he s a buster ! " 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE DRAWING -BEE. 
 
 IF the medicine administered by Sam for Pela- 
 tiah s wounded heart did not cure that member, 
 it eased its pain and was taken with a relish. 
 Every propitious hunting morning found him 
 afoot betimes with Sam and their trusty comrade, 
 Drive, breasting the snow-drifted steeps, ranging 
 the wind-swept ridges, and guarding the likeliest 
 runways, while their hearts beat fast or slow to 
 the swelling and dying cadence of the hound s 
 melodious voice. 
 
 Then at nightfall, when the valley lay in blue 
 shadows, with stars of houselights beginning to 
 twinkle from its depths, and the last touch of 
 the departing sun painted the great mountain-top 
 with pulsing, nacreous tints against the rising 
 shadow of the world, while beneath crept up the 
 devouring monochrome of pearly gray, they fared 
 homeward, often proud with a burden of trophies, 
 always content with intangible ones or the com 
 fort of deferred hope. 
 
 Uncle Lisha watched the treatment doubtfully. 
 
 " Huntin may du it, but fishin is soothin er, 
 
THE DRAWING-BEE. 221 
 
 an I cal late more on t ; " and he waited with im 
 patience for the opening of the waters and the 
 coming of his own opportunity to become a med- 
 iciner. 
 
 It seemed as if whiter would never relinquish 
 its sway even when the allotted period of its reign 
 had expired. There were lapses, when the air 
 came soft from the south, and the crows took 
 heart of grace to return to the inhospitable land, 
 and a solitary song sparrow to sing in the garden 
 cherry-trees. Then the bitter winter wind came 
 howling down from the north, and beat back the 
 vernal tide, driving the crows in wind-tossed flight 
 to the woods, and freezing out the sparrow s song, 
 and making the sugar-makers idle but in anathe 
 matizing the untoward season. 
 
 At last there came a mild warmth into the at 
 mosphere and up out of the earth, thawing the 
 snow from beneath, till tawny hillocks and ridges 
 cropped out. Warm showers poured down from 
 clouds that parted to give glimpses of heavenly 
 blue and drop squadrons of sunshine to charge 
 across the fields, where changing sky and steadfast 
 mountain swam inverted in the pools. The brooks 
 were full to the brim of their snowy banks, and 
 the rush of their yellow currents filled the air with 
 a soft, changing murmur, like the song of the 
 wind in pine woods. There was a busy hum of 
 bees about the fresh sawdust and sappy logs of 
 
222 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 the woodpile, and the idle buzz of flies warmed to 
 life on the sunny side of buildings. Out of the 
 maple woods still drifted the pungent smoke of 
 the sugar camp and the fragrance of boiling sap. 
 
 Uncle Lisha opened the shop door to let in the 
 pleasant outer warmth and sounds. He heard the 
 sharp, imperative note of the first phebe-bird, and 
 saw her swooping among the swarms of flies, and 
 as he drove the pegs and trimmed the tap, he 
 counted the days till he could go a-fishing. 
 
 So the spring drew slowly but surely on. Fields 
 and highways became dry and pleasant to feet 
 that were weary of snowy and icy paths. The 
 snow that endured but in grimy drifts was not 
 like snow, so coarse-grained was it, and besmirched 
 with litter and the debris of ploughed fields. 
 
 The purple mist of swelling buds enfolded the 
 woods ; the yellow windrows of pussy-willows were 
 piled along the brooks, where arose the crackling 
 clatter of the first frogs, the shrill chime of the 
 hylas, and the incessant trill of the toads. 
 
 The robins came, querulously yelping at first, 
 then joyously celebrating their arrival; and the 
 bluebird and his song floated down from the sky 
 together. The voice of the brooks had fallen to 
 
 O 
 
 a soberer cadence, that seemed to sing of fishing, 
 and so, one morning, Uncle Lisha resolved to 
 learn the condition of the water. 
 
 A good excuse was offered by the drawing bee 
 
THE DRAWING-BEE. 223 
 
 at Daniel Meeker s, to reach which Stony Brook 
 must be crossed. He put away his tools and 
 work, sloughed off his apron, and wormed himself 
 into an old coat that happened to have a fish-line 
 in one of the pockets and a worm-bag in another. 
 
 " I m goin over tu the drawin , he pro 
 claimed through a cranny in the door to the occu 
 pants of the kitchen. 
 
 He hastened out to poke a broken spade 
 through a convenient hole to the back side of the 
 wood-shed, whither he then betook himself. With 
 some rapid and noiseless delving, he unearthed a 
 handful of worms, bestowed them in his pocket, 
 and, assuring himself that he had not been ob 
 served, set forth with the air of one to whom a 
 drawing bee was an affair of the greatest in> 
 portance in life. 
 
 As he went down the slope to Stony Brook his 
 pace became slower and more cautious. In the 
 first thicket he got out his jack-knife, studying 
 saplings till he selected a young hardback, which 
 with vigorous slashes, reinforced with grunts, he 
 cut down and trimmed and knotted his line upon, 
 and put a worm upon the hook. 
 
 Crushing unheeded a pink and purple colony 
 of squirrel-cups, he crept up under cover of a 
 stump and dropped his hook into a pool whose 
 current, flecked with floating and submerged bub 
 bles, writhed and doubled under the downpour of 
 a little waterfall. 
 
224 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 The twisting current had hardly caught the 
 worm, when the hardhack tip was drawn violently 
 down, then more violently up, and a handsome 
 trout was kicking and gasping on the dry leaves 
 and fresh blossoms. The pool was swarming with 
 trout, and so greedy that a score were contending at 
 once for a worm the angler dropped to them from 
 his coign of vantage, and the sudden flight of 
 their brethren skyward seemed to work no abate 
 ment of their zest and courage, so that in a short 
 time he was in possession of a dozen of them. 
 Then their ardor cooled a little, and, counting up 
 his catch, he said, with a sigh of contentment : 
 
 " Wai, I guess that 11 du fer a man at hain t 
 a-fishin , on y goin tu a drawin bee." 
 
 Then he strung the lusty fellows on a birch 
 twig, and held them before him, turning them 
 slowly, while their shifting hues and the light of 
 his happy countenance vied with each other. 
 
 " Sech impl yment orter cure any love-sick 
 foolishness, an I du b lieve it ould du the busi 
 ness fer Peltier." 
 
 He tethered his trout in a secret nook of the 
 brook, took the line off the pole and put it in his 
 pocket and resumed his way toward the bee, still 
 carrying the hardhack sapling. 
 
 " It 11 make a good ox-gad fer some on em," 
 he said, giving it a whistling flourish over the 
 backs of an imaginary pair of oxen. 
 
THE DRAWING-BEE. 225 
 
 Out of a near thicket throbbed the muffled beat 
 of a partridge s mating call, from an elm the 
 blithe cackle of a high-hole, and from a meadow 
 the prolonged whistle of a lark, spring sounds 
 that gladdened the old man s heart to unison with 
 the quickened pulse of nature. 
 
 At last he came to the assembly, where were 
 gathered a throng of oxen and their drivers. 
 These, in shirt-sleeves or frocks of blue homespun, 
 with long whips under their arms, were gathered 
 in knots to gossip of town or neighborhood affairs. 
 Lisha was greeted by many acquaintances, and 
 chaffed by some for coming with a whip and no 
 oxen. 
 
 " Aout-traveled yer oxen, did n t ye, Uncle 
 Lisher?" John Dart asked. 
 
 " No, I come tu du the hollerin an whipping 
 an , in a gin ral way, tu make the bee respectable. 
 An there comes. Joel Bartlett s father-in-law, Un 
 cle Nathan Matterson, tu help me." 
 
 This new-comer was a gaunt old man, clad in 
 the plainest of Quaker attire. He always em 
 ployed the same form of speech with dumb brutes 
 as with mankind. 
 
 " Why don t thee gee off, Buck," he was say 
 ing to his off ox, in mild expostulation, and then 
 to his near one, " Bright, thee knows thee orter 
 gee, an naow why don t thee? " 
 
 Pelatiah came, driving his father s oxen, but, 
 
226 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 before Uncle Lisha could have speech with him, 
 the order was given by the carpenter who superin 
 tended the work to hitch on to the barn which 
 was to be moved. With an immense outlay of 
 shouting, the thirty yokes of oxen were got into 
 two lines and each line attached to the huge 
 wooden runners that had been placed under the 
 sills of the barn. This stood, forlorn now, with 
 the desolation of internal nakedness, and quite de 
 serted except for some adventurous urchins who 
 hoped to steal a perilous ride, till discovered by 
 the ubiquitous carpenter and unceremoniously 
 driven forth. The spectators, among whom were 
 Gran ther Hill and Uncle Lisha, sat on a pile of 
 timber, commending and disapproving. 
 
 "The hain t teams nough tu haul that aire 
 barn, easy," said one. 
 
 " Ef the oxen was wuth a sous markee, they d 
 run away with t," growled Gran ther Hill, " but 
 the tarnal critters hain t goo fer nothin , all pom- 
 pered on hay an grass. When they use ter live 
 on braowse, they hed siners an bones intu em. 
 Yis, sir, bones, an you c ld see em stickin aout. 
 You c ld spit through em, but they c ld pull 
 like a livin airthquake. You d orter seen us a 
 buildin the bridge tu Ti. Timbers s long you d 
 haf ter stop an rest goin the len th on em. Three 
 yoke o them oxen Id snarl em right along. 
 An when you come tu eat em, you hain t no idea 
 
THE DRAWING-BEE. 227 
 
 what chawin they d stan . There was suthin 
 tu em, I tell ye." 
 
 The carpenter made a brief inspection of the 
 lines and shouted, " Be ye all ready ? " 
 
 There was a handling of whips and a spasm of 
 preparation for the work in hand. 
 
 " Wai, then, all together. Go- long." 
 
 Then out burst a mighty, discordant shout and 
 slashing whistle of whips and the oxen settled into 
 their yokes with a stubborn, steadfast pull, and 
 the gray barn groaned farewell to its ancient abid 
 ing place and began to move away. It was 
 fairly started on its journey, when old Nathan 
 Mattison raised an imperative cry of, " Whoa, 
 whoa, whoa ! " and every one thinking there must 
 be serious trouble, there was a universal long 
 drawn " Whoa," that brought all the tugging 
 oxen and their unwieldy burden to a stand; 
 each driver craned his neck past his fellows or 
 over the backs of his oxen, to learn the cause of 
 the halt. 
 
 They saw the simple old man, rushing to and 
 fro among the teams, slashing the ground with 
 his whip and shouting, " A maouse, a maouse." 
 To the storm of indignation that arose about him, 
 he calmly replied, " A maouse s a turrible mis- 
 cheevyous leetle animil ! " 
 
 The procession was started again, and, uninter 
 rupted by more mouse-hunting episodes, the barn 
 
228 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 made steady progress to its new foundations, 
 leaving its old place marked by dislodged corner 
 stones, a square of grassless ground, fringed with 
 dead weeds whose generations had flourished and 
 withered there for scores of years ; only these to 
 tell the returning swallows and phebes where had 
 been their accustomed shelter of eaves and rafters. 
 
 The oxen were unyoked from the lines and 
 given rations of hay which they munched greedily 
 with a clanking of yokes and clashing of horns, 
 while they crowded and pushed for the furthest 
 and choicest mouthfuls. 
 
 Then Daniel Meeker and his wife and two 
 daughters brought out great pans of yellow gin 
 gerbread and twisted doughnuts and cheese and 
 a great pail of cider with a tin dipper swimming 
 in it and clanking invitations against the sides. 
 Every one bore double handfuls of the bountiful 
 refreshments to comfortable seats and regaled 
 themselves while they discoursed out of the full 
 ness of their mouths. A little of such speech 
 Uncle Lisha got with Pelatiah as they sat on the 
 unfinished end of the woodpile, still redolent of 
 untamed woodsy odors. 
 
 "Ef you got anythin tu du tu-morrer, stent 
 yourself an du it this arternoon," he whispered 
 out of a shower of gingerbread crumbs, " fer 
 I want ye tu go a-fishin wi me in the mornin . 
 Stuny Brook s thick s puddin wi traouts a-gap- 
 in fer us. Will ye go ? " 
 
THE DRAWING-BEE. 229 
 
 Pelatiah elongated his neck thrice to assist the 
 downward passage of a mouthful of doughnut be 
 fore he could answer, " Yes," and then they 
 planned their outing. 
 
 Then Daniel Meeker made proclamation : " Ef 
 any one hes bruck his chains, he c n leave em at 
 Dan l Ackley s blacksmith s shop an I 11 foot the 
 bill." 
 
 The company then began to disperse amid a 
 clanking of yoke rings and the bawling of 
 teamsters. 
 
 Uncle Lisha plodded his way homeward across 
 the pleasant fields, and, happily unforestalled by 
 any thieving mink, bore home his string of trout 
 and exhibited them with modest exidtation. 
 
 "Fer all this livin worl , " cried Aunt Jeru- 
 sha, contemplating him with a quiet smile ; " so 
 you sneaked off a-fishin , stiddy a-goin tu the 
 drawin ." 
 
 " I done both, but tu-morrer, I m jest a-goin 
 a-fishin , me an Pelatier." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 GOING FISHING. 
 
 AT an early hour the two anglers were behind 
 the woodshed, Pelatiah turning the moist soil, 
 dotted with green tufts of young motherwort and 
 catnip, while Uncle Lisha stooped before him, 
 turning the clods with his fingers and picking up 
 the lusty worms as they were disclosed. 
 
 " The s sati faction in fisliin from the fust 
 start," he said as he dropped a worm into the bat 
 tered teapot between his feet. " More n there is 
 in huntin . You don t see nothin afore you when 
 you re puttin paowder int your horn an shot 
 int your bag. But when you grab holt of a 
 worm s head an feel him a-lettin go of the airth, 
 slow an relucting you c n eenamost feel a traout 
 snatchin at him. An there bein worms goes to 
 show the must be fish, bein that they was made 
 for one nother. There, Peltier, I b lieve we ve 
 got nough," and he arose, straightening his spine 
 with the backs of both grimy hands which he then 
 brushed on his trousers, and the two set forth. 
 
 A dappled sky, filtering soft streams of sun 
 shine, and a constant waft of south wind, invited 
 
GOING FISHING. 231 
 
 them; the long whistle of meadow-larks called 
 them, and a high-hole on a dry stub drummed a 
 rapid, ringing roll to accelerate their steps. 
 
 Presently they came to a thicket that bordered 
 the brook, where gray stumps of departed trees 
 stood half disclosed among the misty ramage of sap 
 lings and the dark pyramids of young evergreens, 
 and where yellow beds of adder-tongue mimicked 
 sunlight, while spears of bloodroot pierced their 
 own green shields and the first moose flowers 
 splashed the shadows with their white blossoms. 
 
 As they entered it a partridge uttered a note of 
 alarm and went hurtling away out of a flurry of 
 dead leaves, and a woodchuck smothered his own 
 querulous whistle as he retreated into his newly 
 opened hole. 
 
 Uncle Lisha, feeling in his pocket for his knife, 
 slowly searched for a proper rod. 
 
 " An the s consid able enj yment gittin a 
 pole," he continued, as if his discourse had suf 
 fered no interruption. " You don t wanter be tew 
 fast, er you ll be lierble tu run away f m good 
 un3 an git desput an take up wi a mean un, jest 
 as lots o folks du in this world, 4 goin through 
 thj woods an takin up wi a crooked stick, at 
 last. Then ag in, you don t want tu be tew slow 
 an pertic lar er you won t never git tu fishin . 
 An arter all, there will be disapp intments, Pel 
 tier," he went on, bending down a sapling and slash 
 
232 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ing it from the stump. " You pick you aout one 
 at looks all right, but when you come to trim it, 
 it s crookeder an a snarled waxed eend, erless it 
 s top-heavy, er suthin , an thaf s the way o the 
 world ag in. But you don t want tu give up fer 
 that, an say the hain t no decent gals, fish- 
 poles, I mean, an say you 11 be dumbed if you 
 try tu go a-fishin , fer the s jest as good fish- 
 poles stan in as ever was cut, an the s lots o 
 fun waitin fer you tu git your sheer." 
 
 " When you ve got a holt o the best-lookin* 
 one the is an it turns out tu be brittler n dry 
 popple, what s the use o tryin to pick aout an 
 other ? " Pelatiah asked as he carelessly trimmed 
 a young birch. 
 
 " It wa n t nothin but dry popple an you mis 
 judged," Uncle Lisha answered as he neatly 
 trimmed the branches and knots from his pole, 
 "an you wanter try ag in, not seddaown an* 
 mump." 
 
 He put the finishing touches to his work, 
 snapped his knife shut against his hip and began 
 to tie on his line. 
 
 " I don cal late the s as much fun gittin ready 
 fer huntin as the is fishin . You buy your gun 
 er borry it an you do know what it s goin t du, 
 mebby kick you like all possess an kill nothin . 
 If it s one -you ve hed, you know all abaout it, an* 
 hain t no expectations one way ner t other. An 1 
 
GOING FISHING. 233 
 
 you don make it er fin it, o ny feed it so much 
 paowder an tow an shot. I don cal late these 
 fellers at has em a j inted pole, wi a leetle brass 
 windlass on t, gits half the enj yment we du. 
 They must feel allers af eer d o breakin on em, er 
 suthin , an they must feel almighty mean to be 
 a-foolin fish wi them feather contraptions. Fishes 
 feelin s orter be considered some. We give em the 
 chance o gittin suthin good. They offer em no- 
 thin more n dry hus s. But le s git tu fishin ." 
 
 The trout were as plenty and as hungry as they 
 had been the day before, and gave these simple 
 anglers all the sport they desired, wherein, if no 
 fine art of the craft was exercised, much good 
 judgment and knowledge of the habits of the shy 
 trout were displayed. 
 
 Making their slow way down the stream, they 
 crept stealthily up to every promising place, tak 
 ing here, a wary old trout from his log-roofed 
 stronghold or root-netted hiding place, and there, 
 three or four from beneath a circling raft of foam 
 bells that slowly wheeled and undulated at the 
 foot of a tiny waterfall, reinforced with new bub 
 bles as others burst, and keeping ever the same. 
 
 They came to an alder-arched bit of water that 
 looked promising, but there was no chance to make 
 a cast. Uncle Lisha hunted the bank for a chip, 
 which being found, he coiled his line upon it and 
 set it afloat. It went tossing and whirling down 
 
234 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 stream among the shadows and the sparkle of ra 
 pids, uncoiling the line as it went, till it was all out 
 and the baited hook was drawn overboard, and 
 with a wavering plunge went out of sight. 
 
 There was a sharp tug, responded to by a too 
 vigorous strike, and a fine trout came flying out 
 of the water with a long, upward curve that hung 
 him on. an alder bush six feet above the brook. 
 
 Uncle Lisha waded down stream to secure him, 
 beginning to discourse again as he splashed cau 
 tiously along the slippery bottom. 
 
 " As I was sayin , I cal late fishin is better n 
 huntin most any way you take it. You re more 
 sartain o gittin suthin as a gin l thing, an ef 
 you don t you don t feel no wuss ner nigh so tired. 
 An what you git, you git, an what you waound, 
 goes off an gits well, stiddy a-lingerin an suff - 
 rin an dyin mis able. Then ag in " - he was 
 reaching up for the dangling fish, rising on his 
 toes, " it s soothin er ; " both feet slipped, and 
 with a great splash he sat down, half damming the 
 current that swirled and gurgled about his hips. 
 
 " Yes," he reiterated stoutly, as Pelatiah helped 
 him to arise and regain the bank, " it s soothin er, 
 but I won t say I like it quite so dumbed soothin . 
 But I don t keer a darn, I ve got the fish." 
 
 His clothes were wrung out and they fared for 
 ward, the old man still enjoying the sport while 
 his trousers slowly dried in the genial air. 
 
GOING FISHING. 235 
 
 The brook babbled its endless story to them. 
 From distant meadows came the songs of mead 
 ow-larks, the cackle of flickers, and the long wail 
 of a plover. On the soft breath of the south 
 wind were wafted past them in wavering flight 
 the first butterflies, purposeless of aught but mere 
 enjoyment. 
 
 " It s soothin er," he repeated, " on accaount 
 o huntin bein excitiner. You git more time tu 
 set an think abaout nothin an look araound an* 
 listen an git tu feelin peaceable, when the luck 
 hain t tew almighty bad. But that don t make a 
 feller so grumpy an rantankerous as onlucky 
 huntin . When I ben a-humpiii over ol boots 
 and shoes till I do know myself by smell or 
 feelin f m a side o so luther, the hain t nothin 
 at fetches me tu myself ag in like goin a-fishin . 
 I d livser git a mess an tu not, feelin better 
 carryin hum a respectible string an hevin more 
 pluck tu go ag in female opposition nex time the 
 fit takes me, but ef I don t git enough tu raise a 
 smell in the pan, I ve hed me my fishin . I ve 
 seen the brook an heard it a-talkin tu itself an 
 mebby to me, I do know, an like nough seen 
 some odd capers o birds er animils an got the 
 kinks aouten my j ints, an so don t caount I ve 
 lost the day. S-s-h-h. See that pleggid mink." 
 
 He pointed out the lithe, alert, dusky form 
 poised on the verge of a brookside boulder, in- 
 
236 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 tently scanning the eddying . current beneath, and 
 the two watched him make a noiseless, arrowy 
 plunge, and emerge with his writhing prey and 
 bear it into the net-barred fastnesses of the bank. 
 
