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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 1919)
t PAGE EIGHT THE DAILY CAPITAL JOURNAL, SALEM. OREGON. SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 1919. i fill LIGHT IN THE ELfARlNE" A TALE OF THE NORTH COUNTRY IN THE TIME OF SILAS WIGHT By AUTWOt OP EUN HOLDEN, MB AND I. DARREL OF THE BLESSED ISLE keeping vt vith uzzie, etc, etc ccfmow KmjUM-mtnuK, ama lunula CHAPTER III. We Go to Meeting and See Mr. Wright Again. I liad a chill that night and In the 'weeks that followed I was nearly burned up .vlih lung fever. Doctor Clark cue from (.'union to see nte ev.;ry olhor uny tot a time and one even!'!.; Mr. Wright cuine with him and watehul all night near my bed side. In t ie morning he said that he could come the next Tuesday morning U wo needed him and set out right if'er hrcakfrst, In the dim dawn light, to w.u'i to Canton. 'Ttnbody Buynes," said my Aunt Pool in she stood looking out of the r.'ludow at Mr. Wright, "Unit Is one of the grandest, splondldcst men that I ever see or heurd of. He's an awful smart man, an' a day o' his time is woi-'h more'n a month of our'n, but Ite comes away oft here to set up vilih a Kick young one and walks hack. Does beat nil don't It? tiy v sl" .."If any one needs help Silo Wright In always on hand," said Cncla Tea-' body. I was smn out of bed and ho came ; no own. to Hit up with me. Wlen I was well again, Aunt Reel said one day: "Fenbody ISnynos, nin't tnrd no prenchln' nine Mr I'nngbnrn died. I guess we bctler go down to Canton to ineelln' some Sunday. Tf there ain't no minister fllle Wright always reads a sermon, "if he's home, nn.l the paper says he don't go 'wii.v for n month ylt. I Istnd o' feel (lie need of it good siruinu . ayes!" "All right. I'll hitch up Hie hnssc.i ti mi We'll 'go, Y,'o cau shirt ut eight . o'clock and lake a blto with us an' Kit buck here by three." V. -,- I bad told Aunt Peel what 8n!!y bad f;ald of my personal upper, ranco. . 'Tour coat Is good enough for any ; ! body oyesl" said she. "I'll make you a pair o' breeches nn' Ihen I giie-s ; you won't have to be 'shamed no more." . She had spent spveral evenings mak ing them out of nn old gray flannel petticoat of hers and had put two Che Had Spent Several Evenings Making Thorn Out of an Old Gray Flannel PtUicoat, pockets In them of which I was very proud. They came Jnt to the tops of my shoes, which plensed me, for (hereby the glory of my nev shoes suffered no encroachment. ' The next .Sunday after they were iiiii.shed wo had preaching In the Kchnollionse nnd I was er.gcr to go aud wear my wonderful trousers. .Un cle l'eubody said that be didn't know whether his leg would hold out or riot "through a whole nieetln'," Ills left leg was lame from n wrench and pained him If he sat long In one po sltl ia. I greatly enjoyed this first public exhibition ot my new trous ers. I remember pruyiug ln silence, as we sat down, that Uncle Peabody's leg would hold out. Inter, when the long sermon had begun to weary me, I prayed that It would not. It was a beautiful summer morning as we drove down the bills and from the summit of the last high ridge we could see the smoke of a steamer looming over the St. Lawrence and the big buildings of Canton on tho distant flats below us. My heart beat (nut when I ri'tlectail flint- I Rtmnlri soon tsee Mr. Wright and the Punkel- bergs, I bad lost a Utile of my Inter- est in Sally. Still I felt sure Unit when fhe saw my new breeches she would conclude that I was a person nOt-l? bet!'!(l'dvsJihJ . " I If vl If J$m MUELLER- When we got to Canton people were flocking to the big stone Presbyterian church. It was what they called a "deacon's meeting." I remember that Mr. Wright read from the Scriptures, and having explained that there was no minister in the village, read one of Mr. Edwards' sermons, In the course of which I went to sleep on the arm of my aunt. She awoke me when the service had ended, and whispered : "Come, we're goln' down to speak to Mr. Wright." I remember Mr. Wright kissed me and said "Hello! Here's my boy in a new pair o' trousers!" 