Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1868-01-17

along the way. / didn't sing. /
thought the wind blew too hard
seems to me that was the reason,-
Tm sure there must have been rea-
son, for l had voice of my own in
those days, aud had led the choir per-
petual for five years.
We wern't going in very deep;
Dove and Beadle's lots lay about 80
miles from the nearest house; and a
struggling, lonely sort of a place that
was too, five miles out of the village,
with nobody but a dog and deaf old
woman in it. Sometimes, as | was
telling you,. we had been in hundred
miles from any human creature but
ourselves.
1t took US two days to get there
though. with the oxen; and the teams
we're loaded down well, with so many
axes and pork barrels; l don't know
anything like pork for netting down
more than you expect it to, reason
able 1t was one of your ugly gray
days, growing dark at four o'clock,
with snow in the air, when we hauld
up i'll the lonely place. The trees
blazed pretty thick, | remember, es-
pecially the pines; Dove and Beadle
always had that done up prompt in
October. It's pretty work going in
blazing while the sun is warm and
the woods like great bonfire with
the naples. | used to like it, but
your mother wouldn' hear of it when
she could help herself, it keeps me
away so long.
It's queer, Johnny, how we do re-
member things that amt of no ac-
count; but | do remember, as plainly
as if it were yesterday morning, just
how everything looked that night,
when the teams came up, one by one,
and we went to work spry to get to
rights before the sun went down.
There were three shanties, they
don't often have more than two or
three in one place.-they were emp,
ty, and the snow had drifted in; Bob
Stokes oxen were tagged out, with
their heads hanging down, and the
horses were whinnying for their sup
port. Holt had one his great brush
fires going,-there was nobody like
Holt for making fires,-and the boys
were hurrying round in their red
shirts. shouting at the oxen, and sing
ing a little some of them low under
their breath, to keep their spirits up
There was snow as far as you could
ee,-down the cart-path, and around
away into the woods; and there was
snow In the sky now, setting in for a
regular nor r'easter. The trees stood
up straight all around without any
leaves, and under the bushes it was
as black as pitch. -
Five months, said [ to myself, =
five months = ,...
what in times the matter will
you, Hollis ?" says Bob Stokes, with
a great slap on my arm; "you're Civ.
ing that ere OK molasses on his
hay /"
Sure enough | was, and he said
acted like crazed creatuer, and very
likel y | did. ButI couldn't have told
Bob the reason. You see, | knew
Nancy was just drawing up her lit
tie rocking chair-the one with the
green cushion-cloSe by the fire, sit
, ing there with the children to wait
for the tea to boil. And | knew
, couldn't help knowing, if Itried hard
for it-how she was crying away soft
ly In the dark, so that none of them
could see her, to think of the words
we'd said, and | gone in without ever
making of them up. | was sorry fol-
them then. o Johnny, was sorry
and she was thirty miles away. Ia
got to be sorry five months, thirt,
miles away, and couldn't let her know
The boys said was poor company
that first week, and | shouldn't wond
er if | was. [ couldn't seem to get
over it any way, to think | couldn't
/ let her Know. r" oe
If | could have sent her SCRAP
of letter, or message, or some
thing, | should have ielt better. Bul
!, there wasn't any chance of that this
, long time, unless we got out of pork
or fodder, and had to send down.
which we didn't expect to, for wee
laid in more than usual. age
We had two pretty rough weeks
, work to begin with, for the worsi
storms of the season set in, and KEPT
in, and | never saw their like, before
: or since. Ii seemed as if there q
never be an end to them. Storm after
storm, blow after blow, freeze after
freeze; half days sunshine, and
then at it again. We were well tired
of it before they stopped; it made
. the boys homeSlck.
However, we kept at work pretty
: brisk,-lumbermen aren't the fellows
to be put out for a snow storm,-cut
ting and hauling and saving, out il
the sleet and wind. Bob Stokes froze
| his left foot that second week, and
: was frost bitten pretty badly myself
/ Cullen-he was the boss-he wa.
| we'll out of sorts, | tell you, before
/ the sun came out, and cross enough
to bite ten penny nail in two.
5 But when the sun is out, it isn't Sc
! bad kind of life, at ALL At wort
all day, with a good hot dinner in the
middle; then back to the shanties a
, dark, to as rousing fre and tiptoI
|