 " An he s a-hevin his leetle fishin tu, which I 
 don t begretch it tu him, seein he does it so slick 
 an handy. An naow, Peltier, I guess we might 
 as well call it we ve got nough. We might git 
 more, but we do wanter be hawgs. You ve got 
 a string o fish at ought tu make a man happy 
 an contented an fergit lots o trouble, an I 
 hope it does, better n all Hamner s pizen, which 
 it s hopesin you ve forsook. Naow, whenever 
 you git daown-hearted, go a-fishin . You d a 
 leetle druther hev it a good day, but go anyway 
 if you can t make the weather an you re feelin s 
 tarve." 
 
 So they took their way homeward in the gather 
 ing twilight, with the vibrant purr of the toads 
 ringing all about them, and now and then a 
 startled bird scurrying out of the dead grass 
 before them. 
 
 " See the pooty pooties, bubby," said Uncle 
 Lisha, dangling his string of fish before the de 
 lighted eyes and reaching hands of Sam s baby. 
 " No, could n t hev em naow, bubby, but when 
 he gits big an wears trouses he shell go long wi 
 Uncle Lisher an ketch snags on em, an mam 
 my 11 cook em an tell us tu go ag in." 
 
CHAPTER XVL 
 
 A RAISING-BEE. 
 
 BECAUSE of the greater interdependence of the 
 people, " bees " had been much more common in 
 the days of Uncle Lisha s youth than in these of 
 his old age, but he had not lost his fondness for 
 attending them. So one May morning, when Sam 
 and his father came into the shop and told him of 
 a " raisin " at Jonathan Young s, he needed no ur 
 ging to drop his tools and toss aside a boot from 
 which he had but half ripped the worn sole, slough 
 his apron, don his coat and hat, and declare his 
 readiness to accompany them. 
 
 " I can t du no gret, on y help du the settin 
 raound, an mebby hoi the foot of a pos er du the 
 spry runnin raoun ," he said as he plied his short 
 legs to keep up with his long-limbed comrades, 
 carrying his hat in his hand to fan his face at every 
 swing of his arm. 
 
 There were tufts of blue violets in the mixed 
 dun and green of the meadows, and, like stars in 
 the evening sky, the first dandelions shone far 
 apart in the greening pastures which the newly 
 turned out sheep were overrunning, too eager for 
 the fresh grass to heed the passing strangers. 
 
238 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 A new-come bobolink sang before and above 
 them, now atilt on a fence stake, now aflight on 
 vibrant wings. Robins were flying to and fro, 
 busy nest building, and a plover s wailing call 
 drifted down on the breeze from a distant field. 
 The haze on the woods was thickening with 
 gray-green mist of opening buds, with here and 
 there the yellow tower of a leafing poplar shining 
 out of it. 
 
 Whatever subtle impression the changing season 
 may have made on them, they made no sign but to 
 say, " It s an airly spring and a fine growin 
 time ; " and after a while came to where their 
 neighbors were gathering about the recumbent 
 bents of Jonathan s prospective barn, and the 
 chips of hewing and chiseling that exhaled the 
 fine fragrance of fresh-cut wood. The carpenter, 
 as redolent of the same odor as if he were born of 
 a tree, was bustling about with a square and 
 scratch-awl, while the people lounged about, watch 
 ing his movements with curiosity or gossiping of 
 neighborhood or town affairs. Jonathan Young, 
 nervously expectant, went from group to group, 
 discoursing of the barn that was to be. 
 
 " Goiri to hev bay on the west side o the barn 
 floor an a scaffil on the east, wi a stable minder 
 it, high nough tween j ints so s t a man o my 
 hayth won t knock his head off in t ; " and Jona 
 than was five feet four inches, in his stockings. 
 
A RAISING-BEE. 239 
 
 "Hain t ye fraid o bein dizzy-headed when 
 you git way up on that scaffil ? " John Dart in 
 quired anxiously. 
 
 " Hes the pathmaster warned ye aout tu work 
 on the rhud in your deestrick ? " one inquired of a 
 distant neighbor. 
 
 " No, ner won t tech tu till arter plantin ." 
 
 " Wai, aourn hes, the tarnal critter, an the 
 rhuds hain t no more settled n my rhud tax is," 
 the first speaker remarked, and then directed his 
 remarks against the fathers of the town. " Ef the 
 s lec men don t spunk up an du suthin abaout the 
 bridge tu the village, the taown 11 hev a lawsuit 
 on its han s fust it knows. One o the bupments 
 is all cove in, an the stringers is so rotten, you 
 c d spit through em. T ain t safe fer a dawg tu 
 cross. Darn sech s lec men slackmen, that s 
 what I call em." 
 
 Uncle Lisha found a seat, with others exempted 
 by age from an active part in the labors of the 
 bee, on a pile of rafters where they might sit to 
 comment and criticise undisturbed till toward the 
 end of the raising. 
 
 Their attention was divided between the active 
 movements of the carpenter, a group of the athletes 
 of the company endeavoring to get up a wrestling 
 match, and a party of boys playing an old-fashioned 
 game of ball. 
 
 "You d better save yer stren th fer liftin ," 
 
240 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 was Gran ther Hill s hoarsely whispered advice to 
 the wrestlers. " Ye 11 need all ye got, fer the 
 hain t none tew many men. Them boys a-strad- 
 dlin an a-yawpin raound hain t no caount. It s 
 a heavy frame considerin the way trees hes 
 dwindled sen I was on airth. It s lucky they 
 hev, fer ye could n t raise an ol -f ashioned buildin 
 wi the men they ve got nowerdays. Ye d better 
 keep yer wrastlin till arter raisin ." 
 
 Solon Briggs slid himself onto the rafter close 
 beside Uncle Lisha, and began speaking in a 
 voice that could not be overheard. " That nar- 
 rowtyve you was relatin of was turrible inter- 
 estin , Uncle Lisher. Du you s pose you could 
 designate the spot where the ol gentleman dim , 
 er thought he clim the tree ? " 
 
 The old shoemaker loolced a moment at Solon, 
 and then sent a roving glance along the towering 
 mountain wall, its lower steeps rising like a mist 
 of tender green to the bristling firs that climbed 
 in dark array up the rugged steeps, to the bald, 
 gray peak. 
 
 " Good airth and seas, Solon," he said at last, 
 turning his face again to his interlocutor. " Ef 
 ye knowed within a mild, ye might as well hunt 
 fer a needle in a hay maow. It must ha ben east 
 o aour ol place. Ye know where that is ? " 
 
 " An proberbly," said Solon, " he was persecutin 
 his s arch in the same direction er p int o com- 
 
A RAISING-BEE. 241 
 
 " Wai, I s pose so, more towards the top. Why, 
 you hain t a-goin huntin arter the money be ye, 
 Solon?" 
 
 " Good land o massy, no," cried Solon ner 
 vously. 
 
 * Cause ef ye be, I ve hearn him say at he 
 barried it by a big yaller birch, an that s consid- 
 able of a guide, bein there hain t more n fifty 
 yaller birches tu the acre up that way." 
 
 " Naow then, men," the carpenter shouted in an 
 authoritative voice, " come right this way," and 
 there was a general movement toward the place 
 indicated. 
 
 " Take a holt o this ere bent." 
 
 The men swarmed upon the sills and sleepers 
 and laid hold of the section of frame. 
 
 " Be ye ready ? Then up with it. All together. 
 Hang tu the foot o them pos s, you men wi the 
 crowbars. Up she goes." 
 
 The parallelogram of heavy timbers rose at first 
 almost with a jerk, then more slowly, as it was 
 reared beyond the reach of some. 
 
 " Put in your pike-poles there," cried the car 
 penter, and these being set and manned, it started 
 upward again more rapidly, then more slowly as it 
 reached the perpendicular. The carpenter was 
 off one side squinting at it. 
 
 " Up with her, more ! Don t be afeared. Put 
 in some pike-poles f other side. Up a leetle more. 
 
242 DsiNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 A lee-tie more. There, whoa up. All right. 
 She s up an daown as a clever cat s tail. Naow, 
 stay lath it." 
 
 The bent was temporarily fastened in place 
 with boards nailed diagonally upon it and the sills, 
 and so in turn the others were raised and the 
 girts entered and pinned. Then the long plates 
 were uplifted by strong hands and pike-poles and 
 shoved along the beams, to which the surest-footed 
 of the company mounted and raised them to their 
 place on top of the posts and fastened them. 
 
 All the while a running fire of jokes was kept 
 up, not a few of which were directed against the 
 carpenter, whose orders nevertheless were impli 
 citly obeyed. 
 
 Now the corps of exempts and invalids were 
 dislodged from their comfortable post on the pile 
 of rafters. These were sent aloft, joined in pairs, 
 and raised. Then Jonathan Young, standing 
 apart, drawn to lus fullest height and with arms 
 akimbo, and puffing out his cheeks with a long 
 exhalation of satisfaction, looked with pride upon 
 the gaunt, yellow skeleton of his barn, and pro- 
 spectively clothed it with boards and shingles, and 
 filled it to repletion with hay and grain, and heard 
 the swallows twittering under the eaves, or saw 
 them darting with unerring flight in and out of 
 the gable swallow-holes, which reminded him to 
 call the carpenter. 
 
A BAISING-BEK 243 
 
 " Don t forgit to make some swaller-holes fer 
 luck, Simeon, an cut em in the shape of a heart," 
 and he glanced back to the house door, where his 
 wife stood with her daughters, gazing at the gaunt 
 structure that already dominated the premises, 
 quite overbearing the humble log house. They 
 wished it was the frame of a new house. 
 
 Jonathan s half -grown son came along the path 
 newly worn from the house, but henceforth to be 
 an established way, bearing a great tin pail of 
 cider, bending away from his burden, with free 
 arm outstretched, with head bent low, staggering 
 and bracing against the weight, which he stopped 
 often to shift from hand to hand. A tin cup, 
 voyaging to and fro on the foamy surface, touched 
 the shores with hospitable clinks, till it was 
 swamped and went down to the shining bottom. 
 The pail came first to John Dart, who eyed the 
 sunken cup for a moment, and declaring, " There s 
 more n one way to skin a cat," lifted the pail 
 to his lips. Then some one rescued the cup 
 with a hooked stick, and drafts were more easily 
 obtainable if less copious. The company, com 
 fortably and conveniently seated on the sills of 
 the barn, were now served with cakes, pie, and 
 cheese. 
 
 "When I was on airth fust," said Gran ther 
 Hill, dipping up a second cupful, " the wa n t no 
 cider to speak on. It was rum tu bees; New 
 
244 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 England rum er Jamaiky sperits fer high duck 
 duin s. Cider 11 du, but it hain t so sartin as 
 rum an it s bulkier. I don t cal late a man c ld 
 du much fightin wi tew three quarts o cider 
 a-swashin raound inside on him. Rum was what 
 we useter du it on. When John Stark was 
 a-raisin men fer Ben n t n he was in more of a 
 pucker fer rum an he was fer paowder an lead. 
 But he got both an the Hessians tew, er leastways, 
 we did," and he comforted himself with another 
 draught, pronouncing it "good for the time o 
 year." 
 
 Eunice Young felt flattered by the returning 
 empty pans and plates. She was sure the supply 
 had been bountiful, now she knew its quality was 
 approved. 
 
 The boys rushed back to their unfinished game 
 of "two old cat." The wrestlers, refreshed in 
 strength and spirits, tussled in " back holt," " side 
 holt," and " arm s length," in the center of an in 
 terested ring of spectators. The sedate elders 
 kept their seats, smoking and boasting of their 
 youthful deeds. 
 
 As the afternoon waned and the barn s new 
 shadow crawled on its first journey toward the 
 house, thoughts of the evening chores fell upon the 
 conviviality of the company, and they began to de 
 part, till there were none left on the late busy 
 scene ; only Jonathan, still viewing with pride his 
 
A RAISING-BEE. 245 
 
 new possession, and the carpenter picking up his 
 scattered tools and planning work for the morrow. 
 
 As Solon and Antoine plodded across the fields 
 in company, the first said: " Wai, Antwine, 
 I ve got the p ints o compasses from Uncle 
 Lisher nigh nough so s we can make em corrobo 
 rate wi the place where that aire money s hid. 
 You re useter the woods an what I be an I want 
 you tu du the ingineerin an I 11 work the divinin 
 rod. I ve got me a superguberous one at I cut 
 from the north side of a witch hazel bush." 
 
 " Bah gosh," cried Antoine, " Ah 11 can Injin 
 near an Injin far. Ah 11 was be prefick Injin in 
 de hwood, me. We 11 go to-morrah mawnin , ant 
 it?" 
 
 " Wai, yes, I guess we d better, an we 11 git 
 an airly start an meet up back o the ol Peggs 
 place. You fetch a spade an I 11 bring a crow 
 bar an a bite o suthin tu eat." 
 
 " All raght, M sieu Brigg." 
 
 " Bone swear, Antwine ; " and each went his 
 separate way home. 
 
CHAPTER XVH. 
 
 TREASURE SEEKERS. 
 
 THE morning after the raising, Solon and An- 
 toine appeared almost at the same time near the 
 site of the old Peggs homestead where Uncle 
 Lisha s father lived and died and where he him 
 self was born and passed his boyhood a place 
 desolate with complete desertion, telling yet its 
 mutely pathetic story of the years when it was 
 stirred with busy life. It was told by the ruined 
 chimney and broken hearthstone, the crumbling 
 wall of the cellar, now a shallow, shapeless pit ; 
 the sprawling lilacs and blossoming fox lilies, 
 long since run wild away from the sunken door 
 step ; told by the leaning crotched post that once 
 upheld the creaking sweep of the well, to which 
 no path led now; by the untrimmed, sprouty- 
 rooted cherry-trees, straggling along the fallen wall 
 that was matted by gall-bulbed stalks of golden- 
 rod, lopped upon it by the winter snows, and by 
 the rank tansy bed, the dry, brown heads over 
 shadowing the young leaves that no more furnished 
 medicine for the sick or garniture for the dead. 
 
 The treasure seekers turned their backs on the 
 
TREASURE SEEKERS. 247 
 
 scene without giving it a sentimental thought, and 
 pressing through the second growth that selvaged 
 the forest, began to climb the lower slopes of the 
 mountain. The moss -patched and lichen -clad 
 trunks of the ancient forest now rose all about 
 them, great maples, beeches, and poplars, with 
 here and there a fir that had straggled down from 
 its brethren of the heights, and huge, yellow 
 birches shagged with rustling manes, from writhed 
 roots to lofty branches. 
 
 Whenever Solon drew near to one of these he 
 walked slowly, holding his forked divining rod 
 with the point upward, a prong in either hand, 
 with his palms turned inward, while Antoine car 
 ried the grosser tools, the spade and bar. 
 
 It was laborious traveling over the ankle-deep 
 moss and the loose rocks, and climbing the prostrate 
 trunks in all stages of decay, and scaling ledges 
 that barred their way. 
 
 At length they reached a little plateau where 
 flourished a colony of yellow birches about the 
 hoary patriarch of their tribe. 
 
 Solon studied the place with increasing satisfac 
 tion. " This looks as if it might be the very spot, 
 an I m goin tu try it thorer. You ve kep the 
 line, hain t you, Antwine ? " 
 
 " Jes as straight as a bee was, Ah bet you 
 head." 
 
 Antoine sat down upon a log, dropped his tools 
 
248 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 beside him and filled his pipe, while his compan 
 ion, holding his divining rod before him and curi 
 ously watched by the Canadian, inarched with slow 
 and stately steps around the great birch. 
 
 " I know it 11 work on silver," he said, " fer I 
 hove a quarter int the grass in the do yard, an* 
 when I come over it, it most wrung the bark off." 
 
 Perfect silence pervaded the forest about them ; 
 not even the querulous cry of the ubiquitous jay 
 or the jeer of an impudent squirrel was heard in 
 their neighborhood, and afar off above them on 
 the mountain only the ceaseless surging moan of 
 the wind-swept evergreens. It seemed, indeed, as 
 if the invisible spirits of the under world might be 
 guarding here the treasure so long since commit 
 ted to their care by the old Ranger. 
 
 Solon had gone twice around the great tree, 
 each time widening the circle, when, uttering a 
 joyful exclamation, he suddenly stood still and 
 stared like one entranced on the earth before him, 
 to which the tip of his hazel twig was pointing. 
 
 " Come here, Antwine," he cried ; " drive yer 
 crowbar right in there. My goodness me ! I 
 c ld n t hoi it ! It jest flopped ri daown in spite 
 on me ! I du b lieve we Ve faoun the identicle 
 place!" 
 
 Antoine drove his bar into the ground and left 
 it standing by itself, while he stood back rubbing 
 his hands and crying out joyfully : 
 
TREASURE SEEKERS. 249 
 
 " We 11 mos gat it. Ah, Solem ! Fus Ah 11 
 bought it hoss an woggin an t ree dog, an watch, 
 an git caplock on mah gaun, an bought it hoi 
 hwoman caleckko red dress an kish lip, 1 Ah do* 
 know f he be yaller or red. An pork t ree time 
 a day an more onion All 11 min to, an mud tur 
 key, an Ah 11 goin Canada vis tin an Montreal. 
 An Ah 11 goin built it white haouse wid green 
 blindin , an bought it two honderd nacre Ian an 
 set in de settin room an see de mens work, an 
 smoke all de tarn w en Ah 11 ant heat." 
 
 " I hain t ezackly settled in my mind haow I 
 shall investigate my funds," Solon declared when 
 he had an opportunity to speak, " but le s duff 
 in a-diggin an see what we got. But you wanter 
 remember one thing, Ant wine," he said very im 
 pressively, "if ever we du strike the money you 
 must n t speak a audible, laoud word afore we git 
 a holt on t er it 11 slide intu the baowels o the 
 airth." 
 
 " Oh, no, no-no-no. Ah 11 won t spoke no 
 more as snaikes," wherewith they fell to digging 
 with great enthusiasm. 
 
 The ground was composed of loose rock more 
 than soil, and the digging was slow and laborious, 
 but the crowbar and spade clinked merrily, awak 
 ing echoes that had never before found voice in 
 that green solitude, and at last attracted a party 
 
 1 Kid slippers. 
 
250 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 of jays that for a while kept up a discordant and 
 annoying outcry above the delvers and then flew 
 screaming away, as if to proclaim to all the forest 
 that strange work was going on within it. 
 
 They had sunk a little pit somewhat deeper 
 than their knees, when Antoine, driving his bar 
 deep into a crevice, struck something which gave 
 forth a sharp, metallic sound. 
 
 Solon shook his open hand at Antoine to beat 
 back the exclamation that the suddenly parted lips 
 foretold, but too late. 
 
 " Oh, mon Dieu, we 11 gat it ! " he cried, and 
 the words were followed by a smothered clink 
 and nimble. 
 
 " There," Solon groaned, sinking back on the 
 edge of the pit and casting his spade from him as 
 a thing of no further use. " Naow you Ve done 
 it! It s moved, an jest on accaount o your 
 darned, useless, onsensible Canuck gabble. Darn 
 ye tu altermuttable darnation ! " 
 
 Antoine looked dismayed, then defiant. 
 
 " Bah gosh, all feesh hooks ! You s pose mans 
 goin shut off hees head so long he 11 fregit de 
 nowse of hees vowse ? Bah gosh, no, Ah guess 
 not me, not for feefty, fave honded, fave tousan 
 doUar ! " 
 
 " No, you d rather gab, gab, gab, an tu hev 
 the hull world, you infarnal, etarnal, intarnal, ex- 
 tarn al fool ! Solon groaned and howled in de- 
 
TREASURE SEEKERS. 251 
 
 spair and wrath. " An we most the same as hed 
 it. Oh, by thunder ! I m as good a minter lick 
 ye as ever I had t eat ! " 
 
 He made a half -threatening movement, and An. 
 toine scrambled out of the hole and got behind a 
 tree, where he looked forth with craned neck, as 
 if expecting the explosion of a blast. 
 
 " F Ah 11 gat mad, Solem ! you 11 ant leek me 
 pretty heasy, an Ah 11 gat mad pooty quick f 
 Ah 11 tried. Den you 11 wan ta careful, fer Ah 
 11 was danger mans, me. Br-o-o-o-o-o ! " 
 
 He uttered a terrible growl and pranced a little 
 way from his cover, but was disappointed that 
 this demonstration made no impression on Solon. 
 
 " Ah tol you, Solem," he said in a more peace 
 ful tone, " f you can fetch back dat moneys fer 
 givin me leekin , Ah 11 willin . But dat ain t gat 
 no difference. You leek me, it gone jes the sem. 
 De bes way was fer come aout an heat aour 
 deeny ? Come." 
 
 " I guess that s a sensible idee," Solon con 
 ceded, climbing out of the hole and picking up his 
 coat, from the pocket of which he drew forth a 
 packet of luncheon and tossed Antoine s coat to 
 him. Then they sat down upon a mossy log and 
 began an amicable repast, Solon supplementing 
 his companion s coarse and meagre fare with por 
 tions of his own bountiful supply. 
 
 " Ah an t see mah hoss an dawg an watch an 
 
252 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 white haouse an Canada half so plain Ah was 
 while ago," said Antoine ruefully. 
 