'Tut yer 'hand in there," I 6a;,j proudly, as I took my own hand out of one of my pockets, and pointed (he way. He did not accept the Invitation, but laughed heartily and gave me a, HUlc hug. When we went out of the church there stood Mr. and Mrs. Horace Pun kclhcrg, and Sally and some other children. It was a tragic moment for me when Sally laughed aud ran be - hind her mother. Still worse was it when a couple of boys ran av.ny cry- I read the choos :ig of our friend lug, "Look at the breeches!" (for the sent made v scant by the res- I looked down at my breeches nndMguutlon of William L, Marcy, who wondered what was wrong with them. They seemed very splendid to me nnd yet I saw at ouce that they were not popular. I went close to my Aunt Deel and partly hid myself ln her cloak. I heard Mrs. Dunkiiberg say: "Of course you'll come to dinner with us?" For a second my hopes leaped high. I was hungry und visions of Jelly cuke and preserves rose before me. Of course there were the trousers, but perhaps Sally would get used tf the trousers and ask me to play with her. "Thank ye, but we've got a good wtiys to go and we fetched a bite with us ayes!" said Aunt Deel. Eagerly I awp.Ited an Invitation from the great Mrs. Dunkelherg that should be decisively urgent, but she only said: "I'm very sorry you can't stay." My hopes fell like bricks and van ished like bubbles. The Punkelbergs left us with pleas nnt words. They hud asked me to hake hands with Sally, but I had clung to my mint's cloak and flrmry refused to make any advances. Slow ly and without a word we walked" across the park toward tho tavern sheds. We had started away up the South roail when, to my surprise, Aunt Deel mildly attacked the Ininkelliergs. "Theso here village folks like to be walled on ayes! an' they're aw ful anxious yon should come to see 'em when ye can't nyesl but wheu yo git to the village they ain't nigh so nnxtnus no they ain't !" In the middle of tho great cedar swamp near Little lllvcr Aunt Deel got out the lunch basket aud I sal down on the buggy bottom between their legs und leaning ngalnst the dash. So disposed wo ate our luncheon of fried cakes und bread and butter and maple sugar and cheese. What nn efficient cure for good health were the douj'hmits and cheese and sugar, especially If they were mixed with !m Idleness of a Sunday. I had headache also and soon fell asleep. The sun was low when they awoke me in our dooryard. I soon discovered that the Punkel bergs bad fallen from their high es tate ln our home and that Situs Wright, Jr., had taken their place In the conversation of Aunt Deel. CHAPTER IV. In the Light of the Candles. One day the stage, on Its way to Wright, addressed to my undo, which I read: "Pear Sir I send herewith a box of books and magazines In the hope flint you or Miss Huynes will read them aloud to my little partner a.ul ln doing so get some enjoyment and profit for yourselves. "Yours respectfully, "S. WRIGHT, JR. "P. 8. When the contents of the box have duly risen Into your minds will you kindly see that It does a like service to your neighbors ln School District No. 7? S. W. Jr." "I ginvss Part hns made a friend o' this great man -sartln ayes!" said Aunt Peel. "I wonder who'll be the next one?" Tho work of the day "ided, the candles were grouped ncftr the edge of the table and my aunt's anm-halr was placed beside them. Then I sat on Uncle Peabody's lap by the fir or, as time went on. In my small chair beside hlin, while Aunt Deel adjusted her spectacles nnd begn to rend. unu uny me siago, on its way to. "fvf.kr fil'.-l 'f Ballybeen, came to our house and YfwMWr&&s& i..r o h, ,i . , t i UlrHrV'-' i-fijSr.iS'y T remeniTior vividly' flip evening we ' bTc!iime3" fo" tUe sfi-.inger, who fcf took out the books und tenderly felt . lowed Ttira out of the front door with their covers and read their titles, the plate of food in her bands. Thfre were "Cniikslmnks' Comic Alma-1 "Well I declare! It's a long time' nut" and "Hood's Comic Animal"; since she went up this road ayes!" tales by Washington Irving and James said Aunt Deo!, yawning as she re K. Pauldin ; end Nathaniel Hawthorne sumed her chair. . aud Miss Mi t ford and Miss Austin;! "Who Is ol' Kate?" I asked. ' the ioeir.3 of John Milton and Felicia Ilemans. Of the treasures in the box I have now In my possession: A life of Washington, "The Life and Writ ings of Doctor Duckworth," "The Stolen Child," by "John Gait, Esq."; "Itosino Laval." by "Mr. Smith"; Ser mons and Essays by William Ellery Channing. We found In