The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-06-14

II did not sound very well to hear
girl talk in this way but Polly's cdu-
cation was a rough one.
At last came the news that Harry
was about to start for home. He had
been discharged and was scarcely able
to walk, but at any rate it was COM
fort to know that he was coming home
again. 1t was now the middle of No
yember, but the sky was yet clear, and
the prairies, scared with the frost,
looked like fields of gold beneath the
Autumn sun And every night the
prairie fires 6 ow in every direction. -
Polly bad made n careful account of
her resources, and said that at least
She had enough to buy the forty acres
on which the house ANA the principal
part Of their improvements were -
That was one consolation at any rate
They would not be without a home, if
they did have to lose the meadow and
tho Understand that they had priced
SO highly
One morning as She was running
bullets and filling up her powder
horn and hnnina ihaf Harrr ,uanlI
come to-day. aad wondering ii her
furs wouldn't bring more than Van
Dyke offered if She could only get
them to Manbato, while she was talk
ing thus, Mr. Van Dyke came in and
handed her a letter snying,
This was i'm the Office for You, and
! thought would bring it along over
as | was coming. Don't want to sell
your furs this morning, eh ?"
II am obliged to sou, Mr.. Van Dyke,
for bringing the letter, but you can't
have my fWs
"Well, you might let me have that
black fox, any how, as personal favor
I want to send it to my brother. I've
taken fancy to it. It amt worth
more than five dollars, but I'll give
you ten.
Polly had captured a black or sill
ver-gray fox a few days before, the on
~ one She had ever seen, for it is very
rare indeed that such fox is taken
so far south. She had no idea Of its
value, but ten dollars seemed to her n
large price, and was at first inclined
to yield; but remembering that she
was dealing with a scoundrel she said
"1lr Van Dyke, I believe | told you
that you couldn have any Of my pei
fries
"Well, Miss Strader, you'll be sorry
some day that You didn't oblige me, >"
he said, as lie left the door.
When Polly opened the letter all
her hopes were dashed. 1t was from
Harry. He was very il at St. Paul.
lie begged Polly to come to him, 9th
erwise he should die.
"Wen," said Polly, 'if we must
give up all hope OF buying the farm,
or even forty acres, suppose wen
have to. til take a good part of
what l have to get Harry home, and
til! take more than a week to go and
come, and New Years isn't far off -
Every day is precious. But we must
save Harry's life and the poor fellow
will get well if we can once get HIM
home.
And SO, without regarding her
mothers warming that there was a
storm brewing, she started out in her
canoe to go down the lake TO get n
team, with which to SO for Harry
Her own was an OK team, and to GO in
stage was costly, and besides Harry
couldn't stand the day and night rid
inc in the stage. for the distance was
hundred and forty miles. She hired
team for "a trip to st. Paul She
could not get il till the Monday fol-
lowing. and so she wrot c a letter TO
Harry, telling him that she was com
ing, and then she started to paddle
around the shore aud look at her
traps. When she got to a place which
She and Harry had called Rocky Har-
Dor. on the opposite side of the lake,
she found dead deer partly eaten
bv wolves, and knowing that the
wolves would return after dark, she
set several traps for them. Then
she FASTENED back to her canoe, for it
was now late, and there could be no
doubt but that the November storms,
with which the Winter almost always
begins, were now at hand
But before she could set foot into
her canoe the storm came, and in an
instant the AIR was filed with snow
SO that an object twenty feet away was
invisible 1t took but a moment for
Polly to appreciate her situation. -
To paddle across the lake in such a
storm was out of the question. The
wind was coming up. and 1t would be
alike impossible to coast around the
shore, Besides it was great dis
lance, and ice would begin to form be-
fore she could get hall way There
were no families living on that side OF
the lake. Her only course was to stay
whore she was. Her spirit sunk for a
moment, but she dashed away the tears
that came up from desolate heart,
and set about making the best of it.
She found large log lying in rayine
Dragging her canoe from the water
she laid it upside down parallel with
the log about three feet from it. She
then cut brush and laid across them,
to form a roof Cropping under this
shelter, she was soon buried beneath
two feet Of snow, and so felt sure OF not
freezing. There is no better protection
from cold than snow.
1t was Il lonely place. She could
Ia. 4 b.