 " I tell ye what, An twine," Solon said between 
 mouthfuls, waving his jack-knife towards the 
 scene of their labors, " when we git aour victuals 
 eat, I m goin tu try the rod ag in. It looks 
 philosophicable tu me at ef you can find it once 
 you can ag in, an ef we du, you keep your hed 
 shet." 
 
 "Ah 11 will, seh, Solem. What Ah U goin 
 spoke, Ah 11 mek notion. Sh-s-s-h," suddenly 
 sinking his voice to a whisper and pointing to a 
 little black animal moving awkwardly and aim 
 lessly about the border of a yew thicket near 
 them, " See dat black woodchuck. See me struck 
 it wid a stone." 
 
 Stooping cautiously, he picked up a fragment 
 of a rock and threw it with such true aim that it 
 struck the animal full in the side, evoking a 
 sharp, snarling cry of pain and anger. Almost at 
 the same moment there was a crashing rush in the 
 tangle of brush above, as Antoine breathlessly 
 asked : " What mek dat nowse ? " and a great 
 she-bear came lunging out of the thicket with a 
 fierce and startling " woof, woof." 
 
 As if simultaneously impelled by the impetus 
 of her charge, both men sprang to their feet and 
 went tearing down the ragged mountain-side at a 
 breakneck pace, wondering at their own sureness 
 
TREASURE SEEKERS. 253 
 
 of foot, and silently praying it might be further 
 vouchsafed them, as they plunged from rock to 
 rock, snatching at trees and saplings, and leap 
 ing over prostrate trunks that they had slowly 
 climbed over in their ascent. 
 
 Never did men maintain a better pace over such 
 a course, and it was kept up till they emerged, 
 blown, torn and trembling, into the clearing, and 
 sank down on the first cradle-knoll. Coats and 
 tools were left far behind, nor even remembered 
 till now they were half rested. Antoine arose, 
 straightening his stiffening legs, and after listen 
 ing a moment shook his fist at the mountain. 
 
 " Damn dat bears. F he 11 come aout here 
 Ah 11 leek it, me." 
 
 " I p sume tu say f you want her very bad 
 you 11 find her up back there. I don t." 
 
 Then they made their way homeward, chop- 
 fallen, yet in a measure thankful. A few days 
 later they made an expedition for the recovery of 
 their things, whose disappearance was causing 
 domestic comment, and Solon tried the magic 
 power of his rod, but it made no sign. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MISFITS. 
 
 " IT s tumble resky a-gittin one thing at s a 
 leetle cuter n the rest o yer belongin s," Uncle 
 Lisha remarked as he split some pegs off a block 
 with his jack-knife. " Oncte I got me a new awl 
 at put me clean aout n consait o my ol kit, an 
 cost me more n a month s airnin s a-buyin new 
 tools at I didn t need, an some on em jest 
 useless consarns. 
 
 " I ve knowed a feller tu git a patch sot on 
 a boot at looked so much better n the rest on t 
 at he hed tu git a new pair an then a suit o clo s 
 tu match, an then his womern must up an hev a 
 new caliker gaownd. But the beatinest was Ros l 
 Drake s door, a bran new front door at he bid 
 off tu Amos Wilkinses vandue. Do know haow 
 Amos come tu hev it, but he hed it, an Ros l he 
 bid it off, an took it hum an sot it in the barn, 
 and at fust his womern sputtered baout his buyin 
 of it, an they hed a notion o puttin on t in the 
 place o their ol front door, but it would n t fit, 
 an they cal lated ef it did it ould make the hul 
 haouse look humblier n ever. But it would n t 
 
MISFITS. 255 
 
 du to waste that aire door, at was paneled an hed 
 a big brass knocker, an so what d they du finally 
 but turn tu an build them a new haouse tu fit 
 that aire door, which the ol one was plenty good 
 nough. 
 
 " Wai," he continued, after brushing the split 
 pegs from the edge of the bench into his hand, 
 " they hed tu mortgage the place, an finally lost 
 it, ol haouse, new haouse, front door an all, an 
 went off over intu Adams s Gore tu live in a lawg 
 haouse, an glad nough tu git sech shelter. 
 
 " Over in the Gore, the rusters don t begin tu 
 crow fore ten o clock in the forenoon, an the hens 
 go tu rust right arter dinner, an you c n allers 
 tell Gore folks when they come daown here in dog- 
 days, by the stompin the feet tu git the snow off 
 on em. That s where the door landed them." 
 
 " Dat mek me rembler one man Canada," said 
 Antoine. 
 
 " Consarn ye, Ann Twine, what in tunket s the 
 reason ye don t never tell your stories fust ? " 
 
 " Ah 11 save de pie an kek for de en of de 
 dinny," said Antoine with a bland smile. 
 
 " Pies an lies they be mostly," Uncle Lisha 
 growled ; and Antoine began : 
 
 " Dar was one man Canada gone off fer work 
 one mornin hairly, an he 11 see it one leetly 
 waum walkin aout on de road fer smell de mornin 
 hair. 
 
256 bANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Wen dat mans see he 11 say, Ah 11 goin fee- 
 shins, me. An he 11 peek it up an go raght off 
 an get hees hook in line an go on de river an* 
 t row hees hook, an it ant more as two minute 
 fore peeckerel was took it, oh, great beeg one. 
 An de log was slippy de man was stan on, an he 
 was pull on de water an all draown dead. 
 
 " So you see, seh, boy, jes for leetly waum dat 
 mans was loss hees day work, an dat beeg peeck 
 erel dat was too bad an more as half hees 
 laf-tam, for he 11 was be young man an was goin 
 be marre nex week, so he loss hees waf too, an 
 all de funs of de weddin . Ant dat good many 
 for one leetly waum, hein ? " 
 
 Pelatiah sighed wearily as he thought of the 
 crueller fate that had cheated him of his wedding 
 day. 
 
 " But ef yer story was true, Ann Twine," said 
 the shoemaker, driving a peg home with each blow 
 of his hammer, " which it ain t anyways likely 
 it is, bein you tol it, it don t argy ag in a 
 feller s goin a-fishin when he d ort tu, an I 
 b lieve I d ort tu the fust good day at comes, an 
 I want you tu go along tew, Peltier." 
 
 As his abstracted gaze habitually sought the 
 dusty window, the blurred panes did not shut out 
 from him a vision of clear streams braiding the 
 sunlight into the shadows of copses and green 
 brookside banks, inviting the weary heart and 
 
MISFITS. 257 
 
 hand to rest and quiet recreation. He felt an al 
 most painful heart twinge that reminded him of 
 long bygone boyish anticipation. 
 
 " It can t quite tech the ol spot," he thought 
 to himself, "but thinkin o fishin an goin 
 a-fishin comes nigher fetehin on t an most any- 
 thin ." Then speaking aloud : 
 
 " It s a-hopesin ? at I won t never git so I can t 
 go a-fishin whilst I ve got sense tu enj y it. Lord, 
 haow many times I think o ol Kit Jarvis a-tryin 
 tu go a-traoutin arter he got blind as a bat. He 
 was a master hand for huntin an fishin an a 
 mate o yer father, Jozeff, when I was a boy. 
 
 " But whilst he was a tough, hearty man, he 
 begin tu git blind. It wa n t fellums on his eyes, 
 for they looked jest as nat ral s ever they did, 
 on y when he was a-talkin tu you, they would n t 
 hit you, but p int off tu one side mebby an be shut 
 when he was a-listenin tu ye. But he would go 
 a-huntin arter he got so s t he could n t tell a 
 barn from a haystack, an they said he shot a 
 pa tridge by the saound of her quit-quittin , an 
 he d go kerwack ag in a tree afore he see it, an* 
 cuss a spell an then laugh an make fun of hisself . 
 
 " But he gin up huntin arter he d shot Peltier s 
 gran ther s yullin fer a deer. 4 Never knowed 
 my gun tu cut up sech a caper as that afore, says 
 he, 4 an I won t trust it no furder. 
 
 " But yit he would go a-traoutin , an us boys, 
 
258 LANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 the Lord forgive us, useter laugh tu see him 
 a-pawin wi one hand fer suthin at wa n t there, 
 an a-pokin his stick julluk a pismire feelin its 
 way mongst strange things, an stan in harkin 
 fer saounds julluk a hawg in a cornfier an mebby 
 tost his hook ontu a lawg or rock, an wait an 
 wait fer a bite. I wonder the Lord did n t strike 
 us mis able leetle torments blind, but mebby t was 
 cause we useter onsnag his hook fer him an on- 
 snarl his line, an led him tu the best holes, an 
 mebby twas cause He don t take much caount 
 o sech leetle, onsignificant critters duin s. 
 
 " Arter a spell he gin it up, jest oncte in a 
 while tu set by the mill pawnd an fish for chubs 
 an dace. I c n feel em bite an pull, an hear 
 em floppin in the grass, an they smell like fish, 
 an it s better n nothin ef t ain t much fun, 
 says he, an I spect it muses the minnies tu see 
 sech a ol dodunk a-tryin to ketch em. 
 
 " When it come his turn to die I guess he was 
 glad on t. 4 1 ben the same as dead this ten 
 year, says he, 4 the world a-rattlin raound me 
 thaout no more caount on me an if I wa n t in 
 t, my own flesh an blood grown up thaout my 
 knowin haow they look, er seein my ol womern s 
 face er my nighest friend, er seein the grass an* 
 the trees leaf aout er shed the leaves, er ever 
 p intin a gun er hookin a traout, an jest a-settm 
 an harkin in the everlastin dark I It s lun- 
 
MISFITS. 259 
 
 some, I tell ye. A blind man s uselesser n a 
 dead man, an you can t bury him aout n the way 
 an be perlite. 
 
 " When he was dead he looked turrible con 
 tented, Jozeff, an yer father, says he, Kit, I wish 
 t I knowed whether you c n see tu sight yer rifle 
 naow. An I guess it s suthin we d all give 
 consid able tu know. 
 
 " Wai, it s hopesin the dark won t overtake 
 none o us afore it s time tu go tu sleep f er good, 
 an naow I m goin tu shut up shop." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A RAINY DAY. 
 
 IT was a May day with April weather. The 
 rain had poured down in intermittent showers 
 during the night. In the morning the rising sun 
 transmuted the gray mist to floating gold, and 
 turned the tremulous strings of sun-drops on 
 every bending twig to resplendent jewels. 
 
 The sheep began to scatter over the pastures, 
 mumbling out calls to their lambs as they cropped 
 the wet grass. 
 
 But the robins sang vociferously for more rain ; 
 the sun veiled itself with a drifting cloud, border 
 ing it with gold, and shooting from behind it 
 broad, divergent, watery bolts ; a film of shower 
 was trailed along the mountain-side ; the blotches 
 of sunlight narrowed and faded into the universal 
 eombre gray, and, after a brief pattering prelude, 
 the rain poured down again, and swept across the 
 blurred landscape in majestic columns, that fled 
 along the earth while they upheld the narrow sky. 
 
 Then it stopped as suddenly as it began, the 
 Bun shone out and revived the drowned splendor 
 of the earth, the bedraggled robins sang again, 
 
A RAINY DAY. 261 
 
 and the murmur of the swollen brooks rose and 
 fell more distinctly with the puffs and lulls of the 
 inconstant wind. Then the sky would darken 
 and blot out the patches of blue and the half -built 
 arch of a rainbow, and the new showers chase 
 away the straggling sunbeams, and the pour of 
 the downfall overbear all other sounds. 
 
 Thus it was pouring, when Uncle Lisha came 
 into the shop from the house and put on his apron, 
 stooping low as he tied the strings to look out 
 through the blurred panes upon the narrow land 
 scape. He saw the innumerable jets of the pud 
 dles leaping up to meet the rain, the pelted, dodg 
 ing leaves of the plum and cherry trees bending 
 over their fallen blossoms, that, like untimely snow, 
 lay beneath them, where a group of fowls stood, 
 bedraggled and forlorn, with shortened necks and 
 slanted tails. 
 
 Beyond, all objects became flattened and more 
 indistinct till, in the gray background, mountain 
 and sky met and dissolved in each other. 
 
 An umbrella was coming up the road, dodging 
 from side to side as the bearer avoided puddles 
 and sprang across rivulets. The misty fabric 
 materialized into blue cotton, and presently en 
 tered the shop, closed, with its depressed point 
 streaming like a conduit, followed by Pelatiah, 
 who set it to dribble in a corner as he said, " Haow 
 de do," and then, " Gosh," as a sufficient comment 
 on the weather. 
 
262 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " I m turrible glad you ve come, Peltier/ said 
 Uncle Lislia, searching among his tools for his 
 pipe, " fer it s a lunsome kinder day, an I wa n t 
 expectin nob dy. It s kinder chilly, an I don t 
 b lieve but what you d better whittle up some 
 kindlin an start a fire in the stove." 
 
 Nothing loath, Pelatiah got some wood from the 
 box, and, kneeling before the stove, whittled some 
 kindling, laid and lighted it, and, still kneeling, 
 intently watched the slow progress of the flame. 
 
 " Wai," said the old man, looking at him with 
 kindly anxiety, " haow be ye gittin long ? Feel- 
 in any comf tabler in yer mind ? " 
 
 " It aches contin al," Pelatiah answered. 
 
 " You don t go tu Hamner s no more ? " 
 
 Pelatiah shook his head as he got on all fours 
 to blow the reluctant fire, and answered, " Not 
 sence you gin me a talkin tu n under the bridge." 
 
 " You done almighty well, boy, an you jest 
 stick to t. When you hain t tu work, you go 
 a-fishin as often s ye can, an when it gits so t 
 there hain t no fishin , go a-huntin , an twixt 
 em they 11 fetch ye aout." 
 
 The two doors opened almost at the same mo 
 ment, and Sam entered from the kitchen leading 
 his now toddling boy, followed by his father, 
 bringing in an ox-bow to whittle and scrape where 
 litter offered no offence, while Solon and Antoine 
 came in from the rainy outer world. 
 
A RAINY DAY. 263 
 
 " Hoddy do, all de company?" Antoine saluted. 
 "What you ll said bout fishin s? Ah s pose 
 prob ly you an Peltiet tink you felt pooty plump 
 for ketch so much feesh, ant it ? " He got beside 
 the stove, steaming in the growing warmth, and 
 preparing also to smoke. " Wai, seh, One Lasha, 
 dat ant n ot ing, not ing for wat Ah 11 do wen Ah 
 leeve in Canada." 
 
 " Naow lie, dum ye," Uncle Lisha growled. 
 
 " Haow many tarn," Antoine demanded with 
 grieved impressiveness, " Ah 11 gat for tol you 
 Ah ant never lie ? M sieu Mumpson, he 11 read 
 me baout George Washins son chawp a happle- 
 tree wid hees new saw, an tol hees fader he 11 
 do it cause he 11 can lie. Ah 11 chawp more as 
 forty happle, prob ly f eef ty tree fore Ah 11 lie, me. 
 Yas, sah. But Ah 11 goin tol you. Great many 
 tarn, but one teekly tarn Ah 11 go f eeshins an Ah 
 11 trow meh hook wid nice waum on it an de 
 traout was so hongry in hees belly an so crazy in 
 hees head dey 11 go after it so fas , de fus one git 
 it, de nex one touch hoi hees mouf of dat one s 
 tail an de nex de sem way till dey was twenty 
 prob ly f dey ant fifteen all in string, an Ah 11 
 pull it mos so hard Ah 11 can t, an , seh, Ah 11 
 gat all of it honly de middlin one was kan o slim- 
 ber, an broke off, so Ah 11 loss de hine en of de 
 row. Hoi on," as Uncle Lisha began to open 
 his mouth, " Ah 11 ant fineesh. W en de traout 
 
264 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 in de water see where Ah 11 sot mah deesh of 
 wauin on de bank, he 11 beegin jomp on de bank 
 for gat it, an tumble top of herself for gat it. 
 Den seh, One Lasha, Ah 11 peek up mah deesh 
 an shook it, an holly caday, caday, an dat 
 traouts folia me home so fas Ah 11 had to run an 
 shut de door for keep it from feel up de haouse." 
 
 "Ann Twine," said Uncle Lisha, heaving a 
 sigh of relief and sinking back into his seat till the 
 leathern bottom creaked, " I was raly afeared you 
 was a-goin tu tell one o your lies." Then bend 
 ing over his work, and, as he drew the threads, 
 setting his teeth hard, as if that might insure the 
 perfect closing of the seam, he said, " I s pose I 
 c n pooty nigh match ye, Ann Twine, on y my 
 story s true." 
 
 " All 11 wan hear you tol jus one o dat kan, 
 seh." 
 
 " Wai, oncte aout West, where I was in West- 
 constant, the was a man went an chopped a hole 
 in the ice in a crik tu water his cattle, an there 
 was a dozen bullpaouts come up in the hole, an 
 he begin a-heavin on em aout tu kerry em hum 
 fer his dinner, but, fust he knowed, it filled up 
 full, an he run tu git a bushel baskit tu scoop em 
 up, an when he got back the hole was a-runnin 
 over wi fish, jest a-b ilin over on t the ice, an 
 kep a-duin so till they run over on t the shore 
 furder an furder, till he begun tu be afeared 
 
A RAINY DAY. 265 
 
 they d kiver up his farm an spile it. But the 
 folks begin tu hear on t an come wi their teams 
 f m twenty mild off, an hauled the bullpaouts 
 away in reg lar per cessions, thirty forty sled-loads 
 in a string, an fed em to the hawgs, an m nured 
 the 7 land wi them, till folks did n t know whether 
 they was eatin pork or fish, on y fer bein no 
 bones, an the hull country smelt like a fish kittle all 
 summer." 
 
 Uncle Lisha looked around upon his audience, 
 all of whom wondered silently, except Antoine, 
 who asked : 
 
 " You 11 see dat, One Lasha ? " 
 
 "Wai, no; it happened the winter afore I 
 went there, an I did n t ezactly see it, but I 
 smelt it." 
 
 " Wai, you ant miss much, One Lasha. It ant 
 be much for see jes few bullpawt. If Ah 11 ant 
 gat so hoi Ah 11 f regit for rembler mos all Ah 11 
 see, Ah could tol you sometings." 
 
 " What s the reason you don t tell us more o* 
 your experiences aout West, Uncle Lisher ?" So 
 lon asked. 
 
 " What s the reason," the old man demanded, 
 with a twinkle in his eye, " at you an Ann Twine 
 don t tell us some o your experiences up on the 
 maountain t other day ? " 
 
 The treasure seekers stared at each other in 
 blank amazement, wondering how their secret 
 
266 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 could have escaped their keeping, when in fact it 
 was only shrewdly guessed at by their host. 
 
 "Why, we hain t got nothin tu tell," said 
 Solon at last. 
 
 " Wai, I hain t, nuther ; not at appears 
 wuth tellin . Say, folks," during which the mis. 
 chievous twinkle of his gray eyes brightened, 
 " du you know at two men, which their names I 
 won t call, went up on t the niaountain a-s archin 
 arter money at the man at baried it hisself 
 could n t find ag in ? Oh, the s fools an allus will 
 be, but I cal late them two s the beatin ." 
 
 " If the was sech men, which I don t omit the 
 was," said Solon, breaking the awkward silence, 
 " they wa n t huntin nothin but onnat ral cur osi- 
 ties, er minnyrils, er Injin relishes. Wai," as a 
 gleam of sunlight patched the littered floor and 
 tiie baby struggled between his father s knees to 
 reach it, " the sun is a-divulgin aout, an I guess 
 I 11 be a-moggin . Goin my way, An twine ? " 
 
 44 Did they, raly?" Sam said, with a smile 
 VAoadening on his face as the door closed behind 
 them. 
 
 Uncle Lisha slowly nodded his head and Sam 
 laughed outright, while the little boy reached for 
 the intangible sunbeams. 
 
 44 Can t git it, bubby, no more n they could 
 *hat they was arter," chuckled the old man. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 JUNE TRAINING. 
 
 BESIDES beautifying the earth with the green 
 ness of woods and fields, the bloom of innumera 
 ble flowers, and the sparkle of limpid yet un- 
 shrunken streams, and gladdening it with the 
 songs of thronging birds as happy as the golden 
 days were long, the first month of summer brought 
 also upon its first Tuesday the June training. 
 
 In the year whereof this partial record is made 
 the day was unseasonably ushered in, according 
 to established usage, by the ceremony of u wakin 
 up off cers." A party of the younger men made 
 the rounds of the homes of those dignitaries, arous 
 ing them with volleys of musketry, when, if they 
 were men of proper martial spirit, and alive to its 
 encouragement, they would come forth with re 
 freshment befitting warriors. 
 
 The cock s prolonged clarion notes were salut 
 ing the unfolding banner of dawn, when Captain 
 Peek was awakened by a volley whose rattling 
 thunder was intensified by wads of green grass 
 rammed down on the double charges of powder. 
 
 The captain speedily made his appearance at 
 
268 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 the door, rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back 
 of a hand that held a tumbler, while the other 
 bore a brown jug that coldly bumped his naked 
 
 leg- 
 
 " Mornin , gentlemen," he said, in tones that 
 strove valiantly through drowsiness to become 
 hearty ; " hope I see ye well this mornin . Walk 
 right up an refresh yourselves." 
 
 He essayed to advance toward them, but hastily 
 withdrew his bare foot from the dewy doorstep. 
 
 " Sarjint Daow, won t you jest kinder take 
 a holt o this an pass it raoun ? " 
 
 The tall sergeant, setting his gun against the 
 doorpost, swung the jug over his arm, and, with 
 accurate judgment of his men, measured out to 
 each a fiery charge suited to his calibre. 
 