the box also, thirty numbers of the United States Ma.izine and Democratic Review" and sundry copies of the "New York Mirror." Aunt Deel began with "The Stolen Child." She read slowly and often paused for comment or explanation or laughter or to touch the corner of an eye with a corner of her handker chief In moments when we were nil deeply moved by the misfortunes of our favorite characters, which were acute and numerous. - In those magazines we read of the great West "the poor man's para dise"' "the s toneless land of plen ty"; of Its delightful climate, of the ease with which the farmer prospered on Its rich soil. Undo Peabody spoke playfully of going West, after that, but Aunt Peel m:t !e no answer und conceded her op'iiion on that sub j -t-t lor a long t; ,m. As for myself, tl'O reading had deepened my Inter- i est In the east and west and north J i"kI south aud In the skies ulwe l1"'"'. How n;.v tenons and Inviting i tlu'' 1)ad becoim 1 I n" evening neighbor had brought ,ile '"'I'lU'Mcan lro;n the post-omce. I opened It ami read aloud these words In late typo vt the top of the page: "Silas Wrl.;.t Elected to the U. S. Senate." "Well I W!'",t to know!" Uncle Pea body exclaimed. "That would make 1 nio forslt It If I j nuns. Go on auu ! was goln' to be iart what it says." hi d been cb.cted governor, und the part vi Welt- inost Impressed us were these words from a letter of Mr. Wright to Aznrluh Flugg of Albany, written when the former was asked lo accept the place: "I am too young and too poor for such an elevation. I have not hud the experience In that great theater of politics to quullfy me for a place- so exalted nnd responsible. I prefer therefore the humbler position .which I now occupy." "That's his way," said Uncle Pea body. "They had hard work to con vince him that he knew enough to be Surrogate," . "Big men have little conceit ayes 1" said Aunt Poel with a significant glance at me. " The candles had burned low nnd I whs watching the shroud of one of them wheu there came a rap at the door, It was unusual for any or.e to come to our door In the evening und we were a bit startled. Uncle Pea body opened It and old Kate entered without spenklng and nodded to my aunt and uncle and sat down by the Are. Vlvldiy I remembered the dny . of the fortune-telling. The same gen tie smile lighted her face as shn looked at me. She held up her hanrt with four fingers spread abovo It. . 'Ayes," said Aunt Deel, "there ar-ft fair perils." My aunt rose and went Into thn but'iy while I sat staring at the ragged old woman. Her hair was white now and partly covered by a If.i'Ji&K y':fr&1SSSy Uncle Peabody Opened It and Old Kite Entered Without Speaking. from and faded bonnet. Forbidding as she was I did not miss the sweet- ness In her smile nnd her blue eyes when she looked at me. Aunt Deel came wiih a plate of doughnuts and bread and butter and head cheese and said in a voice full of pity: "Poor ol' Kate ayes I Here's some thin' for ye ayes!" She turned to my uncle nnd said: "Peabody Paynes, what'll we do I'd like to know ayes I She can't rove all n!g!t." "I'll git some blnnkets an' make bed for her, good 'nough for any- k'dy, out In the hired man's room ov,r 1ho B,ltd" sald n,y uncl- Ho brought the lantern a little WOT of perforated tin and put a I'SJlOiUgs'jiUaLJlt IIi''nJ J llfelte r 'J ,, t 1 T Cn,,J woman- wanders all 'round-ayes!" "Oh, I guess somebody misused and deceived her when she was youns ayesl It's an awful wicked thing to do. Come, Bart go right up to bed now. It's high time ayes!" "I want to wait 'til Uncle Peabody i comes back," said L "Why?" "I I'm afraid she'll do eomethin' to him." "Nonsense ! OF Kate Is just as harm less as a kitten, You take your can dle and go right up to bed this min ute ayes !" I went up-stairs with the- candle and undressed very elowly and thoughtfully while I listened for the footsteps of my uncle. I did not get Into bed until I heard him come in and blow out his lantern and start up the stairway. As he undressed he told me how for many years the strange woman had been roving in the roads "up hill and down dale,, thousands un' thousands o' miles," ami jiever reaching the end of her Journey. In t moment we heard a low wall above the sounds of tbo breeze that shook the leaves of the old "popple" tree nbove our roof. "What's