 Then, with a lusty cheer for " the cap n in his 
 uniform," they departed to surprise as stealthily 
 the lieutenants in their strongholds. 
 
 Meanwhile their commander bore the depleted 
 jug to its cupboard, and the burden of military 
 honor back to bed. He did not feel himself at 
 all a hero when he curled up his legs in obedience 
 to Mrs. Peck s petulant command : - 
 
 " Solerman Peck, take your col feet off m me. 
 They re julluk tew frawgs. I don t b lieve it no 
 part o military desiplyne fer a captain of a com 
 pany to be a-galivantin raound in his shirt 
 tail in middle of er night tu tu squer- 
 
JUNE TEAINING. 269 
 
 ronnk," and with a trumpet blast delightful to his 
 ear she resumed her interrupted march into the 
 land of Nod. 
 
 The beautiful day was not far advanced when 
 the one street of the Forge village began to ex 
 hibit the half -indolent bustle of a country holiday. 
 Boys were arriving, heated and panting from a 
 haste that had not till now permitted them to stop 
 even for the nursing of stubbed toes. One of 
 Antoine s brown-skinned, black-polled brood car 
 ried a smooth bit of board on the hollow of his 
 arm whereon were displayed twists of molasses 
 candy, and already was crying his home-made 
 confection in his father s own English : 
 
 " Lassin candle. Two for cen apiece." 
 
 Militiamen came in, on foot and in wagons, and 
 men straggled from one to another of the increas 
 ing groups on Hamner s stoop, the steps of Clap- 
 ham s old store, and of the new and popular Bas- 
 com s, as interest or curiosity impelled them. 
 
 Here and there a man hurried about his belated 
 chores. White-haired exempts sat at their doors, 
 agape with languid, senile curiosity. Women in 
 unwontedly early tidiness of dress went back and 
 forth from house to house, bearing openly or under 
 aprons some neglected or forgotten provisions for 
 the day during which relatives or friends might 
 desire entertainment. 
 
 A very fat and no less benevolent-looking old 
 
270 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 man in a blue homespun frock, seated on a tali- 
 backed, splint-bottomed chair, in a lumber wagon 
 that also held a barrel of spruce beer behind him, 
 drove his fat and sedate old horse near to the 
 front of Hamner s hostelry, and clambering care 
 fully down over the stout thill, unhitched his 
 horse and led it away. 
 
 " Wai," said one housewife, as she dropped the 
 rush curtain under which she had watched him, 
 " I guess the hain t no daoubt but what it s 
 trainin day, f er ol Beedle s come, an he s sot 
 up clus til Hamner s. Won t that rile Hamner ? 
 But it don t make no dif ence, his cust mers ain t 
 hankerin arter spreuce beer." 
 
 Old Beedle, coming back, removed the end 
 board from his wagon and made a counter of it 
 whereon he placed his tumblers, shoved the tap 
 of the cask beyond the end of the box, took out 
 the chair, seated himself comfortably, and pro 
 claimed his readiness to serve customers with 
 beer at one cent a glass, counting the change that 
 he carried in a canvas shot-bag, while he awaited 
 their coming. 
 
 Not far off a little board booth that had grown 
 the day before began to blossom out with yellow 
 cakes of gingerbread, a jar of striped candy and 
 green tumblers of lemonade, which attracted many 
 flies and a few boys to its rough counter. 
 
 Then Joseph Hill and his father drove in, 
 
JUNE TRAINING. 271 
 
 with the long gun aslant, the son being permitted 
 to carry it to-day in such honorable service, for so 
 the veteran regarded it, though " June trainin " 
 was becoming a mere farce among a people whose 
 martial spirit seemed almost dead. 
 
 Sam Lovel marched past in his long-strided, 
 fox-hunting gait, followed by Pelatiah with down 
 cast eyes, bearing his irksome gun. Time was 
 when he looked forward with a thrill of pride to 
 the day Lowizy should see him adroitly practicing 
 his lesson in the art of war, but that was an 
 ended dream. Now, Stony and Beaver Meadow 
 brooks were calling him with concerted babble, 
 and he would rather go a-fishing than join in this 
 foolery, or, rather still, go out to battle to die, 
 and forget, and perchance draw one tear from 
 those blue eyes that were always haunting him. 
 
 Captain Peck, scarcely recognizable by those to 
 whom he had first appeared that morning, was 
 proudly conspicuous on Hamner s stoop in a 
 square-topped, broad- visored cap with a red, white, 
 and blue pompon, enormous yellow epaulettes on 
 the shoulders of his tightly buttoned blue claw 
 hammer coat, and white trousers incased legs that 
 were frequently entangled with the scabbard of 
 his huge sword. His first lieutenant wore a bell- 
 crowned beaver hat and a blazing red coat, a 
 relic of some defunct uniformed company, while 
 his junior in rank was designated only by a huge 
 
272 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 red sash encircling his loins and the cavalry sabre 
 depending from it. The fifer and drummer sat 
 on the steps toying with their instruments, with 
 a group of boys gaping in tireless expectancy be 
 fore them. Sergeant Dow lingered near, awaiting 
 orders, without a trace of drowsiness from his 
 self-imposed early duties. 
 
 The captain endeavored to draw his watch from 
 its padded fortifications, but failed, and went to 
 consult Hamner s clock. " Sarjint Daow," he 
 called, as he bustled forth, " you can fall in the 
 men naow." 
 
 At the word, the drummer began to rattle the 
 call familiarly set to the words, " Uncle Dan, 
 Uncle Dan, Uncle Dan, Dan, Dan," and the men 
 came straggling into line, a few ready and alert, 
 but the greater part listless and careless, and 
 some bearing only clubs and broomsticks in place 
 of proper weapons. 
 
 Standing stiff as a ramrod at the head of his 
 rank, Sam looked with supreme disgust on these 
 military mummers who should have withered un 
 der the fiery indignation of Gran ther Hill s 
 glances. 
 
 " You d orter be court-marsheled an shot, 
 blast ye ! " he growled, " an so ye would ha ben, 
 ef ye lived when folks hed spunk tu du anything" 
 and he shook his impotent staff. " Pooty critters 
 you be tu make sojers on ! " 
 
JUNE TRAINING. 273 
 
 It gave him some comfort to see his own gun, 
 upheld by his son, towering like a naked color- 
 staff in the centre of the line. 
 
 44 Jozeff hain t turrible hefty on sojerin , but he 
 kerries a gun at s used to the business, anyway," 
 he remarked to those about him. 
 
 Uncle Lisha, standing by his side, uttered in 
 snorts and ejaculations his grief and indignation 
 at the spectacle of the unsoldierly bearing of men 
 whose fathers had so gallantly borne the ever 
 green emblem of Vermont through the storm of 
 Plattsburgh fight. 
 
 At last the company was got into line and par 
 tially straightened by the united efforts of all the 
 officers, in pulling a man here and pushing another 
 there ; then they faced to the right. The fif er 
 rocked back and forth from foot to foot to assure 
 himself of the time, the order was given to march, 
 fife and drum struck up " Yankee Doodle," and, 
 with an irregular tramp of fourscore pairs of feet, 
 the Floodwood Company of Danvis went march 
 ing down the street, all the boys running beside 
 it, the women waving their handkerchiefs, and the 
 captain s pompon bobbing proudly before it. 
 
 Then it was countermarched, and, returning to 
 Hanmer s, halted there and went through some 
 antique manual of arms, during the performance 
 of which some who felt the need of refreshment 
 after such arduous service dashed out of the 
 
274 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ranks and into the bar-room and presently reap 
 peared wiping their lips, to leisurely resume their 
 places without reprimand. 
 
 The men were soon dismissed for their noon 
 ing, and a cordial invitation was given by the 
 genial Bascom, to all who would, to partake of a 
 free lunch of crackers and cheese at his store, 
 thereby greatly increasing his own popularity 
 and depreciating that of his less patriotic rival, 
 who sat almost alone in the shadow of his own 
 store, placidly awaiting his foreseen time, as he 
 said softly to himself : 
 
 " That feller s got pretty nigh the len th o his 
 rope. He won t be givin away crackers an 
 cheese nex trainin ." 
 
 The captain dined at Hamner s with his of 
 ficers and most aspiring privates. Cap n Hill 
 and Uncle Lisha were honored guests of village 
 friends to whom they told stories of the warlike 
 days of which they had been a part. The larger 
 number of the militiamen having providently 
 brought their rations in pockets, tin pails, and 
 baskets, gathered in picnicking groups at centres 
 most convenient for the irrigation of their dry 
 fare, some squatting on the platforms of pumps 
 and well-curbs, where the gulping crescendo of 
 the one and the splash and bump of the other s 
 bucket often interrupted or overbore the flow of 
 joke and repartee. 
 
JUNE TRAINING. 275 
 
 Some roosted on the thills and other available 
 perches afforded by old Beedle s wagon, where 
 draughts of the spicy beer were within easy reach, 
 and some, burning with a valiant thirst that 
 neither water nor beer could subdue, occupied 
 the thinned benches in the noontide shade of Ham- 
 ner s stoop, firing volleys of wit at each other 
 and at the boys who stole past them to gaze on 
 the captain s sword that now hung peacefully 
 behind the bar, while its owner wielded meaner 
 weapons against the sacred rage of hunger. 
 
 A horde of boys swarmed about the benevo 
 lent old Beedle who dispensed smiles and kindly 
 words with his foaming glasses of innocuous beer 
 and always gave the right change for every " fo 
 pen s hap ny," though its Spanish blazonry of 
 pillars and scroll was quite effaced. And boys 
 crowded about the booth in eager purchase of 
 the choky but delicious gingerbread, as yellow as 
 old gold and of greater worth to their hungry 
 stomachs. 
 
 Meanwhile there was hospitable clatter of 
 plates, knives, and forks in every wayside house, 
 the sound whereof made hungrier every passer-by. 
 
 " A turrible free-hearted creetur ! " said one of 
 Bascom s guests to a fellow-soldier, jerking his 
 head sidewise toward the smiling proprietor, while 
 he turned a fresh cracker in search of the best 
 point of attack, " an pears tu be a candid sort 
 
276 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 o* man, but it beats all natur haow he s borryin 1 
 of ev yb dy." 
 
 "N yiun, n yum, n yum," mumbled his full- 
 mouthed comrade with assenting nods. 
 
 " Yis, borryin of ev b dy," continued the other. 
 "Why they say t he s borryed $300 of the 
 Buttles gals at they d laid up a-tailorin , withaout 
 a mite o security. Poor oF critters, fifty year 
 ol the youngest on em is. All they d got saved 
 up. Hope they won t lose it, but I d know." 
 
 Sam, overhearing them, raised his eyes from 
 the smoked herring he was peeling, to study the 
 face of his friend Bascom, a genial, beaming face, 
 with restless eyes that met another s but for an in 
 stant ; but surely there was no guile in it. 
 
 During the nooning, the village street so nearly 
 resumed its ordinary peaceful aspect that Joel 
 Bartlett, clad in his Quaker garb, appeared in it 
 as a not incongruous figure, mounted on a wagon 
 load of grain and driving sedately toward the 
 mill. Millers being exempt from military duty, 
 and but few grists being likely to come to the 
 mill on this day, it seemed a propitious one for 
 Joel. He was suspected by some of possessing a 
 worldly, unconfessed love for music, embracing 
 even the martial strains of the fife and drum. 
 
 As he slowly turned the corner, holding an at 
 tentive ear, and casting a wistful, furtive glance 
 up the main street, he attracted the notice of 
 
JUNE TRAINING. 277 
 
 Beri Burton, whom frequent calls at Hamner s 
 bar had made pot-valiant and more than usually 
 aggressive. 
 
 " See that aire dumb sneakin Quaker," he 
 mumbled, with one-half a doughnut in his mouth 
 while he pointed at Joel with the other half. 
 " Goldumb Quaker, ridin rouii comf ble, when 
 better men s sarvin the country. Goldumb ef I 
 don t make him git daown off in his waggin an 
 shoulder my muskit." And starting up from the 
 group with which he was lunching, with long, 
 shambling strides, he advanced rapidly toward 
 Joel, shouting vociferously, " Hoi on thar, you 
 Bartlett, I got somep n fer tu tell ye." 
 
 When Joel became aware that he was addressed, 
 he drew rein and awaited Beri s approach, asking 
 quietly as the other came beside the wagon : 
 
 " Was thee a-wishin to speak tu me, friend Bur 
 ton?" 
 
 " Yis, I be," growled Beri, " but I hain t none 
 o your 4 friend Burton. I want you tu git ri 
 daown here." 
 
 " No, I thank thee, I don t feel drawn tu git 
 daown," Joel answered. " I can converse quite 
 freely where I be." 
 
 " Goldumb ye, you will feel drawed down f ye 
 don t pile off m thar. What business you got 
 a-ridin raoun wi your dumb drab broad-brim 
 clos when decent folks is a-duin thar dooty. 
 
278 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 You gotter git ri daown here an shoulder a 
 muskit like a hones man oncte in yer sneakin 
 life." 
 
 His brawny hand grasped one of Joel s butter 
 nut-dyed stockings and Joel drew the other close 
 under his haunch. 
 
 " I m a man of peace," he said, " and hev no 
 call tu handle carnal weepons." 
 
 " You come daown er I 11 pull ye daown, I 
 will." 
 
 " Oh, you d better let him be, Beri," mildly 
 expostulated a militiaman who had drawn near. 
 " He hain t bliged to train, ye know, an ef we 
 wa n t, we would n t." 
 
 Beri s answer was a more vigorous jerk of the 
 enthralled member. 
 
 " If thee yanks me so hard, friend Beri," said 
 Joel calmly, " my t other foot is lierble to slip, 
 an ef it should hit thee in the face an hurt thee, 
 I should feel grieved." 
 
 Beri pulled more savagely, roaring, " Come 
 off m thar." 
 
 Joel, as he slid a little from his lofty seat, let 
 fly his loose foot full in the face of his uncouth 
 adversary, who, staggering backward with his 
 hand to his battered nose, howled with pain and 
 rage. 
 
 " Dumb ye," he roared, glowering darkly up 
 over his bruised features, and making feeble de- 
 
JUNE TRAINING. 279 
 
 monstrations in the same direction, " I m a good 
 minter break yer neck." 
 
 " Friend Beri, I hope my foot won t slip ag in, 
 but ef it does I hain t answerable." 
 
 " Goldumb ye, I won t dirty my fingers wi yer 
 Quaker carkiss. I ve hed a wolf s foot in my 
 maouth, an a Quaker s hoof in my face, an I do 
 want no wus disgrace." 
 
 Joel s contracted brow and closely puckered lips 
 relaxed, and his face assumed its usual placidity 
 as he resumed his seat, and chirruping to his 
 horses they moved sedately onward, while Beri 
 shambled away, as much abashed as it was in his 
 nature to be. 
 
 Joel had the miller and mill to himself for half 
 the afternoon, but it was noticeable that when the 
 company paraded for afternoon drill, and fife and 
 drum struck up " The White Cockade," " Yankee 
 Doodle," and their one other tune, " The Road to 
 Boston," he took himself out of the noise of the 
 mill clack and rushing water, and with his back 
 resolutely turned to the music gazed into space in 
 abstracted meditation. 
 
 At about one o clock the drum resumed its 
 monotonous iteration of " Uncle Dan," and 
 44 the sinners of war," as their commander flatter 
 ingly styled them, wandered again into crooked 
 alignment, shouldered arms, marched and coun 
 termarched, wheeled right and left like a wave* 
 
280 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 tossed seine, " charged bay net," to the affright of 
 the scurrying host of boys, and at last, at four 
 o clock, " p ised arms " and disbanded ; and the 
 farce of " June trainin " was ended. 
 
 After buzzing about for a while with as little 
 purpose as a swarm of flies, the greater part of 
 the militiamen and spectators departed, while 
 some lingered to do forgotten errands or regale 
 themselves with the seductive sweets of gossip and 
 strong waters at Hamner s. 
 
 Bevies of boys trudged homeward shrilly re* 
 counting the events of the day. Old Beedle went 
 jolting over the highway, his empty cask rum 
 bling and his well-filled shot bag chinking a tune 
 very pleasant to his ears. 
 
 Sam, Pelatiah, and Antoine bore each other 
 company homeward. 
 
 " By the gret horn spoon ! " the first exclaimed, 
 " I 11 stay tu hum an pay my fine afore I 11 jine 
 sech foolin ag in. It gits wus an wus every 
 year, a-pomponadin back an tu like a passel o 
 sheep, every man duin jest as he s a mind tu, an 
 larnin nothin . I d ruther stay tu hum an du 
 nothin er work in Huldy s posy bed." 
 
 " I d ruther go a-fishin ," said Pelatiah, regret 
 fully, as his wistful eyes followed the winding 
 copses and straggling ranks of elms that marked 
 the courses of his favorite streams. " An what s 
 the use o trainin , anyway? The won t never 
 
JUNE TRAINING. 281 
 
 be no more fightin . It s gone aout o fashion, 
 seems ough." 
 
 " It won t never, I m afeard, till folks git tu 
 be angels er geese, which they re gittin, mighty 
 nigh. Fust ye know, the 11 come a war, kerslap, 
 an nob cly ready mongst all the stuff we ve got 
 tu make sogers on, jest as good sogers as fit in the 
 Eevolution an eighteen-hundred-an -twelve. But 
 I s pose it don t take long tu larn tu kill folks, an 
 it s hopesin we won t haf tu." 
 
 " Ah 11 goin tole you de trut , seh," said An- 
 toine, who had been a curious and interested spec 
 tator ; " it was mos look wus as de Papineau war, 
 on de Patrick side of it. De British he look 
 pooty, honly he 11 gat too much gaun an shoot it 
 too much. He can leek more as honded tousan 
 you feller. Why, seh, he 11 leek me, mahsef." 
 
 Just relieved of his holiday coat and hat, Un 
 cle Lisha sat sweating in his shirt sleeves when 
 Sam entered his kitchen. Joseph Hill, who had 
 come a mile from home to rest himself, lounged 
 in an easy-chair. 
 
 "I seen one man tu-day," said Uncle Lisha, 
 looking at Huldah, " at looked julluk sech sojers 
 as we hed tu Plattsburgh, an the fust letters of 
 his name is Samwill Lovel." 
 
 " I doan know but what I d jest abaout as 
 lives train as not tu, an abaout as lives not tu as 
 tu," said Joseph, serenely unenvious of the compli- 
 
282 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ment that reddened Sam s cheek, " on y it makes 
 father swearin mad cause I can t git the right 
 foot forrid fust, which it s allers the left, he says, 
 an I don t see how on airth you re goin tu, er- 
 less ye take kinder of a half hitch, hipperty hop." 
 
 " Wai," said Uncle Lisha, " there s bubby, an 
 the women folks, an me an Drive hain t got tu 
 train, hev we, bubby? Ah! see here, daddy s 
 man, le s go fin aout what s in Uncle Lisher s 
 kut-tail pocket. It felt julluk a sugar plum 
 a-timkin ag in the calf o my laig all the way 
 hum." 
 
 With the little boy holding on to his tan-stained 
 forefinger with one dimpled fist and leading the 
 sad-faced hound by the ear with the other, he 
 went over to where the blue coat was hanging on 
 the wall. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE END OF A JOURNEY. 
 
 THE uneventful summer passed, marking its 
 almost imperceptible changes by the withering of 
 one flower and the blooming of another ; the 
 growth of grain and grass, their ripening and 
 cutting down, the slow stoop of fruitful branches 
 under their increasing burden, the song and si 
 lence of birds, and the stealthy southward march 
 of sunrise and sunset along the mountain crests. 
 And lo, it was fall with no bloom but the golden- 
 rod and asters, with the red flame of the sumac 
 kindled in mimicry of bloom. 
 
 Bobolinks, swallows, and orioles were gone, and 
 but now and then some remaining singer remem 
 bered or sang his summer song, and the crickets 
 chirped with fainter monotony in the chill even 
 ings. 
 
 The calls of migrant birds came out of the 
 gloom from afar and near, and afar again while 
 the listener wondered what they were. After a 
 day portentous of storm, with gathering clouds 
 and steadily increasing wind, there came a wild 
 night. 
 
284 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Afar among the desolate mountain peaks, the 
 wind roared with sullen, incessant anger, inter 
 mittently heard between the surging blasts that 
 swooped upon the valley and drove the rain in a 
 fierce, assaulting slant, with attending wraiths of 
 flying scud. 
 
 The jaded horses of the mail wagon splashed 
 wearily through the puddles whose agitated sur 
 faces glittered dimly in the light of the mud be 
 spattered lantern, and halted in front of the post 
 office. A wind-tossed shout of the mail driver, 
 and the thud and clank of the mail bag on the 
 wet platform, at once brought forth the alert, 
 bareheaded postmaster, to whom was vaguely re 
 vealed by the bolt of light shot through the open 
 door a forlorn, bedraggled figure crouching be 
 side the driver. Clapham strove to make it more 
 distinct with a shading hand, but could not guess 
 even at the sex of the muffled form until a wet 
 ribbon fluttered and snapped about the head. 
 Then the wagon moved on with its feeble light 
 struggling through the storm and darkness. 
 
 " Jim s got him a passenger," he announced to 
 the only visitor whom the arrival of the semi- 
 weekly mail had yet tempted forth in such 
 weather. " An it s a womern. I can t e-ma 
 gine," he pondered with hovering hands arrested 
 over the fastenings of the mail bag and eyes star 
 ing into space, " what womern is a-traveling sech 
 
THE END OF A JOURNEY. 285 
 
 a night. I 11 bet a cent I know. It s that 
 Meeker gal that s ben tu work in a fact ry way 
 daown in Massachusetts. Yis, sir, that s jest ex 
 actly who t is ; " and chuckling over his sagacity 
 he began to undo the straps, and his visitor, wait 
 ing for his paper, thought " like nough " as he 
 lounged over to witness the always interesting 
 operation. 
 
 The changes of the season were but dully noted 
 by Pelatiah. He was sorry when the fishing days 
 were ended, for they had brought him some con 
 solation for a bereavement crueller than death, if 
 not forgetfulness of his faithless sweatheart, the 
 gleam of whose bright eyes flashed up at him 
 from the evanescent bubbles, now mocking, now 
 piteously pleading, and whose voice called to him, 
 far and elusive, in the many voices of the woods. 
 He had come to think without resentment of the 
 girl who had won his heart but to rend it, remem 
 bering faults but to study apologies for them, and 
 cherishing with fondest memory all that was best 
 in her, the best, he was sure, that was possessed 
 by any woman. Yes, she was dead to him, and 
 he could never be fooled or happy again. 
 
 He found some solace in dogged, steady work, 
 yet while his hands mechanically dug potatoes, 
 husked corn, held the plough, or wielded the axe, 
 his thoughts were continually straying back into 
 the old wearisome paths. 
 
286 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 The early fall had brought its ordinary sport. 
 There had already been coon-hunting in the corn 
 fields, but the shouting rabble of men and boys, 
 the yelping pack of dogs of all breeds, and the 
 wild uproar of the closing scene when the dis 
 lodged coon fought to the last gasp against the 
 relentless host of enemies, constituted sport little 
 to his liking. There were plenty of squirrels 
 barking and squalling in the nut-trees, and wild 
 pigeons gleaning the grain fields ; and partridges 
 were well grown. That very afternoon, as he 
 drove the cows up from the back side of the pas 
 ture and passed a clump of elder, the berry-laden 
 tops were rent apart as by a sudden explosion, 
 and half a dozen strong-winged birds burst forth 
 and shot in long curves toward the woods. 
 
 Such sports seemed trivial, but better was at 
 hand when in the frost-silvered dawn he and Sam 
 would be afield waiting for Drive s whimpered 
 prelude to burst into melody, signaling them to 
 make all speed to their runways. 
 
 He was thinking of this as he moved uneasily 
 about the kitchen, waiting for a lull in the wild 
 weather that he might go up to Sam s and plan a 
 fox hunt for the quiet day which was sure to fol 
 low the storm. Now he let in a rainy gust at the 
 narrowly opened door, now he peered into the 
 blankness through the beaten panes. He watched 
 with dull interest the flickering lantern of the 
 
THE END OF A JOUENEY. 287 
 
 mail wagon struggling against the wind and rain. 
 With as little interest, though it reached out 
 toward him in shivering reflections across the 
 ruffled, rain-pelted pools of the road, he saw it 
 stop at Clapham s to drop the mail bag that 
 brought him no more letters. 
 
 He turned wearily away, and said to his 
 mother : - 
 
 " I b lieve I 11 gwup tu Samwill s a spell ; " and 
 took his hat and coat from their peg. 
 
 u Why, Peltier Gove," she exclaimed, dropping 
 her hands and the stocking she was darning into 
 her lap together, while the ball of yarn fell un 
 noticed to become the plaything of the kitten. 
 " You 11 git soppin wet an ketch your death 
 cold, an it s darker n Egypt." 
 
 " It don t rain sca cely a mite naow, an I 
 wanter see Samwill pertic ler." 
 
 His mother arose and went to him, laying 
 a gentle hand on his arm as she said in a low, 
 beseeching voice : 
 
 " You hain t a-goin tu Hamner s, be ye, Pel 
 tier?" 
 
 "No, marm, I hain t. I don t go there no 
 more," he answered, with a decision that was con 
 vincing. 
 
 " Anyb dy at s got a ruff over em an do* 
 know nough tu stay n under it sech a night, 
 ortu be put in the Sylum," his father said, shut- 
 
288 DslNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ting the stove hearth with a spiteful kick of his 
 stockinged feet. 
 
 His sister, casting a scornful glance at him 
 from her hem-stitching, said witheringly, " Lordy ! 
 I hope tu goodness, I shan t never git in love 
 ef it s got tu make fools o folks ! " 
 
 Pelatiah looked reproachfully at her and went 
 out, only saying to himself, " I hope tu the Lord 
 you never will, Alviry." 
 
 More than a lack of sympathy and the impa 
 tience with his melancholy evinced by all the 
 family save his mother, a desire to be out in the 
 wildness of the night impelled him to go forth. 
 The raging elements gave him something to fight 
 against, and he felt a kind of purposeless heroism 
 in breasting the fierce buffets of the wind and the 
 pelting rain. 
 
 As he struggled forward toward the road, bend 
 ing against the furious blasts, he ran against some 
 one, and both were brought to a sudden stand. 
 
 " Ooogh," gasped a boyish voice. " Is that you, 
 Peltier ? I was a-comin arter you. The s some- 
 b dy tu Hamner s wants to see ye, right off. My I 
 Ef you did n t skeer me ! " 
 
 The words were whisked away by the wind, 
 but not till Pelatiah had caught them all. 
 
 " Someb dy wants tu see me tu Hamner s ? 
 Well, they won t, thet s all ! I hain t a-goiu nigh 
 Hamner s fer nob dy, Billy Wiggins." 
 
THE END OF A JOURNEY. 289 
 
 " But ye got tu," the boy shouted up to him. 
 * They said you must, Hamner an ol Kezier." 
 
 "But I won t," persisted Pelatiah stoutly. 
 Who is t ? That feller at buys fur ? " 
 
 " No, I do know who t is, but you got tu come. 
 Both on em said so. It s life er death, they 
 said, both on em, Kezier in partic ler. I would n t 
 go back alone fer one dollar ! " and Billy clutched 
 at Pelatiah s fluttering coat skirts and tugged to 
 ward the road. 
 
 A strange presentiment flashed upon Pelatiah s 
 brain and his heart choked. Life or death ! He 
 remembered his promise to his mother and was 
 ready to break it, and, taking the boy s hand in 
 his, they went down the road, struggling against 
 the surges of the wind. 
 
 Their way was less obscure when the lights of 
 the stores and tavern fell across the ruts and 
 puddles, quivering as if the feeble rays trembled 
 in the wind. Beyond, the broader, ruddier glow 
 of the forge banded the road, pulsing with every 
 throb of the hammer, whose thundering beats 
 were always heard, now rising above the lulls of 
 gusty uproar, now dully accentuating the fiercer 
 blasts. 
 
 " Haow come you daown tu the village sech a 
 night ? " Pelatiah asked suddenly. 
 
 " Why, hain t you heard ? I ve hired aout tu 
 Hamner," Billy asked, resentful of such ignorance c 
 
290 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " You bed n t orter. T ain t no place f er a 
 boy, an your mother needs ye tu hum." 
 
 " She was willin . An I c n be airnin suthin*. 
 She s got real tough, naow, an I go hum oncte a 
 week an chop wood an tinker up." 
 
 At Hamner s they entered a dark passage 
 through a side door and groped their way up a 
 flight of stairs. Beaconed by the light shed 
 through cracked and shrunken panels, they came 
 to the poorest chamber in the tavern. Hamner had 
 evidently shrewdly classified the quality of his 
 guest. The door was opened by a bent old wo 
 man, who, after assuring herself of Pelatiah s 
 identity by a brief, keen glance, admitted him, 
 but unceremoniously excluded Billy, to the disap 
 pointment of his boyish curiosity. 
 
 " She pears tu be asleep naow," the old woman 
 whispered, peering over the candle that she shaded 
 with her hand at the motionless form on the bed. 
 " She s a dreffle sick gal. Hamner was afeerd 
 she was a-goin tu die right on his hands, an he 
 hustled right off arter the darkter, an he come 
 an gin her sutliin that sot her tu sleep. I don t 
 b lieve he thinks she s goin tu live, fer he did n t 
 say nothin , only sythed arter he d pulted her, an 
 ast tew three questions, an said her fowlks had 
 Drter be sent fer, an she said she did n t want tu 
 see nob dy, on y you." 
 
 The old woman cautiously uncovered the candle 
 
THE END OF A JOUENEY. 291 
 
 and let its light fall for a moment on the haggard, 
 fevered face that lay among a confusion of tangled 
 golden hair on the lank pillow. Pelatiah s pre 
 sentiment was verified, and it was not the sur 
 prise of recognition that made him start, but the 
 woeful change grief and despair and sickness had 
 wrought in the face. 
 
 " Is she some o your fowlks ? I sh ld a mos 
 thought yer mother d ha come ef she was," the 
 old woman whispered in a hoarse, monotonous 
 buzz. 
 
 Pelatiah shook his head and she leered at him 
 with a ghastly grin that revealed one yellow tooth, 
 the sole survivor of the white rows that youthful 
 smiles long ago disclosed. There was a terrible 
 revelation in that wrinkled visage of the old age 
 that a sinful life brings one to, and he was thank 
 ful it was in the power of death to forestall it. 
 
 " Ooh, yer gal, eh ? Wai, Jake s goin tu see 
 the s lec men, er the poormaster, an hev her took 
 keer on." 
 
 Pelatiah started. "You go an tell him the 
 hain t no need on t. I 11 take keer on her. She 
 hain t goin tu be no taown charge ! " 
 
 " I never hed no idee you was sech a lively 
 young feller," said Keziah, leering at him with an 
 admiration that filled him with disgust. 
 
 " Go quick ! I 11 stay with her." 
 
 He placed a chair softly beside the bed and sat 
 
292 DsLNVIS FOLKS. 
 
 down, as the old woman left the room. The girl 
 moaned, moved uneasily, and opened her eyes, 
 looking wildly about till they rested on Pelatiah, 
 and then a look of gratitude lighted them. 
 
 " I was feared you would n t come. I hed n t 
 no right to ask you, but I coidd n t help it," she 
 said, in a thin, weak voice. " I hain t got a 
 friend on airth not one, not one," and her pit 
 eous voice broke with a sob before she answered 
 his questioning, puzzled gaze. " No, he never 
 married me. He went off an lef me. I must 
 tell ye quick, fer it seems as though I was goin 
 away somewheres, right off ; an when I went 
 hum my folks turned me aou door, an I went tu 
 work aout, where they did n t know me, an I took 
 sick, an they woidd n t keep me no longer, an I 
 come here. It seemed as ough I d got tu see ye 
 once more, an tell ye I m sorry I was so mean 
 to ye. You can t never forgive me, but I wish t 
 you would n t hate me." 
 
 " I never hated ye one minute, Lowizy," he 
 spoke in a choked voice, and then, after a con 
 scientious questioning of his heart, "an I du 
 forgive ye. Mebby you ve bore more n I 
 hev." 
 
 " Thank ye, Pelatiah. PC ye willin tu take a 
 holt o my hand ? " she asked timidly, and for 
 answer he clasped tenderly in his rough palm the 
 thin, hot hand that was feebly stretched out to 
 
THE END OF A JOURNEY. 293 
 
 him. She closed her eyes and sighed restfully, 
 then, after a while, asked : 
 
 " Why, it ain t June, is it ? Seems ough I 
 heard the birds singin and smelt the young come- 
 ups. It s time I was a-goin . Good-by, Peltier." 
 The feeble tension of the little hand relaxed in 
 his, her last breath fluttered out upon his cheek, 
 and the poor fickle heart grew still forever. 
 
 " Is she sleepin* yit ? " old Keziah whispered, 
 entering on tip-toe and exhaling an odor of strong 
 waters. 
 
 " You need n t be af eered o wakin her no 
 more," Pelatiah answered solemnly. 
 
 " Good land o livin ! " she gasped in an awed 
 voice. " You don t say she s dead ? " and then, 
 after assuring herself by a look and touch, " Poor 
 little creetur ! It s tumble to be took so young." 
 
 " I don t b lieve t is, not allers. Is Jake up ? 
 I wanter see him." As he groped his way down 
 the narrow stairs, it seemed as if years had passed 
 since he climbed them. 
 
 The storm spent itself in the night, and the 
 morning broke on a peaceful world. As peaceful 
 under the white veil of the dread mystery into 
 which she had passed after the storm of life was 
 the face of the dead girl. It was as if she had 
 gone forth into the unfathomed hereafter, as well 
 assured of forgiveness there as here. 
 
 Attended by a few sympathizing friends, Pela- 
 
294 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 tiah laid his dead, now wholly his, to rest in the 
 shadow of the flaming sumacs in the old grave 
 yard on the hillside. There was no service but 
 the brief testimony of Joel Bartlett, who felt 
 moved to say : 
 
 " Inasmuch as we hev ben told by One formerly 
 that aour Heavenly Father does temper the wind 
 tu the shorn lamb, I feel it bore in upon me that 
 this poor leetle lamb, which may hev strayed fur 
 f m the flock, is gethered tu the fold by the Good 
 Shepherd." 
 
 Unseen by any but Pelatiah, Huldah covertly 
 dropped a spray of pale asters into the open 
 grave. As the careless clods began to fall with 
 muffled thuds on the straw-covered coffin, the little 
 company silently dispersed. 
 
 " It kinder seems ough Peltier felt wus n the 
 was any need o his feelin , considering but mebby 
 he don t, I d know," Joseph Hill remarked to 
 Antoine as they lingered last at the graveyard 
 gate. 
 
 " If you 11 seen dat gal w en she was live an 
 fat an jes good as anybody gal, you 11 ant blem 
 Peltiet fer cried." 
 
CHAPTER XXH. 
 
 A GATHERING CLOUD. 
 
 THE continual roar of the November wind on 
 the mountains was at times overborne by the 
 nearer uproar of blasts that swooped upon the 
 valley, screeching through the withered herbage, 
 clashing the naked branches and driving the 
 fallen leaves in sudden scurries against the low 
 window of the lean-to. 
 
 But if the outer world was cheerless the shop 
 was cosy, and Uncle Lisha and Sam were enjoy 
 ing its comfort over their pipes and the affairs 
 of their absent friends. At times the draughty 
 little stove ceased its fluttering monotone, as if 
 holding its breath to listen to the conversation. 
 Then it resumed its roar as if the subject was too 
 trivial for its attention. 
 
 " Yes," said Sam, " Peltier s pooty sober, but 
 he pears tu be kinder settled daown, an not 
 narvous ner off in a dream as he was. Why 
 he d hev spells last year at he d stan a-gawpin* 
 off int the air, at nothin anybody else could see : 
 an let a fox go skippin by him wi aout seem 
 the critter ner takin no notice till Drive come on 
 
296 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 his track an looked wonclerin as if askin , 4 Why 
 in time did n t you shoot ? Oncte he let a sil 
 ver gray go by him jest that way. That r aly 
 tried my patience, fer it seemed as if it would ha 
 cured a feller of most anythin tu ha shot that 
 fox. Then ag in, he d be all in a whew, an 
 blaze away wi aout takin no sight at nothin . 
 But he s carni as a eight-day clock this fall, an* 
 hain t let a fox go by yet, ner missed ary one." 
 
 " I cal late he 11 be all right when fishin time 
 comes raound ag in," said Uncle Lisha, splashing 
 an obdurate tap in the tub and then bending it 
 back and forth with impatient jerks. " Good 
 airth an seas. I b lieve that aire so luther must 
 ha come off m an off ox, it s so dumbd cont ry." 
 
 " It jes as likel he come off caow, prob ly," 
 said Antoine, catching the last remark as he en 
 tered the shop and took his favorite seat. " All 11 
 have see caow was more wus fer do he 11 man 
 to, as hoxens, jes sem as hwomans was," and he 
 crowded the tobacco down in his pipe and drew 
 his crossed legs closer under him. 
 
 " Hwomans was funny kan o peoples, an so 
 was mans, prob ly. Ah 11 b lieve more as half 
 de tarn de fun ant pay fer de troublesome fer get 
 marry. Folkses had more good tarn fer be hoi 
 bachely an hoi gal. Ah do know if Peltiet ant 
 lucky for ant gat marry, prob ly." 
 
 " Sho, Ann Twine, you ve took twicte as 
 
A GATHERING CLOUD. 297 
 
 much geniwine cdmfort as ye would ef you d ben 
 a-shoolin raound julluk a lunsome garnder all 
 yer days, an so hev I, along wi my ol goose, an 
 so s Sam, tew, a-hevin . One tech o that leetle 
 goslin o hisen, a-snugglin up tu him, is wuth 
 more n ten year o his ol wil* goosin. Haint it, 
 Samwill?" 
 
 Sam nodded a hearty affirmative. He could 
 hear the slow rock of a cradle in the next room 
 above the subdued voices of the old wife and the 
 young, and the occasional responses of his father, 
 who preferred the amiable converse of these two 
 women to the babble of the men. 
 
 " The trouble is," Uncle Lisha went on, " folks 
 gits merried tew young, fore they r aly know 
 what they want> an bimeby wake up an fin they 
 got what they don t want, an then they jest set 
 the sharp aidges tow-ards one nother the hull 
 endurin time." 
 
 "It ant gat no diffrunce," Antoine protested. 
 " Wen Ah 11 was marree, Ah 11 was heighteen, 
 an Ursule was feef teen, an we 11 ant quarrly 
 honly fer made up ag in. Mebby some tarn 
 Ah 11 had fer slap it leetly mite, but we 11 be all 
 raght pooty quick. Wai, seh, One Lasha, der 
 was hoi man an hoi hwomans in Canada gat 
 marree togedder w en dey was hoi an in t ree 
 day dey was set heat dinny, an leetly maouse 
 run on de haouse, an hoi hwomans say, See dat 
 
298 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 maouse. Hoi mans say, 4 It was rats, an 1 hoi 
 hwomans say, * No, it was maouse. 4 Ah toF 
 you it was rats, he 11 said. 4 Maouse, she 11 
 said, an dey holler 4 Rat, 4 Maouse, an get so 
 mad he ll go way an stay t ree year. Den 
 he 11 come back, an she 11 was veree glad f er 
 see it. It was too bad you 11 go way so, jes 
 for leetly maouse. 4 Ant Ah 11 tol you it was 
 rats ? he 11 holler, and he 11 go, an never come 
 some more. What you tink f er hoF folkses naow, 
 Onc Lisha?" 
 
 " Yis, the s oF fools as well as young fools, an 
 it s hard tellin which is the biggest. But I ve 
 hearn tell o tew oF critters at got sot aidgeways 
 an come aout better n you tell on. They d 
 lived together thirty year, but bimeby they fell 
 aout, an they d mump raound all day thaout 
 speakin , an when it come night they d turn the 
 backs tow-ards one other an snore, an purtend tu 
 be asleep, each one wishin t t other d speak, but 
 nary one wouldn t fust. An so it run on till 
 one night in the fall o the year they heered a 
 turrible rumpus mongst the sheep in the yard, 
 an he ups an dresses him an goes aout. Arter 
 quite a spell, an he did n t come back, she slips 
 on her gaownd an shoes an aout she goes tu see 
 what s the matter ailded him, an lo an behol , 
 he was clinched in with an almighty gret bear, 
 the bear a-chawin at him an him a-huggin as 
 
A GATHERING CLOUD. 299 
 
 hard as the bear tu keep him f m gittin his hind 
 claws intu his in ards, which is onpleasant, as I 
 know. 4 Go it, ol man, go it, bear, says she, 
 4 it s the fust fight ever I see at I did n t keer 
 which licked. 
 
 " She stood lookin on a leetle spell, with her 
 fists on her hips, till she see the ol man was 
 a-gittin tuckered, an the bear a-hevin the best 
 on t, an then she up with a sled stake an gin 
 the bear a wollop on the head t knocked him 
 stiffer n a last, and then they hed a huggin 
 match over the carkis of the bear, an lived tu- 
 gether as folks ortu, tu the eend of the days." 
 
 With a briefly admitted blast of the wind, Solon 
 and Pelatiah entered the shop. After the usual 
 comments on the weather had been exchanged 
 Pelatiah asked, " Has any on ye seen them fellers 
 at s ben puttin vip tu Hamner s these tew three 
 days ? " All ears were pricked up, for it was a 
 rare event for Hamner to have guests of such long 
 standing. 
 
 " T ree four day ? " cried Antoine in interroga 
 tive incredulity ; " what kan o folks you 11 s pose 
 dey was put uppin so long for heat hees codfeesh 
 an cookhover pettetoe ? " 
 
 " Why, no ; I hain t heerd on em," Uncle Lisha 
 confessed, listening attentively, though he made 
 a show of attending to his work while he awaited 
 an answer to the question, " Who be they, Pel 
 tier?" 
 
300 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " That s more n I c n tell ye fer all I Ve seen 
 em more n oncte. One on em s a kinder starved 
 lookin , dreamin ol critter at wears specs an 
 black clo s, wal, looks like a minister at s lost 
 his sheep an hed n t got so much as the tag-locks 
 fer tendin on em afore he did lose em. An* 
 the s another feller at looks nigh abaout as hun 
 gry, but not so pious. Seems s ough I d seen 
 him raoun afore a diggin gingshang rhut. But 
 t other one s a all-fired cute lookin chap, look s 
 if he lived off m the top shelf ev ry day an wears 
 han some clo s off intu the woods an a goold chain 
 tu his watch an don t smoke iiothin but seegars. 
 I heard Hamner call him Colonel Ketchum." 
 