that?" I whispered. "I guess It's ol' Kate ravin'," said ! Uncle Fenbody. , ! It touched my heart and I lay lis tening for a time, but heurd only the loud whisper of the popple leaves. .CHAPTER V. The Great Stranger Some strangers came along the road those days hunters, peddlers and the like and their coming filled me- with a Joy which mostly went awny wllh tbein, I regret to say. Aoi:3 of these, however, nppeuli d to my imagination as did old Kate. But there was one stranger greater than she greater Indeed, than nny other wh.i came Into Rnttleroad. He came rnrely and Would not be long detained. How curiously we looked at hlin, knowing his fame nnd power! This great stranger was Money. I shall never forget the day that my uncle showed me a dollar bill nnd a little shir.y, gold coin nnd three pieces of sllu ', nor can I forget how carefully he v ntched them while they lay In my hunds and presently put them back Into his wallet. That was long before the time of which I am writing, I remember hearing hlin say, one day of that year, when I asked him! to take us to the Caravan of Wild Beasts which was coming to the village; "I'm sorry, but It's been a hundred Sundays since I had a dollar ln my wallet for more than tn minutes," I have his old account book for the years of 1837 and 1838. Here arc some of the entries: "Balanced ac mnts with J. Doro thy nnd gave him my note for $2.15 to be paid In salts January 1, 1838. Sold ten bushels of wheat to E. Miner at 90 cents,, to be paid ln goods. "Sold two sheep to Flavlus Curtis and took his note for $6, payable ln boots on or before March the flint." winy one entry in more than a hundred mention nioney, and this was Ihe sum of eleven cents received In balance from a neighbor. So it will be seen that a spirit of mutual accommodation served to help us over the rough going. Mr. Giimsbnw, however, demanded his pay in cash and that I find was main ly the habit of the money-lenders. We were poor but our poverty was not like that of thes3 days ln which I am writing. It was proud and cleanly and well-fed. Our fathers had seen heroic service In the wars and wo knew It. I was twelve years old when I be gan to be the render for our little family. Aunt Deel had long com plained that she couldn't keep np with her knitting and read so much. We hud not seen Mr. Wright for nearly two years, but he had sent us the novels of Sir Walter Scott and I had led them heart deep into the creed battles of Old Mortality. Then came the evil days of 1.S37, when the story of our lives began to quicken Its pace and excite our inter est In Its coming chapters. It gave us enough to think of, God knows. Wild speculations in land nnd the American paper-money system had brought us into rough going. Tho banks of the city of New York had suspended payment of their notes. They could no longer meet their en gagements. As usual, the burden fell heaviest on the poor. i . It was hard to get money even for black Hs. Uncle Teabody had been silent and depressed for a month or more. He h"d signed a note for Rodney Barnes. n cousin, lonK before and was afraid that he would have to pay It I didn't know what n note was and I remem ber that one night, when I lay think ing about It, I decided that it must be something In the nature of horse colic. My uncle told me that a note was a trouble which attacked the brain Instead of the stomach. One autumn day In Canton Uncle Peabody traded three sheep and twen- ty bushels of wheat for a cook stove and brought It home In the big wagon, Kodney Barnes came with him to help set up the stove. He was a big giant of man with the longest nose In the township. I have often wondered how aazone .world-solve tbe problem "f kissing : Mr. Barnes in t Tie" l'mmetTiaie region of Lis nose, the same being in the nature of a defense. That erenin? I was chiefly inter- ested in the stove. What a Joy it was to me with Its damper and grid- dies and high oven and the shiny edge nn ifo kn.M)i t t t : dry and charm, any tin peddler's cart , that ever oame t0 our Jom Axtell and bis wife, who hnrt Rn f pnss their house, hurried over for a look at it Everv hnnd wns nn tho stove as we tenderly carried it into the house, piece hv nlwo nn.i sot it up. Then they cut a hole In the nn- per Door and the stone chimney and fitted the Dine. How keenly wo watched the