 " Good airth an seas, ef he s raoun , there s 
 some speckerlatin goin on some rs." 
 
 " What seems tu be their ospensible ockerpa- 
 tion, that is, what be they duin on ? " 
 
 " I hearn em tellin over tu the store at they 
 re gee-ologists er haw-ologists er some sech ox- 
 teamin name, an the leegislatur sent em aout tu 
 see what kinder faoundations the state is sot on, 
 tu know whether no it s likely tu stan . Some 
 thinks that s only foolin an they re jest a party 
 o counterfeiters, an some thinks they re a-spyin 
 raoun arter runaway niggers at they spect Joel 
 Bartlett s got hid. They was up tu Joel s pur- 
 tendin tu s arch the taown records, an some thinks 
 they re on y lookin fer a place tu hoi camp-nieetin , 
 
A GATHERING CLOUD. 301 
 
 but ef they was, they wouldn t be a stayin tu 
 Hamner s, they d put up tu Elder Foote s. Any 
 ways they re pokin raoun in the woods wi a 
 hammer an spade an pick. It s cur us, any 
 ways." 
 
 " I guess they won t kerry no niggers aouten 
 Danvis if they fin em," said Sam, " but I p sume 
 likely they re some speckerlatin critters." 
 
 " Who knows but what they re lookin arter 
 the ol Injin lead mind at folks useter tell on," 
 Uncle Lisha suggested. " They said the was a 
 ol Injin useter come oncte a year an go up ont 
 the maountain some eres an git all the lead he 
 could lug. They watched him an follered him, 
 but they could n t never find aout where he got 
 it." 
 
 " I 11 bet ye a dollar they re huntin f er aour 
 money," Solon whispered nervously to Antoine. 
 " Ef they be, I hope that ol bear 11 oncaounter 
 em ; " and then added aloud, " It would n t s prise 
 me none ef they was accomplishes o that aire 
 Bascom, a-connivin in his nufarious tricks." 
 
 44 Why they hain t been a-nigh him as anybody 
 knows on," said Pelatiah. 
 
 "Wai," Uncle Lisha said, applying himself 
 more diligently to his work, " whatever they re 
 up tu, I don t s pose they ll du none on us no 
 good. But what s this I hear em telliii baout 
 that aire Bascom goin to marry Square Need* 
 
302 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 ham s wiclder ? She s rich, I s pose. Got taller 
 nough aouten the ol ox tu buy her a steer." 
 
 "Ah 11 guess he ll marree it if he ll could, 
 prob ly. What ail dat Bascoms? He ll borry 
 money of ev ree bodee, an dey say dey can any 
 body gat hees pay, honly promise, promise, nex 
 week, nex week." 
 
 " I m glad he s in the same fix I be," said the 
 old man. " He hain t got none o my money, ner 
 I hain t nuther." 
 
 " An dey say folks was hear loaded team goin 
 way from de store in de naght, an dey t ink he 11 
 carry hees good." 
 
 "Sho! You don t say? Wai, I m afeered 
 he s a tough cud fer someb dy to chaw, I r aly be, 
 an a tumble nice-spoken, candid-appearin feller 
 he is, tew." 
 
 Sam arose, went to the door, and looked out 
 into the gusty night, and retired to the kitchen. 
 He bent for a long time over his boy sleeping in 
 the cradle where Huldah, sitting sewing at the 
 table corner, coidd jog it with her foot. Then 
 he cast a troubled glance upon his wife and Aunt 
 Jerusha at her knitting, and at his father nod 
 ding over the braided husks coiled in many con 
 volutions about his legs and on the floor. Then 
 he sat down in moody silence to whittle the morn 
 ing s kindlings. 
 
 "You ll ant s pose prob ly Sam was lend it 
 money, ant it ? " Antoine whispered. 
 
A GATHERING CLOUD. 303 
 
 " Good airth an seas, no," said Uncle Lisha, 
 in a voice as guarded as its emphasis would allow. 
 " Samwill hain t no money tu lend, but he s allers 
 took oiiaccountable tu that aire Bascom, an he 
 can t abear tu hear a word ag in him. There, 
 that tarnal tap is on at last, an it s hopesin it 
 won t make the man at wears it go the way he 
 don t wanter. It s contr y nough tu." 
 
 He loosened his foot and the boot from the 
 strap that held it to his lap, and, rising with a 
 sigh of relief, began to untie his apron, a hint 
 that hastened the departure of his guests. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 DARK DAYS. 
 
 SAM S chores were done betimes next morning 
 and his breakfast was hardly eaten, when he an 
 nounced an abrupt departure by saying that he 
 had an errand at the village. 
 
 "What be you in sech a tew for?" Huldah 
 asked. " You hain t aout o terbacker, I know, 
 fer the s nigh a paper full in the sullerway, an it 
 hain t a week sence you got a paoimd o paowder 
 an four paounds o shot." She could think of 
 no possible errands that demanded such immediate 
 attention. She followed Sam to the door and 
 laid a hand on his arm. " What is t Sam ? 
 The s suthin a-pesterin on ye, I know by your 
 looks. Why don t you tell what t is ? Hain t 
 your wife the one you d orter tell your troubles 
 tu?" 
 
 " No man ever had a better one," he said ear 
 nestly. " It hain t nothin much. Don t you 
 cross no bridges till ye come tu em, Huldy," and 
 he hurried away at as swift a pace as ever took 
 him to a runway, barring the exigencies that de 
 manded running. He wished it was night that 
 
DARK DAYS. 305 
 
 he might run now, but it would not do, for every 
 old woman on his route would sally forth to know 
 if he was going for the doctor, and delay him with 
 no end of questions. 
 
 When he entered Bascom s store, he was 
 startled to see how bare it had become since he 
 saw it last. Half the shelves were empty, and the 
 tempting display of the counters had shrunk to a 
 forlorn array of odds and ends. A sharp-eyed 
 stranger was prowling softly about with a note 
 book and pencil in hand and Bascom was lounging 
 near, in apparently careless attendance. 
 
 " Why, good morning, Lovel. Glad to see 
 you. Mr. Whitney, Mr. Lovel. My friend Mr. 
 Whitney is helping me take account of stock. 
 Lovel s a particular friend of mine, Whitney. 
 Greatest fox-hunter in the country." 
 
 Mr. Whitney nodded, looked suspiciously at 
 Sam, and went on noting down his memoranda. 
 
 " Say, Lovel," Bascom continued hurriedly, " I 
 want to go fox-hunting with you, or rabbit-hunt 
 ing. That suits me better. What do you say to 
 going some day next week? " 
 
 " I don t never hunt rabbits," Sam answered 
 with a preoccupied air. " Break my dogs never 
 tu foller em. I d like tu see you a minute, Mr. 
 Bascom." 
 
 "Certainly, certainly, step this way. Well 
 then call it foxes, though I never could kill a fox I 
 
306 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 I ain t sharp enough for them ; " and he led the 
 way to the dingy little counting-room whither the 
 lynx eyes of Whitney followed them till the door 
 closed upon them. 
 
 "What can I do for you, Lovel?" Bascom 
 asked with solicitous good humor. 
 
 "Look a here, Mr. Bascom," said Sam in a 
 low, restrained voice and dashing at his subject as 
 a bashful man does when he dare not hesitate. 
 "I want you tu gi me some s curity fer what 
 I ve signed wi ye, on them bank notes. It s run 
 up tu nine hundred dollars an up ards, an ef 
 anything should happen, it ould knock me gaily 
 west." 
 
 " Why, certainly, Lovel, I 11 be glad to secure 
 you. What do you say to a lien on the stock in 
 the store ? " 
 
 " Why, seem s ough it looks kinder slim," 
 Sam said doubtfully. 
 
 " Well, perhaps ; I ve had a big trade lately, 
 but it s worth a good deal more 11 nine hundred. 
 I shall be getting in my winter s stock next week, 
 though, an I can fix you then, so you 11 feel easy 
 enough." 
 
 Sam shook his head. " I guess I 11 take a lien 
 on what you Ve got, an you c n give me another, 
 when you git your new goods in." 
 
 " All right, Lovel. I 11 attend to it right off, 
 to-morrow." Sam s countenance fell. " You see 
 
DARK DAYS. 307 
 
 I can t attend to it to-day, on account of helping 
 Whitney. To-morrow will do just as well, won t 
 it, Level?" 
 
 " I d a good deal druther hev it made aout 
 to-day." 
 
 " Then, again," continued Bascom, " the town 
 clerk and the Square have both gone to Vgennes. 
 Went by early this morning, an we could n t get 
 the papers made out." 
 
 "Wai, I s pose I ll hafter wait," said Sam, 
 turning to go. " You don t blame me none, Mr. 
 Bascom ? I hain t got nothin but the farm an a 
 wood-lot an the stock an the s three ol folks 
 dependin on me, an it ould be awf l tough if 
 anything should happen." 
 
 " Why of course, but you need n t be uneasy. 
 But say, if you are," and he sank his voice to 
 a whisper, " why don t you deed the farm back to 
 your father ? " 
 
 " No, sir," and Sam s face flushed ; " I hain t 
 no slink ef I be a dumb fool." 
 
 " Oh, there s no harm in your doing that if it 
 would make you feel any easier. That s all it 
 would be for, anyway. But do as you like. 
 Come down in the morning and we ll fix the 
 lien." 
 
 He followed Sam to the outer door and looked 
 after him with something of concern in his restless 
 eyes; then saying to himself, "If he will be a 
 
308 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 blasted fool, he must take his chances with the 
 rest," he returned to his uneasy lounging. 
 
 That night he was speeding behind Hamners 
 best horse, toward the lake, on his way to Can 
 ada, a fugitive from Danvis, where he was never 
 seen again. 
 
 On his way to the village, the next morning, 
 Sam was met by the ill tidings already running 
 like wild fire along the quiet roads, that Bascom s 
 store was closed, everything in it attached by dis 
 tant creditors, and he gone, no one knew whither. 
 Sam went on to receive complete assurance of the 
 rumor, and then returned to his home, bearing 
 the burden of a heavy heart. His white, set face 
 frightened Huldah when he entered the kitchen. 
 
 "Be you sick?" she asked anxiously, but he 
 did not answer till she had followed him into the 
 bedroom. Then seating himself on the bed, he 
 drew her to his knee and with desperate rapidity 
 told her the whole story of his wretched entan 
 glement with the unscrupulous adventurer. She 
 listened to the end without speaking, and then, 
 holding lus face with both hands close to hers, 
 she said : 
 
 " Sam, why did n t you tell me afore ? I don t 
 blame you fer nothin but that. You hed orter 
 ha tol me, an mebby I would n t ha let ye, fer 
 I allers mistrusted that Bascom. He was tew 
 clever an tew false-eyed." 
 
DARK DAYS. 309 
 
 * Yis," said Sam, " tew dumb clever an cute 
 fer sech a dodunk as I be. He kep me a-thinkin 
 it ould be all right, tu-morrer, tu-morrer, wi his 
 promises. On y yistiddy he promised faithful, 
 tu gi me s curity, an naow all he hed is taiched 
 up an he gone an lef me tu face the music 
 alone. Ev ything we ve got is jes the same as 
 gone. Them bank fellers tu V gennes don t 
 show no marcy." 
 
 " Mebby father 11 help us, so s t we c n save 
 the farm," said Huldah. 
 
 " I would n t ask him, no more n I d cut my 
 head off. He never thought none tew much on 
 me, an naow he 11 think less on me. He 11 tell 
 you tu come hum wi bub, an le me go tu the 
 ol Scratch." 
 
 " No, Sam, he knows I would n t never leave 
 you jes as well as you du," said Huldah fer 
 vently, stroking his frowsy, flaxen poll. " We re 
 young an tough, an* we ve got one nother an* 
 aour boy, an what s the hul worl compared? 
 Don t you be daown-hearted." 
 
 " I know it all. But what hits me the hardest 
 is, what s goiii tu be become o father an Uncle 
 Lisher an Aunt Jerushy. They re all on em 
 mos past cuttin the own fodder. An what ef 
 we sh ld be sick er suthin ? The d be nothin 
 fer em but tu go on the taown. It s like a 
 chunk o lead." 
 
310 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 <4 They shan t never, * she said, with suppressed 
 vehemence ; " we 11 work aour fingers tii the bone 
 fust. But there 11 be a way aout somewheres. 
 It s took us sudden, an we ve got tu think." 
 
 " I ve tried tu, but my head s all in a whirl, 
 an my idees is all in a whew, like dried leaves in 
 a whirlwin ." 
 
 " Well, we 11 think it aout someways," said 
 Huldah hopefully. 
 
 " The sheriff 11 be here tu rights," said Sam, 
 " fer them bank fellers is sharper on the scent of 
 a dollar an Drive on the track of a fresh-started 
 fox. I d ruther take a wus lickin an ever I got 
 yit an tu see him a-levyin on the stuff, an the 
 Ian that gran ther cleared on the fust pitch at 
 was made in Dan vis. He could ha settled at the 
 lake ef he hed n t ben so afeared o the fever V 
 aig. Mebby ef he hed, an I d ha been raised 
 there, I shouldn t ha ben such a tarnal fool. 
 But then ag in, mebby I would n t ha faound you. 
 Anyhaow, the sheriff can t take you an bub away 
 f m me. Wai, I s pose I mus go tu work ef it is 
 lunsome business, a-duin fer you do know who. 
 But it s better n mumpin . Duin anythin is. 
 But, fust off, I Ve got tu tell father an Uncle 
 Lisher, an it s abaout the toughest job in the hull 
 business." 
 
 " Wai, an I 11 talk it over wi Aunt Jerushy." 
 
 " What a caoward I be I " Sam exclaimed* 
 
DARK DAYS. 311 
 
 " Lord, I wish t I c ld run off int the woods an 
 hide, er lay daown an sleep an never wake up tu 
 remember nothin ." 
 
 " Oh no, you don t nuther ! You wanter live 
 an see what kin of a hunter the baby s goin tu 
 be," said his wife. 
 
 At length, facing the irksome duty of inflicting 
 pain, Sam called his father into the shop, and, in 
 the fewest possible words, unsparing of self-con 
 demnation as a penitent of his own scourge, he 
 told the ill tidings to the two old men. Uncle 
 Lisha heard them with an attention divided by 
 his work after the first few words, listening, while 
 he entered the bristles in the awl-holes with un- 
 trembling hands, and drew the waxed ends with 
 slow, strong pulls. When Sam concluded, he 
 said : 
 
 " Wai, good airth an seas ! The hain t no 
 use o cryin over spilt milk. I guess the won t 
 none on us die afore aour tune comes." 
 
 Timothy Lovel, although appalled by the calam 
 ity which threatened to break up the household 
 wherein he had found such quiet contentment, 
 offered only the mild reproof : 
 
 " You wa n t ezackly preudent a-signin wi a 
 man you did n t know no better," which he tem 
 pered by saying, " but you meant well, an hed n t 
 uo idee but what t would come all right." 
 
 Sam waited a little, giving them opportunity to 
 
312 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 say more, but they did not avail themselves of it, 
 and for the ease of his mind he went forth to find 
 some work to lay his hand to. His first look 
 abroad revealed the well-known figure of the con 
 stable rocking and swaying up the road in his 
 thorough-brace sulky, a species of carriage used 
 by no other person in the community save by the 
 doctor. 
 
 The officer hitched his well-known white horse 
 much too conspicuously in front of the house, and 
 then began to levy on the personal property in a 
 disagreeably calm and business-like manner. Sam 
 had always liked Constable Beers, and had voted 
 for him at every March meeting for years, but he 
 hated him now, and swore never to give him his 
 vote again. He, however, relented when the con 
 stable, having made the rounds, turned to him 
 and said with a sigh of regret : 
 
 " Darn it all, Lovel ! the hain t pus nal prop ty 
 nough tu half satisfy the claim, an I ve got tu 
 tach the land. I m tormented sorry, but I ve 
 got tu du my duty. You must n t lay up no hard 
 feelin s ag in me, as twixt man an man." 
 
 " I did n t know but you lufted tu, same as 
 butchers lufster kill critters," said Sam. " They 
 hain t nothin ag in the critters, but they like the 
 business." 
 
 " Wai, then, I don t," said the constable ; and 
 then, in a loud whisper, though no one was in 
 
DARK DAYS. 313 
 
 earshot, "why, if you had any idee this was 
 a-comin , why in tunket did n t you deed the Ian 
 back tu yer father ? " 
 
 " Proberbly, cordin tu most folkses idee, 
 cause I was a dumbd fool." 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 
 
 SAM wandered uneasily about in pursuit of work 
 that had no purpose but to keep him from think* 
 ing. At last, he shouldered the ox-yoke and 
 started for the meadow. As he passed the hog 
 pen, he fairly resented the indifference with which 
 the hogs were taking on fat for another man s 
 benefit, and begrudgingly threw them their accus 
 tomed largess of nubbins, though they grunted 
 lazy recognition of his familiar footstep. It put 
 him more out of humor, to see the contentment 
 with which the cows and oxen grazed, jowl deep 
 in the aftermath, and the sheep nibbling the pas 
 ture knolls, all indifferent to impending change 
 of ownership, though they had so long been his 
 daily companions. The old hound alone seemed 
 sympathetic, walking at heel, spiritless and de 
 jected, scarcely noticing the last night s fox-trail 
 that the reeking herbage still exhaled, and meet 
 ing his occasional glances with a wistful face 
 more troubled than his master s. 
 
 The mood of nature was as little in accord 
 with his as was that of liis flock and herds. The 
 
FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 315 
 
 sun shone out of the soft sky with genial warmth 
 on woods and fields not yet quite stripped of 
 painted leaves and green grass by the final deso 
 lating blasts of late autumn. There was a full 
 measure of hearty cheer in the notes of migrant 
 crows and other birds that delayed departure or 
 stayed to brave the stress of winter weather; 
 only the tri-syllabic plaint of the thistle bird, 
 gleaning the ripe weed seeds, had a cadence of 
 sadness and farewell. 
 
 " It s all the same tu the airth an the dumb 
 critters, who goes or who comes! All but you, 
 Drive," he said as he slipped the ox-bow on old 
 Bright s burly neck and fastened it in the yoke 
 and called Broad to take his place. " But I hope 
 whoever gits a holt o you ol fellers 11 be good tu 
 ye, an the caows an the ol mare. I don t want 
 you bused ner the farm nuther." 
 
 He yoked the oxen to the cart and drove them 
 out to the field for the last shocks of unhusked 
 corn. The plough stood in an unfinished furrow 
 among the stubble and frost-blackened pumpkin 
 vines. Sam drew it out and heaved it upon the 
 cart with spiteful energy. 
 
 " By the gret horn spoon, I won t plough an 
 other furrer fer the Lord knows who," he solilo 
 quized in a tone that accorded with the action ; 
 and with a long look, as if bidding the familiar 
 field farewell, he hauled home the last load and 
 turned the oxen loose. 
 
316 DASTIS FOLKS. 
 
 He watched them wander off in search of the 
 choicest feed and then set himself to husking, 
 while his vagrant thoughts wandered in futile 
 quest of a way of escape from the troubles that 
 beset him. His eyes went over and over the fa 
 miliar interior. It was hard to think that the old 
 barn was passing out of his ownership. Every 
 nook and corner of scaffold, bay, and stable re 
 called some incident of childish sport or freak of 
 fancy, linked with the thoughts of youth and man 
 hood so intimately that their years seemed but as 
 days, childhood and youth but parts of dawning 
 manhood. The rudely carved initials and figures 
 were translated again in their old significance ; 
 the scars, the knots, the contortions of grain took 
 on again the semblance of men. beasts, and birds, 
 that had been realities to his childish imagination. 
 All the familiar surroundings seemed too much a 
 part of himself to go out of his life while he yet 
 lived. 
 
 u Consarn it ! " he cried out impatiently, as he 
 tossed aside a bundle of stalks, my idees runs 
 wilder "n a haoun" pup on a back track* an never 
 gits nowheres. I "11 tell ye what, ol dawg." ad 
 dressing the hound curled up in the comfortable 
 warmth of the sunshine falling on the barn floor, 
 u we "11 go off int the woods a day, jest you an 
 me, an see if we can t git "em straightened aout." 
 
 Drive s tail beat a rustling response on the 
 
FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 317 
 
 l-ornstalks, and his sad brow was lifted in new 
 corrugations of inquiry. 
 
 The shadow of a figure debased the gold of the 
 floating motes and crept along the floor till it fell 
 upon the bundle rustling on Sam s lap, and Pela- 
 tiah s lank figure materialized behind it. Drive 
 
 O 
 
 wagged recognition, and Sam turned a surprised 
 face over his shoulder to welcome their comrade. 
 
 The simple greetings, " Why, Peltier," " Wai, 
 Samwill," expressed a deal of friendliness, but no 
 more was said till Pelatiah, after the custom of 
 such visitors, seated himself, drew a bundle of 
 corn across his knee, and began husking. For a 
 while there was a continuous rustling of husks, 
 leaves, and stalks, punctuated by the snapping off 
 of ears and their sharp click upon the growing 
 pile ; then, as the two huskers finished their bun 
 dles together, Pelatiah said, after much embar 
 rassed clearing of his throat : 
 
 " I s pose it s true what I hearn abaout that 
 aire Bascom s gittin you intu sech a mess ? " 
 
 Sam nodded assent, and Pelatiah continued, 
 " I m turrible sorry, Samwill, an I wish *t I hed 
 the means tu help ye more n what I hev ; but I 
 hev got some, which I want you tu take an use 
 it." 
 