building of the fire. How quickly it roared and besan to heat the room 1 When the Axtells had gone away'nre hard tllaes- If we cfln flud a"y Annt Deel said : Dody witn nioney enough to buy 'em "It's -fernndi Tt i onfinw Tml I dunno but we better sell the frald we can't afford It aves I he!" We can t afford to freeze any longer. I made up my mind that we couldn't go- through another winter as we have," was my uncle's answer. "How much did it cost?" she asked. ".Not much differ'nt from thirty four dollars in sheep and grain," he answered. Rodney Barnes stayed to supper and spent a part of the evening with ns. Like other settlers there, Mr. Barnes was a cheerful optimist. Every thing looked good to him until it turned out badly. He told how he had heard that it was a growing country near the great water highway of the St. Lawrence. Prosperous towns were building up in it. There were going to be great cities in Northern New York. There were rich stores - of lend and iron In the rocks. Mr. Barnes had bought two hundred acres at ten dpllars an acre. He had to pay a fee of five per cent, to Grlmshaw's lawyer for the survey nnd the papers. This left him owing fourteen hundred dollars on his farm much more than it was worth. Our cousin twisted the poker in his great hands until it squeaked as be stood before my uncle and said : "My wife and I have chopped and burnt and pried and hauled rocks an' shoveled dung an' milked an' ehurned until we are 'worn out. For almost twenty years we've been workln' days nn' nights an' Sundays. My mortgage was over-due, I owed six hundred dol lars on it. I thought it all over one day an' went up to Grlmshaw's an' took him by the back of the neck and shook him. He said he would drive me out o' th country. He gave me six months to pay up. I had to pay or lose the land. I got the money on the note that you signed over In Potsdam. Nobody in Can ton would 'a' dared to lend It to me." "Why?" my uncle asked. ''Fraid o' Grimshaw. He didn't want me to be able to pay It. Tho place Is worth more than six hundred dollars now that's the reason. I in tended to cut some timber an' haul it to the village this winter so I could pay a part o' the note an' git more time as I told ye, but the roads have been so bad I couldn't do any haul In'." My uncle went and took a drink at the water pall. I saw by his face that he was unusually wrought up. "My heavns an' earth!" he ex claimed as he sut down again. "It's the brain colic," I said to myself as I looked at him. Mr. Barnes seemed to have it also. "Too much note," I whispered. "I'm nwful sorry, but I've done everything I could," said Mr. Barnes. "Ain't there somebody that'll take another mortgage? It ought to fc3 safe now," my uncle suggested. "Mouey Is so tight It can't be done. The bank has got nil the money nn' Grimshaw owns the bunk. I've tried j and tried, but I'll make you sute. I'll give vou a mortonee until I enn turn 1 round." 1 So I saw how Rodney Barnes, like other settlers In Lickltysplit, had gone into bondage to the landlord. "How much do you owe on this place?" Barnes asked. j "Seven hundred an' fifty dollars," said my uncle, "Is it due?" "It's been due a year an' if I have to pay that note Til be short my in terest." "God o' Israel! I'm scalrt," said Uncle Peabody. Down crashed the stick of wood into the box. "What about?" "It would be like him to pnt the screws on you now. You ve got -between him nn' his prey. You've taken the mouse away from the cat." 1 remember the llttlo panic that fell on as then. I could see tears In the eyes of Aunt Deel ns she sat which ain't yours to give I'd like to an(1 high collar and his hair was al- wtth her head leaning wearily on her know? What business have you actln' most white. I remember vividly his hand. like a rich man when you can't' pay lear, .kindly, gray eyes nnd ruddy "If he does I'll do all I can," said' yer honest debts? I'd like to know Cheeks. Barnes, "whatever I've got will be that, too?" "Baync. I'm glad to see yon." he yours." "If I've ever acted like a rich man said beitily. "Did ye bring me any Rodney Barnes left ns, and I re- it's been when I wa'n't lookln'," said ' Jerked meat?" t member how Uncle Peabody stood ln Uncle Peabody. "Didn't think of It," said Uncle the middle of the floor and whistled "What business have you to go en- Peabody. "But I've got a nice young the merriest tune he knew. lnrgin yer family takin' another doe all jerked an' If you're fond o "Stand right up here," be called In mouth to feed and another-body to Jerk TU bring ye down some to-mor his most cheerful tone. "Stand right spin for? That costs money. I want ler." up here before me, both o' yc." to tell you one thing, Baynes, you've 'Td like to take some to Washing I get Aunt Deel by the hand and got to pay up or git out o' here." ton, but I wouldn't have yon bring led her toward my uncle. We stood He r-Used his cane and shook It In - it eo far." facing him. "Stand stralghter," he alr as he sPke- JTd Uke t0 brlDS ' ,tI want demanded. "Now, altogether. One, "n' 1 um t no doubt ' that." said chance to talk with ye for half an two, three, ready sing " . Uncle Peabody. "You'll have to have konr or such matter," said my no lle beat' time with his hand In 1ml- yer "oney that's sure; an' you will cle. "rve go a little trouble on mj5 tation of the singing master at the have u 1 Uve- evei7 cent of it Bands." schoolhonse and we Joined him ln Tni3 bo-v ,s BIn' to be a great help The Senator took ns Into his office singing an old tune which began: "Oh, t0 me" don,t tnow hat a good nd Introduced ns to the leading men keep my heart from i sadness, God." This Irresistible spirit of the man bridgC'd a Tia3 lorn uu4 s.T"us 'ou tu betJ in fl,irly 8"d condition. A few days later the note came due und its owner insisted uton full Payment. There was such a clamor for money tnose uays: i rcmemoer mat my aunt had sixty dollars which tUv hnrt Ks vrl little hv litrle. hv sellinff et'S ond chickens. She had plr.mied to nse It to buy a tombstone for her mother and father a long-cherished ambition. My.nncle needed the most of it to help pay the note. We drove to Potsdam on that sad errand and what a time we had getting there and back ln deeP mud nna sand and J"'"ns over corouroys i "Bart," my uncle said the next evening, as I took down the book to r!1('. "I 6wss we'd better talk I things over a little tonight. These I sneep. "If you hadnt been a fool,' my aunt exclaimed with a look of great distress "ayes! if you hadn't been a fool." "I'm Just what I be, an' I ain't so big a fool that I need to be reminded ! nf If1' cnM nnnta "I'll stay home an' work," I pro posed bravely. "You ain't old enough for that," sighed Aunt Deel. "I want to keep you ln school," said Uncle Peabody, who eat making a splint broojn. While we were talking in walked Benjamin Grimshaw the rich man of the hills. He didn't stop to knock, but walked right in as if the house were his own. It was common gos sip that he held a mortgage on every acre of the countryside. I had never liked him, for he was a stern-eyed man who was nlwrys scolding some body, nnd I hud not forgotten what his son had said of him. "Good night!" ha exclaimed curtly, as he sat down and set his cane be tween his feet and rested his hands upon it. He spoke hoarsely and I "One, Two, Three, Ready Sing." emember the ciiflous notion came to me that he looked like our old ram. He wore a thin, gray beard under his ln. His mouth was shut tight in l Ion? line curving downward a lit tle at the ends. My uncle used to ay tlii't bis mouth was made to keep his thoughts from leaking and going to waste. Ho had a big body, a big chin, n big mouth, a big nose nnd big ears nnd hands. His eyes lay sainU in this setting of bigness. "Why, Mr. Grimshaw, it's yenrs since you've been in our house ayes!" said Aunt Deel. suppose it Is," he answered rath- er sh::rp!y. "I don't have much time to cet nrnnnd. T tinve tn n-nrlr There's some people seem to be able to git along without It. I see you've got one o' these newfangled stoves," lie ndd"d ns ho looked it over. "Huh 1 R'clJ folks can have anything they want." Lncio Peabody had sat splintering tlia long stick of yellow birch. I ob served that the Jackknife trembled ln his hand. His tone had a touch of uiinaturnlrwss, proceeding no doubt from his fear of the man before him, as he said: "When I bought that "stove I felt richer than I do now. I had almost enough to settle with you up to date, but I signed a note for a friend and l"d to pay it" Ayuh! I suppose so," Grimshaw answered in a tone of bitter irony which cut me like a knife-blade, young as I was. "What business have you signln' notes an' givln' away money ' ne ana wnal comfort he's been to ns I" .U'Clii St jas tp'ired, cngle uncovered "iay emutionS so" t!iuf X put my elbow on the wood-box and leaut-d m'y head upon It aud sebbed. "I ain't goiu' to be hard on yj, Bayees," said Mr. Grimshaw as ha rose from ids chair; "I'll give ye three months to see what you can do. I wouldn't wonder if tl. boy would :urn out all Tijht. He's big an' eordy of his age and a purty likely boy, they tell me." . 