 He leaned far back, straightened his left leg, 
 went down into the depths of his trousers pocket, 
 and brought up therefrom a wallet, from which 
 
318 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 he took a small roll of bank notes, and carefully 
 counted them upon his knee with a frequently 
 moistened forefinger. 
 
 " I hed consid able more n forty dollars at I d 
 saved up one way an nother," he said apologet 
 ically, as he completed the counting, "but the 
 fun al, an the darkter s bill an Hamner s took 
 above half on t. But I want ye tu take this an* 
 not trouble tu pay it back ontil things eases up on 
 
 ye." 
 
 He stretched it out toward Sam with an awk 
 ward, bashful eagerness glowing in his honest 
 face. 
 
 " Oh, Peltier, I could n t ! " Sam protested, his 
 voice choking and his eyes moistening. " I m a 
 thaousan times obleeged tu ye, but I could n t 
 take it." 
 
 " But I want ye tu, Samwill. T ain t much, I 
 know, but it 11 help over the pitches some, 
 maybe," Pelatiah urged. 
 
 " I in as bleeged tu ye as if t was a thaousan 
 dollars, but I could n t take it. I do know when 
 I c ld pay you, an I hain t a thing tu s cure you, 
 an ev rythin here s taiched up." 
 
 " I don t care when you pay me, I want you tu 
 take it an use it jest s if t was yourn." Pela 
 tiah thrust the money further toward Sam s with 
 drawn hand. " I did n t s pose you d spleen ag in 
 takin a leetle favor f m me, Samwill, sen I ve 
 
FEIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 319 
 
 took so many f m you," Pelatiah said, in a grieved 
 tone, and still holding out the proffered loan. 
 
 Sam looked steadily into the earnest, kindly 
 blue eyes and took the hand and money in a warm, 
 firm grasp. 
 
 " Ef you re goin tu feel that way baout it, I 
 shall hafter take it, but I hed n t ortu." 
 
 " You hed n t ortu ? You ve gottu," said Pela 
 tiah joyfully. " It ould burn my pocket tu kerry 
 it an you a-needin on t, so there ! " 
 
 " Wai, ef you will hev it so, you will, but you 
 got to take a note t any rate. Come int the 
 haouse an I 11 write one." 
 
 Pelatiah protested, but Sam was inexorable, 
 and, after counting the money carefully, pocketed 
 it and led the way into the house. 
 
 " Bad luck is good luck when it shows a feller 
 who his frien s is," Sam said, laying a gentle hand 
 on his young comrade s shoulder as they entered 
 the door. 
 
 Long before the constable posted the notice of 
 the sale in Hamner s bar-room and in Clapham s 
 store, the news of Sam s disaster was spread 
 through half the township. 
 
 Mrs. Purington waddled across the fields to 
 offer the balm of condolence to the distressed 
 family. The sound of her labored breath, and 
 ponderous step on the threshold as she assisted 
 herself, with a hand on her knee, to surmount it 
 
320 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 and enter the door, opened to the Indian summer 
 warmth, was the first announcement of her visit. 
 
 Faintly acknowledging the salutations of her 
 daughter, Aunt Jerusha, Uncle Lisha, and Tim 
 othy, she slowly lowered herself into the first 
 comfortable chair, accomplishing the feat with 
 a final bounce, and exhaling a long sigh, as if she 
 were a slowly collapsing bag of inflated india rub 
 ber. Then she rummaged forth her handkerchief 
 and bottle of hartshorn salts, and fixed a tearful 
 gaze on the little boy, who sat among his aban 
 doned playthings staring in bewilderment at his 
 grandmother s rueful countenance. 
 
 " Oh, you poor innercent ! " she wailed, in a 
 shaking voice, portentous of a lachrymal shower ; 
 " little you know what s afore you, a-settin there, 
 playin wi your mother s clo spins which I gin 
 her four dozen, when she went tu haousekeepin 
 wi yer father, which I should n t think he c ld 
 endure tu look at ye ner her, a-thinkin what he s 
 brung on ye. Play wi em while ye can, an it 
 don t make no diiFunce ef ye break em or lose 
 em, fer t ain t likely she 11 hev no use fer em, 
 wi nothin tu heng aout on y the clo s on yer 
 backs, which she can t thout all a-goin tu bed. 
 An tu think at you was fetched through the 
 whoopin cough an the measles wi Hive surrup 
 an lobele an pennyrile tea, tu come tu this, 
 which I gathered wi my own han s, an nanny- 
 
FEIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 321 
 
 berries tu fetch em aout, a-nussin you an com- 
 fortin your mother, an broke o my res , which 
 I will con tinner tu, whilst I m gi ii stren th." 
 
 She put her handkerchief to her eyes and 
 tucked the smelling-bottle inside it to her nose, 
 making her snuffling sobs do double duty, while 
 the object of her pity lifted up his voice and wept, 
 whereunto Drive joined a sympathetic howl. 
 
 " For massy s sake, mother," cried Huldah, 
 snatching up the child and wiping his nubby nose 
 with her apron while she tried to comfort him, 
 " what be ye makin sech a fuss abaout ? There, 
 mother s man, he stop a minute an hear Drive 
 sing. Just see what a howdalo you Ve started ! 
 What s the use o hevin a fun al afore anybody 
 sdead?" 
 
 " It s alters the way," whined Mrs. Purington 
 behind her handkerchief. "Jes as soon as ye 
 try tu comfort anybody, they git mad stiddy 
 bein grateful one mossel tu folks a-toilin cross 
 lots tu console em, an climbin fences an a-soz- 
 zlin through wet grass, I do know why that 
 aire rowen hain t cut, a ton to the acre, an* 
 the heart a-bustin wi sympathy, an both feet 
 a-soppin wet, an then hev it all took so ongrate- 
 ful. An Lisher an Jerushy," making a blind 
 gesture toward them with the smelling-bottle fru 
 gally stopped with her forefinger, "the hain t 
 notliin f er them but tu be hove ontu the taown, 
 fer s I see." 
 
322 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Good airth an seas, Eunice Pur n t n ! Ef 
 it comes tu thet, t ain t no killin disgrace. Pov 
 erty hain t no crime, an I Ve allers paid my 
 sheer o the poor tax ; an ef it s my lot tu hev 
 some on t used fer me, I shan t consider it no 
 disgrace. But the s lots o day s works in me 
 an the ol woman yit, afore it comes tu that." 
 
 " It does seem s ef some folks hed n t no shame 
 intu em," she said mournfully, and Sam, entering 
 just then, drew upon himself the consolatory 
 stream. 
 
 " Oh dear me sussy day ! " she said, regarding 
 him sorrowfully and reproachfully as she sniffed 
 the hartshorn. " I du hope, Samwill Lovel, at 
 you reurlize naow what I allers said, an Huldy s 
 father, what yer goo -fer-nothin huntin ould 
 come tu in the eend. Huntin an signin goes 
 hand in hand. Oh dear me suz ! " 
 
 " Wai, naow," Sam said, in a conciliatory tone, 
 44 1 don t ezackly see what my huntin hed * tu du 
 wi my signin wi that skeezucks. He never went 
 a-huntin long wi me. Ef I was borned a tarnal 
 fool, I do know what the huntin , at come arter, 
 hed tu du with t. Huntin sharpens a feller s 
 wits, an I m most af eared I hain t hunted half 
 enough." 
 
 She groaned, and went on : 
 
 " Haow in the livin worl anybody c ld trust 
 that sof -soapin hippercrite of a Bascom s more n 
 
FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 323 
 
 I c n see intu. I allers said f m the fust at he 
 was a scallywag, an wa n t tu be trusted a inch. 
 He went off a-owin me, myself, tew dollars, 
 twenty dozen aigs the was, an forty cents, cause 
 I couldn t think o nothin I wanted jes then, 
 never mistrustin nothin ." 
 
 " You must ha ben a-huntin that day, mother," 
 Sam suggested. 
 
 " Me a-huntin ? " she snorted indignantly. 
 " Nob dy never come tu no good a-shoolin an* 
 a-traipsin raoun a-huntin , an - 
 
 " T aint no sech a thing, Eunice Bord n." 
 With the hoarse whistling voice came the sound 
 of a footfall and the emphatic planting of a staff 
 on the threshold, and Gran ther Hill stamped in, 
 glaring savagely at Mrs. Purington, who at once 
 took refuge in her handkerchief and fortified 
 herself with repeated sniffs of the hartshorn. 
 
 " It s good fer a man s body an soul tu go a- 
 huntin ef he don t hunt like a cussed hawg, 
 a-gawmin daown ev ything he comes tu. A rest 
 tu the body an a divarsion tu the min fer sech as 
 c n enj y sensible divarsion an hain t got a appe 
 tite fer f un als which I hain t. Would n t never 
 go tu my own f I c ld git red on t." 
 
 The good woman uncovered one eye as this 
 indirect thrust was delivered at one of her well- 
 known weaknesses. 
 
 " The can t nob dy say at ever I went tu a 
 
324 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 fun al on y f m a sense o duty, aouten respect tu 
 the diseased an tu comfort the living" she pro 
 tested in broken accents. " But I declare tu 
 goodness, Capting Hill, I won t never go nigh 
 yourn." 
 
 " It s hopesin I won give ye no casion fer a 
 c nsid able spell yit, Eunice," said the veteran, 
 smiling grimly. " But I did n t come here tu jaw 
 wi women. I come here on business wi Sam will," 
 and he turned toward him without the softening 
 of a line in his stern old visage. 
 
 " Hunters is some like sojers in hengin tu- 
 gether, an I heng tu you, not at you re much of 
 a hunter, but ye would ha ben ef I d hed the 
 bringin on ye up, but you hain t tu blame for 
 thet. I ve jest hearn at you Ve got yer foot in- 
 tu a reg lar bear-trap thet blasted Bascom sot fer 
 ye. Thet comes o bein tew tarnal clever an 
 good-natered, which it is the on y fault o hunters, 
 an what allers ailded me. The idee is, naow, 
 tu git ye aout on t, an I come over tu tell ye at 
 I ve jest drawed my year s pension, namely, 
 ninety-six dollars, in money, an I m a-goin tu let 
 ye hev it long as you re a min tu, thaout use, 
 twenty year mebby, I shan t want it till I git 
 kin e ol an gi n aout." 
 
 The while he spoke, Gran ther Hill drew from 
 his pocket a tanned heart case and took out of it 
 a roll of crisp new bank notes which he now began 
 
FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 325 
 
 to count out on the table, and, having laboriously 
 completed the unusual task, shoved them toward 
 Sam. 
 
 " I thank ye more n I c n tell, Cap n Hill," 
 Sam said, " but I can t take it. I can t give ye 
 no s curity, an my note hain t wuth the paper it s 
 wrote on, naow. I could n t take it, Cap n." 
 
 " Damn the s curity. Gimme your dawg. I 
 sh ld like tu own a ninety-six dollar haoun dawg. 
 Come, ye got tu take it, Sammy." 
 
 Sam shook his head. " No, Cap n, I can t take 
 it naow, but I 11 tell ye what I 11 du, if wust 
 comes tu wust, I 11 ask ye for t, an I m as bleeged 
 tu ye as ef I hed the money in my pocket," and he 
 thrust the notes back into the veteran s unwilling 
 hand. 
 
 " Wai, ef ye won t hev it no other way, so be it," 
 he said returning it to the heart case and that to 
 his pocket. 
 
 " I don t see no way," whimpered Mrs. Puring- 
 ton, having regained her speech and improving 
 the first opportunity to exercise it, " no way but 
 fer you, Huldy, tu take bub an come hum till 
 things gits settled. The 11 be the vandue, which 
 the hull haouse 11 be run over wuss 11 a donation 
 party, thank goodness, they won t hafter be fed, 
 sheriff s vandue, a-peekin intu all the charmbers, 
 an a-trackin f m suller tu garrit, fer there 11 be 
 mud, the allers is, an a-seein your vallerdest 
 
326 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 things sol afore your face an eyes f er mos nothin*. 
 You take bub an come hum." 
 
 44 Mother," Huldah s voice was tremulous with 
 suppressed indignation and her face flushed with 
 anger, " what sort of a fair-weather wife du 
 you s pose I be, tu sneak off an leave my man 
 tu stan the brunt on t alone ? It was fer richer 
 an poorer at I promised tu take Sam, an what 
 I promise I stan tu, jes as he does. What hits 
 one, hits both, an the heft one kerries, t other 
 takes the sheer on." 
 
 44 1 do know Huldy but you d better," said 
 Sam. 44 It 11 be almighty onpleasant fer ye here, 
 as yer mother says." 
 
 44 1 Ve gone snucks wi you in all the pleasant 
 things we Ve come tu, an so I shall in them that 
 hain t." She tossed the boy upon her shoulder 
 and took him to his father, into whose arms she 
 thrust him, where, clinging to Sam s neck he cast 
 furtive wondering backward glances at his grand 
 mother s woe-begone face and the grim visage of 
 Gran ther Hill. 
 
 44 Bub hain t a-goin tu leave his daddy in the 
 ruts, is he, ner his mother, nuther ? " she said, 
 kissing his plump cheek. 
 
 44 Naow, then, Sammy," said Gran ther Hill, 
 starting in his chair with a sudden recollection, 
 " if you ve got any cider at s good fer the time 
 D year as it was this time las year, I want some 
 
FRIENDS IN ADVERSITY. 327 
 
 on t, fer I m nigh abaout kiln-dried wi talkin an 
 hearin talk. Light a light an I 11 go ri daown 
 suller wi ye, fer Lisher an Timerthy don t need 
 none, t aint nourishin nough fer sech ol critters. 
 Why, they ve gone." 
 
 His eyes sought the corner where they had last 
 been seen, but they, having received all they de 
 sired of Mrs. Purington s consolation, had some 
 time before retired unnoticed to the shop. 
 
 As Gran ther Hill carefully descended the 
 stairs behind Sam, placing each foot twice on 
 every step, he ground his gums till nose and chin 
 met and whispered hoarsely : 
 
 " By the Lord Harry, Lovel, I 11 give ye the 
 ninety-six dollars aout an aout, if you 11 jest le me 
 choke that mother-in-law o yourn, one minute." 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 LUCK OF THE WOODS. 
 
 " THEY say the Widder Needham wants tu let 
 her place on sheers," said Sam to his wife the 
 next morning, when they, the baby, and the hound 
 were the only occupants of the kitchen, " an I Ve 
 thought o tryin fer that, but I do know, I can t 
 git a holt o nothin . I b lieve I shall hafter go 
 off int the woods by myself a spell," and he cast 
 a casual glance up at his gun that was gathering 
 the dust of disuse. " Then ag in, I kinder want 
 tu look over aour maountain lot. That hain t ben 
 taiched, an it seems s ough it might be turned 
 tu some accaount. The s a slew o timber on t, 
 an I c ld build us a turrible neat lawg haouse 
 aouten them spreuce." 
 
 " Oh, I allers thought a lawg haouse wus jest as 
 cute as could be an allers wanted tu live in one," 
 Huldah said with enthusiasm. 
 
 " Mebby you 11 git the chance. An if I c ld 
 hit the forge folks on a coalin job, I might make 
 well on t. If t was cleared up, I s pose we might 
 git a livin off on t. It s c nsid able uphill an I 
 don t s pose the sile o land is fust chop, but I 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 329 
 
 guess it ould raise white beans an buckwheat an* 
 both on em is fillin ." 
 
 " Good land, Sam," cried Huldah. " Don t fer 
 lan s sake say buckwheat afore mother. She d 
 hev a conniption fit an hev aour ears all cracked 
 off m aour heads afore the buckwheat was in 
 blow." 
 
 " I don t set no gret store by it myself," Sam 
 conceded, " but it s better n a snow bank, an 
 high duck folks is gittin tu think buckwheat 
 pancakes is some punkins. But the can t no 
 Green Maountain Boy go ag in beans. They was 
 victuals an drink tu the ol settlers, an ammerni- 
 tion, tew, fer I ve heard Gran ther Hill tell haow 
 at they shot Yorkers with em. I guess I 11 go 
 up an look the lot over an see. An I s pose I 
 might as well take my gun along an Drive ould 
 feel bad if I left him." 
 
 " No, you mus n t hurt Drive s feelin s," said 
 Huldah, smiling, as she roused the hound from 
 the heavy sleep that linked one hunting bout with 
 another. 
 
 " I allers feel better in the woods an c n think 
 better in em, an mebby c n git my idees straight 
 ened aout." 
 
 Huldah had great faith in Sam s sovereign balm 
 for all his ills of body and mind, having seen 
 it work cures of both, and offered no objection 
 to a trial of it now. As he stepped forward to 
 
330 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 take down his gun, his father came in with some 
 husks in a basket, to sort for braiding. With 
 surprise but no reproach, he said : 
 
 " Why, Sammy, seem s ough you was takin a 
 late start a-huntin , fer you." 
 
 " Wai, father, I m goin more tu see abaout the 
 wood lot. Seems s ough we c ld git somethin 
 aout o that," Sam explained and went out, Drive 
 careering about him in clumsy expression of joy at 
 the unexpected outing. Sam s heart felt a fresh 
 pang as he passed the shop window and thought 
 of the anxiety his credulity had brought upon his 
 two old friends. 
 
 As Huldah fondly watched her husband out of 
 sight, she sighed to see how wearily he walked 
 with downcast eyes as one whose thoughts were 
 far from sport or pastime. Yet his dulled senses 
 were alert enough to feel keenly how his mood 
 was mocked by the Indian Summer day that 
 seemed to have caught all the year s serenity in 
 its misty web of gold and purple. 
 
 The breeze touched him softly as the breath of 
 June, nor scarcely stirred the drifted windrows 
 of fallen leaves, nor tossed alee the gray ashes of 
 the goldenrod s burned-out flame, nor bore from 
 the veiled mountain the low song of the evergreens. 
 The tranquil babble of unswollen brooks rose 
 and fell with the light wafts, the bluebirds carol 
 floated down through the haze that was spun from 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 331 
 
 sky to earth, the meadow-larks sang their long- 
 drawn summer songs again, the lazy caw of lin 
 gering crows came from their latest woodland 
 camp among the evergreens, and a partridge s 
 April drum-call throbbed through the filmy 
 copses. It was as if nature were solacing herself 
 in this autumnal truce for all turbulence of her 
 forces, past, or henceforth possible. 
 
 With scarcely a thought of his course, Sam 
 entered the woods and heard as in a dream the 
 old hound s rustling footsteps as he ranged about 
 him. Nor did he scarcely notice more the impa 
 tient whine that told of a puzzling scent, half 
 exhaled since Reynard fared homeward from his 
 early mousing, nor yet the first clear note that 
 announced a more exhilarating savor with assured 
 direction. But when the melody became exultant 
 and continuous with competing echoes he awoke 
 to a realization that the fox was afoot, and he in 
 stinctively made for a favorite runway. 
 
 It was at the crest of a ledge that wrinkled the 
 mountain side lengthwise, where the starved trees, 
 beggarly with patches of lichen and rags of moss, 
 stood far apart among the rocks and gave eye and 
 gun a range of several rods. Sam stood listening 
 till the hound s voice, with its attendant clamor of 
 screaming jays, had faded out of hearing, leaving 
 the woods about him as silent as if he were thei* 
 only tenant. 
 
S32 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 He sat down on a fallen trunk and his thoughts 
 went wearily back to a confused consideration of 
 plans for the future that came and went like a 
 procession of fog wreaths and would take no more 
 definite form. 
 
 The bugle notes rose faintly again in the dis 
 tance, and rolled nearer and nearer, but if heard, 
 were not heeded, till a sudden burst close at hand 
 recalled with a start his wandering thoughts, and 
 he rose quickly to his feet. There was a rustling 
 of dry leaves hi the hollow at his left, and he 
 caught fleeting glimpses of the fox running at top 
 speed in evident alarm at a sight or scent of the 
 hunter. With one motion, the cocked gun was at 
 Sam s shoulder, sighted a foot ahead of the flying 
 target and the trigger pulled. In that moment, 
 his mind all on the game now, with a pang of 
 vexation he was aware that a tree trunk had inter 
 vened. He heaved a sigh of disappointment. 
 
 " By the gret horn spoon, jewed by a skeezucks 
 and fooled by a fox, I wonder what s a-comin 
 next." 
 
 The report of the gun led Drive to the spot, 
 by a shorter route than the devious course of the 
 fox. The hound looked up with reproacliful, 
 wondering inquiry a moment when laid on the 
 trail, then resumed his slow, persistent pursuit 
 with a renewed burst of far-echoed melody. Sam 
 listened in vexation of spirit to the receding notes 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 333 
 
 of the hound and the answering echoes growing 
 fainter and fainter, till they were scarcely distin 
 guishable above the fitful stir of dry leaves in the 
 vagrant wafts of air, and the constant monotone 
 of the evergreens on the wind-loved heights. 
 
 At last they faded beyond the scope of in- 
 tentest listening, and, dismissing with them all 
 thought of sport, he went on over ledges and 
 through depressions toward the mountain lot. 
 His woodsman s eye soon discovered the faint 
 marks of one boundary which he traced to an 
 ancient corner-tree, encircled by its axe-scarred 
 " witnesses " and bearing the moss-grown initials 
 of the colonial surveyor and the numbers of the 
 four lots whose common corner it had established, 
 when Governor Benning Wentworth held disputed 
 sway over the New Hampshire grants. Thence 
 he carefully followed the eastern line through the 
 forest whose autumnal silence was as unbroken 
 as the dead stillness of winter, save for the occa 
 sional rustle of fallen leaves and the liquid tinkle 
 of a rivulet ringing its course with a chime of 
 foam bells. 
 
 The iterant clamor of a log-cock on his accus 
 tomed beat, the patient tapping of his lesser 
 brethren, a squirrel s rasping of a nut, the petu 
 lant squalling of the jays, were sounds common to 
 both seasons, but as Sam, with the habitual cau 
 tion of a hunter, went noiselessly onward, he 
 
334 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 became aware of sounds that seemed strange and 
 at variance with these. 
 
 It was the noise of delving with spade and pick 
 in stony soil. He moved cautiously in its direc 
 tion till he came to the brink of ledge overlook 
 ing a level plateau or terrace, whereon he saw, 
 almost beneath him, three men whom he at once 
 recognized from Pelatiah s description as Hamner s 
 mysterious guests. The one who was steadily 
 wielding a pick he recognized as a trapper and 
 root-digger from a neighboring town. 
 
 The ministerial looking gentleman in seedy 
 black clothes was carefully examining the up 
 turned earth and stones. The third, who was 
 evidently first in the order of their worldly stand 
 ing, was intently watching the proceedings, while 
 nervously puffing a cigar of such fragrance that 
 when it reached Sam s nostrils it gave him a 
 desire to smoke, and he instinctively put his hand 
 in his pocket for pipe and tobacco. But denying 
 himself, he quietly stretched out in a comfortable 
 position to peer over the edge of the cliff to see 
 what kind of work was being done on his prop 
 erty. 
 
 " Well, Professor," he heard the smoker say 
 ing, " what s your opinion of it ? " 
 
 The professor chucked some specimens thought 
 fully from hand to hand and answered in meas 
 ured precision : 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 335 
 
 " It is apparently an ore of good quality, but 
 that can of course only be ascertained by smelting 
 it in sufficient quantity for a practical test of its 
 quality." 
 
 " Worth buying, do you think ? " 
 
 " Certainly," was answered with a decision that 
 was presently qualified by, " at a reasonable figure, 
 Colonel." 
 
 " Of course," the colonel answered impatiently ; 
 " it is n t likely any one will ask a steep price for 
 a mountain wood lot. But suppose they should 
 get their ideas up, how much will it do to pay ? " 
 
 " It is very convenient to the forge," the pro 
 fessor pondered. " Hematites is apt to be hard, 
 but it can be mixed with a softer ore to advan 
 tage, the bed appears to be quite extensive, 
 I should consider it safe to pay a thousand dol 
 lars." 
 
 Sam s heart was beating so loudly that he mis 
 took it for the ponderous throb of the forge-ham 
 mer two miles away, and prognosticated a storm 
 from what he called the " hollerness o the air." 
 
 " Pooh, a thousand dollars ! Any of these peo 
 ple would jump at half that. It s more money 
 than they ever saw, and it s nothing but a wood lot 
 anyway." The colonel threw down the stump of 
 his cigar and stamped it out. 
 
 "And that would leave you five hundred to 
 buy another race horse, another Cock of the 
 
836 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Rock, or to divide between me and our friend 
 Trask here who is the real discoverer of the bed." 
 
 " Oh, William is going to be well paid for his 
 time and trouble," said the colonel. 
 
 " Wai, I caTlate I ortu hev suthin more n 
 day s wages, seein at I diskivered this ere ore 
 bed," the person referred to remarked, squatting 
 on his haunches so that his knees were on a line 
 with his ears, his arms outstretched between 
 them while he meditatively poked the earth with 
 the point of the pick. " Yis, an more n I c ld 
 ha aimed diggin jinshang, or trappin . Sssh, 
 hear that aire haoun dawg? He s comin right 
 stret here. Gawlly bleue, I wisht I d fetched my 
 gun." 
 
 He suddenly uncoiled his long legs and sprang 
 up like an attenuated jack-in-the-box, bending 
 an attentive ear as he stretched out a wide-spread 
 hand to enjoin silence. 
 
 Sam was giving such close attention to this 
 conversation that his ear did not catch the voice 
 of the returning hound until drawn to it by the 
 words and attitude of Trask. Almost in the 
 same instant he saw the fox a long gunshot off on 
 the brink of a ledge, picking his way along the 
 naked rock, intent on the strategy of a puzzling 
 trail, yet with nose and ears alert for any lurking 
 enemy. Sam took in at a glance that most per 
 fect picture of cunning that nature gives, the cun- 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 337 
 
 ning which it was his chief delight to foil, and 
 the hunter s instinct rose above all other thought 
 or plan, joined with a desire to atone for the 
 morning s blundering shot. 
 
 His gun was aimed with deliberate celerity and 
 in the same instant spat forth its deadly charge, 
 and in the midst of a requiem of echoing report 
 and resounding bugle-notes, poor Reynard tumbled 
 down the cliff, almost at the feet of the prospec 
 tors, who were more startled by the sudden appari 
 tion than was he by the stroke that ended his life 
 with its first shock. 
 
 The secret of his presence being disclosed, Sam 
 descended to secure his quarry, which he did with 
 well-simulated surprise at the discovery of wit 
 nesses of his shot. 
 
 " By the gret horn spoon ! " he declared, com 
 ing to a sudden halt before the group, with the 
 fox lying yet untouched at his feet. " You folks 
 scairt me aouten a year s growth, a-comiii ontu 
 ye so onexpected. I d jes as soon ha thought o 
 runnin ontu a camp-meetin up here, for I s posed 
 Drive an me an the wiT critters hed the woods 
 all tu aourselves. Hain t strayed off an got lost 
 ner nothin , hev ye ? " 
 
 The colonel hesitated a moment, considering 
 whether it were not best to accept this as an ex 
 planation of their presence, but at once dismissed 
 it as not a plausible one. 
 
838 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 " Why no, I can t say we re lost, for our friend 
 Trask here seems to know the lay of the land. 
 But I d like to see the owner of this lot. There s 
 some timber on it I d like to get. This yellow 
 birch is just what I want. There are some pretty 
 good trees here. That tree and that," indicating 
 with his forefinger a couple of shaggy giants that 
 reared their rustling manes just beside him, - 
 44 don t you think they d do, Professor ? " 
 
 The professor ran a critical eye over them and 
 nodded a dubious affirmative. 
 
 " The s slews o yaller birch all through here, 
 fer two mild, jest as thick as t is on this lot," 
 Sam said. 
 
 " Yes, I know, but I want the pick of it all, 
 and I d as soon begin here as anywhere." 
 
 " I don t see what on airth anybody wants o 
 yaller birch," said Sam ; " ef t was cherry birch 
 for furniter, naow, but yaller birch, good land, 
 what du ye want o that?" 
 
 44 Never mind what I want of it," said the 
 colonel, with the air of one impatient of question 
 ing, " I want it. I ve been informed this part of 
 the mountain belongs to a man by the name of 
 Lovel. Do you know him ? " 
 
 44 Yes, I know him." 
 
 44 Do you think he d be likely to sell it ? For 
 a reasonable price, of course, you understand." 
 
 44 Yes, I know him. He 11 sell," Sain said, and 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 339 
 
 then continued with apparent irrelevance, as he 
 stirred the upturned velvet-black earth with his 
 toe, " This ere is a kinder cur ous lookin sile o 
 land. Some on t looks as ough it hed got rusty 
 a-lyin raoun useless so long. Guess like s not 
 the s iron in t." 
 
 The colonel deigned to notice it with a side- 
 wise glance. 
 
 " Ah, yes, it does look a little odd. Trask has 
 been digging some of his wonderful roots here. 
 The owner s name is Lovel; I believe I ll call 
 and see him." 
 
 Sam straightened his fox upon a convenient 
 log preparatory to skinning it, seated himself 
 astride it, and began whetting his knife on his 
 boot. 
 
 " You need n t bother tu. He s right here all 
 ready fer a trade. I m him. Naow, haow much 
 be you goin tu offer ? " 
 
 " You ! " cried the colonel quite taken by sur 
 prise ; and then, advancing toward him with his 
 right hand cordially outstretched, "Why, Mr. 
 Lovel, I m delighted to see you, sir. De-lighted. 
 You are just the man I want to see, and meeting 
 you here saves lots of bother. My name s 
 Ketchum ; they call me Colonel sometimes." 
 
 Sam stuck his knife in the log, and not with 
 out a flattered sense of receiving distinguished 
 consideration took the proffered hand of the 
 
840 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 most celebrated speculator and fast man of the 
 county. 
 
 " And this is my friend, Professor Stillman, 
 and Mr. Trask. You may have met Trask, for 
 he s a hunter," the colonel said, introducing his 
 companions. " That was a capital shot, Mr. 
 Lovel. If I d made it, I sh d be proud as a pea 
 cock. I never could shoot a fox. They re too 
 smart for me. Have a cigar, Mr. Lovel ? " 
 
 Sam was nothing loath to accept the proffered 
 Havana, already recommended by the fragrance 
 of its predecessor beyond all need of words. The 
 colonel obligingly lighted a new-fangled match in 
 a little vial of liquid and held it for him till the 
 cigar was properly fired. He had never tasted 
 anything with so delicious a flavor before ; yet it 
 only made him hungrier for his more satisfying 
 pipe. Having his own cigar well lighted, the 
 colonel took it from his lips to say, while he re 
 garded Sam with a shrewd downward glance, 
 " Now, about this wood lot," he emphasized 
 wood, "what are you going to ask for it? 
 Cash on the nail, the minute the deed is signed?" 
 
 " What 11 you give? " Sam asked, feeling the 
 edge of his knife with a critical touch. 
 
 " Oh, I don t want to put a price on another 
 man s property," encouraging his cigar with a 
 few rapid whiffs. " Name your pries and I 11 tell 
 you whether I can pay it." 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 341 
 
 Sam nerved himself to a supreme effrontery 
 and made his offer in a voice so steady he won 
 dered if it was his own. 
 
 " Wai, then, I 11 take fifteen hunderd dollars 
 f er t ; " and was so appalled by the extravagance 
 of the price he had named that he did not ven 
 ture to look up, but began carefully ripping the 
 hind leg of the fox. 
 
 " Wheeew," the colonel blew out a mouthful of 
 smoke in a long whistle of surprise. " Fifteen 
 hundred dollars ! Good Lord, man, are you crazy ? 
 Why that s more than a thousand acres of this 
 mountain land would bring. You re joking, Mr. 
 Lovel. Let s quit this fooling and talk business." 
 
 " I mean just what I say. Fifteen hunderd is 
 my price," Sam said, gathering confidence he 
 knew not how. 
 
 " Oh, well then, it s no use talking," the colonel 
 declared, with assumed indifference that scarcely 
 concealed his vexation. " I don t want the birch 
 bad enough to give that, or half of that. Some 
 other lot will do as well. Come, Professor, we 
 might as well be off. Come, Trask, show the 
 way out." 
 
 Trask shouldered his pick and spade and led 
 the way with long strides, followed with slower 
 steps by his companions, who presently halted and 
 conferred together in low tones. The colonel 
 returned a little to ask : 
 
342 DAN VIS FOLKS. 
 
 " You really mean to say that fifteen hundred 
 is your price ? " 
 
 " Sartainly," said Sam, stripping a leg of the 
 fox. 
 
 " It s ridiculous. Fifteen hundred dollars for 
 a patch of mountain land only worth the wood 
 and lumber that s on it." 
 
 Sam suddenly faced toward him : " Look a here, 
 Colonel, what s the use o yer foolin ? T ain t 
 the wood you want. It s this ere iron ore." He 
 picked up a handful of the black and rusty frag 
 ments and held them out in his open palm. " I 
 do know what it s wuth, mebby four times what 
 I ask fer it, but you c n hev it fer that, hit er 
 miss." 
 
 It had seldom befallen Colonel Ketchum s 
 brazen face to be surprised into such blank 
 astonishment as now overspread it. 
 
 " Who the devil told you there was ore here ? " 
 he blurted out. 
 
 " Oh, I Ve known it fer quite a spell," Sam 
 said with a coolness that was amazing to himself, 
 considering he had known it but half an hour. 
 
 " Well, if there is, it may not be worth a 
 thing." 
 
 " I Ve hearn there was them at ould pay a 
 fchaousan dollars fer t. It s consid able handy 
 tu the forge. I guess the Comp ny ould give 
 suthin fer t." 
 
LUCK OF THE WOODS. 343 
 
 The colonel retired to confer with the professor, 
 then came back : " Well, I ve concluded to take 
 the chances and give you a thousand." Sam 
 shook his head. " Well, let s split the difference 
 and call it twelve fifty." 
 
 " No," said Sam, completing the stripping of 
 the fox of its beauty and tossing the carcass aside, 
 " I guess I 11 give the Comp ny a chance fust." 
 
 The colonel chewed his cigar, forgetting to 
 nurse its languishing fire, and after some moments 
 of silence said, " Well, I m going to be a con 
 founded fool and give you your price." 
 
 " I p sume tu say I m the fool," said Sam, with 
 a nervous laugh. 
 
 " Mr. Level," the other said, regarding him 
 with growing admiration, " I m not surprised 
 that you take in the foxes." 
 
 " I can t help knockin em over when they 
 blunder right ontu me." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Lovel, I 11 pay you cash down, 
 when we get the papers made out, to-morrow." 
 
 " All right. An naow I s pose we might as 
 well hyper aout o this," Sam said, carefully shak 
 ing the fur of the fox-skin into comely flufnness. 
 " Be you folks goin my way ? Come, ol dawg." 
 
 Drive reluctantly arose from the bed he had 
 made in the leaves, refreshed himself with a sniff 
 of the fox-tail dangling from his master s pocket, 
 and limped with gingerly, foot-sore steps in the rear 
 
344 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 of the party, as it took its way down the rough 
 descent. The colonel discoursed with as continual 
 volubility as the uncertain footing would permit, 
 and seemed in excellent spirits for a man who 
 had just made a bad bargain, as he continually 
 averred he had done. After appointing a meet 
 ing at Joel Bartlett s for " drawin writings " for 
 the next morning, Sam parted from his new ac 
 quaintances where their ways and his diverged, 
 and held across the fields homeward, with a light 
 heart. 
 
 " I Ve allus faoun my luck in the woods," 
 he thought. " It fetched me Huldy. And naow 
 it s saved me a hum fer her an bub an the ol* 
 folks." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 GOOD-NIGHT. 
 
 As with swift strides that seemed too slow to 
 carry the good news home to Huldah, Sam topped 
 the crest of a pasture knoll, he became aware of 
 a familiar odor of rank tobacco too late to avoid 
 its source, for in the next moment he was con 
 fronted by Antoine, making a short cut home 
 ward from his day s chopping. 
 
 " Hill-o, Sam, dat was you, don t it. Ah 11 
 most s pose prob ly you 11 ant felt fer went 
 huntin . Say, Sam, ant he too bad baout dat 
 Bascoms howe up evree body an run hesef away. 
 Dat was too shem. Dey say dat poor hoi Buttle 
 gal mos crazyin hees head fer loss hees two 
 honded dollar, an de Widder Needham mos as 
 crazy fer glad she ant marree it, an seh, dey was 
 tol dey was costubble you all up an was goin 
 fer sol you all aout. 
 
 " But it was mek you felt good yet fer git dat 
 fox, ant he ? You was look pooty good nachel, 
 hein? Ah tol you Ah was felt bad fer you, 
 Sam, an all of it. What all we goin do if One 
 Lasha broke off hees shaup, fer loafin place? 
 
346 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 Mees Purimtim say he 11 gat fer go on taown, an* 
 Aunt Jerrushy. Oh, dat was too shem. Ah tol 
 you, Sam, if Ah 11 can fan all de money dat hoi 
 feller bury, Ah 11 len you of it an set you all 
 up." 
 
 " I m bleeged tu ye, Antwine," Sam answered 
 at the first opportunity given him. " I should n t 
 wonder ef we d continner on in the shop, a spell 
 yit. But I ve got tu be a-moggin ," and he 
 pushed on, leaving the Canadian staring after him, 
 for once in his life speechless, till he ejaculated 
 with a deep-drawn sigh : 
 
 " Ah b lieved he was so troublesomed, it mek 
 it crazy in hees head of it. Dat too bad fer 
 heem." At length, overwhelmed by a sudden sus 
 picion, he exclaimed, " By Tunder, Ah bet he fan 
 dat money heself. Dat too bad fer me." 
 
 When Sam saw his own house light shining 
 through the early autumnal gloaming, chimney 
 and roof taking form against the hazy sky and 
 nebulous glimmer of relighted stars, and traced 
 tha dusky slopes and swells of meadow and pas 
 ture, they had never seemed so dear as now, with 
 the sense of reestablished possession. 
 
 Now he could see Huldah appear at one of the 
 kitchen windows whose welcoming light he had 
 seen on the hill; he knew she was looking out 
 for him as she had doubtless done for countless 
 times since the shadows began to blend with the 
 
GOOD-NIGHT. 347 
 
 hazy twilight, and the crickets, warmed to life in 
 the soft air, chirped faintly in farewell concert. 
 
 Huldah s face, sadly sobered of late, brightened 
 at the sight of her husband, and its brightness 
 was mingled with surprise when she noted his 
 unexpected cheerfulness. 
 
 " Why, Sam, you must ha had stror nary luck 
 a-huntin erless you faoun a better farm an you 
 expected tu, up in the maountain." 
 
 " I hev hed a streak o luck in the woods ag in, 
 Huldy," he said ; and when he had hung up his 
 gun and kissed his boy, he beckoned her to the 
 bedroom and told her the whole of his story. 
 
 Aunt Jerusha s face, sober almost to sadness, 
 yet calm with the peace conquered in many trials, 
 met his in questioning surprise and caught a re 
 flection of its renewed cheerfulness as he passed 
 her, saying, " I ve fetched hum good news, Aunt 
 Jerushy, an Huldy 11 tell ye," and going into 
 the shop he imparted it to his father and Uncle 
 Lisha. 
 
 Before the evening was far spent, Joseph Hill, 
 Solon, and Pelatiah came in, assuming a cheerful 
 ness of speech that their funereal faces belied. 
 
 Influenced by Sam s happy, care-free manner, 
 the old comrades drifted into the familiar channels 
 of discourse. At length, unable longer to restrain 
 his curiosity, Solon said : 
 
 " Samule, we come in tu express aour symptons, 
 
348 DANVIS FOLKS. 
 
 it bein oixlerstood quite gineral at you had got 
 revolved pecuniary wi that aire Bascom an liiin 
 hevin absquatelated." 
 
 " We ve felt dreffly baout it up tu aour haouse," 
 Joseph Hill broke in with his deliberate drawl. 
 " 1 do know s I ever hearn father talk so much 
 abaout anythin thaout t was Ticonderogue, an ? 
 I tol M ri at he s cussed Bascom baout as bad as 
 ever he did Tories, seems s ough, but I d know." 
 
 Solon continued, " By gineral hints since we 
 here assembled, I ve gethered you ve been reim- 
 busted. Be we so tu onderstan it, an ef so, 
 wherefore an whyfore ? " 
 
 Sam tilted his chair backward, stretched his 
 legs straight out before him, clasped his hands be 
 hind his head, and fixed his eyes on the dingy 
 ceiling, 
 
 " Mebby," he said after a considerable pause, 
 during which the hum of the women s voices, 
 Timothy s careful feeding of the stove, and the 
 clatter of the baby s playthings could be heard in 
 the kitchen, " Mebby I Ve got a rich uncle at 
 you never hearn on, an mebby I ve busted intu a 
 bank, an mebby I ve faoun a ore bed handy to the 
 forge, an mebby I ve diskivered perpet al motion. 
 Bimeby you 11 know, but take my word f er t, 
 things is all right an we re goin tu keep right on 
 >visitin* in this shop. But the s one thing we 
 don t wanter fergit the fust run o sleddin at 
 
GOOD-NIGHT. 349 
 
 comes, an that is tu all hands turn aout an draw 
 up them Buttles gals a big wood-pile. They ve 
 lost all the savin s an hain t got no rich uncle. 
 An naow I Ve got tu git that boy asleep." 
 
 The lives of the Danvis folks resumed their 
 ordinary tranquil course. For me, time has 
 touched them as lightly as it has the crowns of 
 their own mountains, which centuries have not 
 changed. 
 
 I find myself forgetful of the lapse of fifty 
 years, thinking of my old friends as yet alive, 
 preserving the quaintness of speech, the homely 
 pastimes, the simplicity of dress and manners, and 
 above all the neighborly kindness that belonged 
 to their day and generation untouched by the 
 strifes and ambitions and changes of the busy 
 world that chafes and beats around them, and 
 without a desire for a part therein. 
 
 The uneventful day is spent. The shadows of 
 the mountains and the early twilight creep across 
 the quiet valley. Out of the dusk and deepen 
 ing gloom, homestead lights shine forth like stars 
 in a nether sky, and after a time go out, one by 
 one. 
 
 I cannot say Farewell, as if the lights of my old 
 friends were extinguished forever, but only, 
 Good-Night. 
 
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