3 Mr. Grimshaw opened the door and stood for a moment looking at us and udded in a milder tone: "You've got one o' the best farms in this town un' if ye work hard an' nse common sense ye ought to be out o' debt in five years inebbe less." . He closed the door and went away. Neither of us moved or spoke as we listened to his footsteps on the gravel path that went down to the road and to the sound of his buggy ns he drove away. Then Uncle Peabody broke the silence by saying: "He's the dam'dest " He stopped, set the half-splintered stick aside, closed his Jackknife and went to the water-pall to cool his emotions with a drink. Aunt Deel took np the subject-where he had dropped it, as If no-half-expressed sentiment would satisfy her, saying: "old skinflint that ever lived In this world, ayes! I ain't goln' to hold my opinion o' that man no longer, ayes! I can't. It's, too pow erful ayes !" Having recovered my composure I repented that I should like to give np school and stay at home and work. Aunt Dee. interrupted mo by say- wig: I have an idee that Sile Wright will help us ayes 1 He's comln' homo. an you better go down un see him ayes! tHadn't ye?" "Bart an' I'll go down to-morre;" aid Uncle Peabody. Some fourteen months before that dny my uncle had taken me to Pots dam nnd traded grain und salts for what he called a ."rip ronrin' fine suit o clothes' with boots und cud and shirt and collar and necktie to match, I having earned them by sawing und cording wood at three shillings a cord. How often we looked buck to those better days! The clothes had been too big for me and I had had to wait until my growth had taken up the "slack" in my coat und trousers before I could venture out of the uelghbortood. I hud tried them on every week or so for a long time. Now lay statute filled them handsomely t.nd tbey filled me with u pride and saisfa.rtion which I had never known before. 'Aow may the Lord help ye to be careful nwful; terrible careful o thtm clothes every minute o' this day," . Aunt reel cautioned ns she looked at me. - 'Don't git no horse sweat nor wagon grease on 'em." , To Aunt Deel wagon grease was the worst enemy of a happy and re spectable home. We hitched our team to the grass hopper spring wagon nnd set out on our Journey. It was a warm, hazy Indian-summer day ln November. As we passed "the mill" we saw the Si lent Woman looking out of the little, window of her room above the black smith shop a low, weather-stained, frame building, haid by the main, road, with a narrow hanging stair on the side of it, "She keeps watch by tho winder when she nin't .travelin';" said Uncle Peabody. "Knows nil that's goln' on that womon knows who gpes to the village an1" how long they stay. When Grimsimw goes by they say she hustles off down tbo road In her rags. Site looks like n sick cbg herself, but I've beurcl that she keeps that room ' hers inst as neat as n pin." Near the village we passed a smart looking buggy, drawn by a spry-footed horse in shiny harness. Then I , noticed with a pang that our wagon i wns covered with dry mud and that . ur ho,ses were ratn,r bony ttnd our harness a kind of lead color. So I was in nn humble state of mind when we entered the village. There wns a crowd of men and women in front of Mr. Wright's office and through its open door I saw many of his fellow townsmen. We waited at the door for a few minutes. I crowded in . while Uncle Peabody stood talk- 'UK to a villager. The Senator caught PlKlit of me and came to my side and put his hand on my head and said: "Hello, Bart! How you've grown! nnd how handsome you look ! Where's your uncle?" "He's there by the door," I an- swered. "Well, le's go nnd see him." Mr. Wright was stouter nnd grayer and grander than when I had seen Mm Inst. He was dressed In black broadcloth anj wore a big beaver hat coyntj. . ; (Continued Monday)