Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-03-25
4 True Story.

when my dress caught on a nail in the gate.
As | stopped to loosen it queer little
voice above me said -
. Better hurry ma am, or you'll lose the
boat, and it only runs once i'll half an hour. .
Ii was such a queer little voice that
glanced up to see where it came from, and
behold it came from the ferryman Was it
the ferryman? Yes, it sat in the box Just
where the ferryman usually sits, and before
it lay such pile ofpennies as the ferryman
is continually taKing-but it was such a
queer little thing for man. [ looked at
it still again, not thinking how rude it was,
when its face began to grow red, and in the
same piping voice said
" You've lost the boat ma am
So | had but [ was half glad of it, |
was so curious about this queer little ferry
man.
. Are you the ferryman ~ said [ to him.
g" Yes ma'am," he answered quite proud
/ ly, aud drew his poor little body up as
straight as he could, as though he wondered
at my question.
/ thought you seemed so young said [,
by way of apology, though his face was not
young at all, but | could not describe it by
any other word.
3" Yes ma'am, I'm young, but | s'pose
I'm Just as honest as if L was forty"
| was growing more and more abashed,
and started to 90 into the terry-house
there to wait out my dreary half hour,
when a curiosity-I hope not unkind-got
the better Of my resolution, and | went
back
:. Tell me how you came here" said
bluntly; " tell me all about yourself per
haps can help you" when something
stopped me, and | did not finish my SEN
/ tence.
There isn't much to tell, ma am" he
replied respectfully. " I'm pretty young
for the place, where they mostly take
grown-up men; but the way L came to get
it was by being paralleled.
Paralleed - | said, aystifed
Yes, ma'am don't you see ," he an
swered and lifting with his right hand a
little, puny. withered arm and hand from
the other side, Just as if it hadn't belonged
to him at all, smoothing out his fingers on
the table with Il half caressing motion that
brought the tears to my eyes Don't you
see ," he repeated, looking up, little pale
in the face can't move this arm, nor
my left foot much 1t came by fall
:. Q. dear your left side was paralyzed
by fall -
Yes, ma am, that's it; thank you.
didn't rightly recollect the word; some
times | think I'm not over bright, and that:
the cause of all our trouble"
How do YOU mean - | asked, more and
more interested.
We'll, you see, ma am my father was
house painter" Here he made motion as
II to pass his coat sleeve across his eyes
but thought better OF ii, and looked past
me into space for minute, biting his lips
hard
Don't tell me; it distresses you" !
said
No, ma am, . he replied, stoutly. I'll
tell it, though YOU won't think any the bet.
ter of me-but never mind. When | wa.
getting old enough to learn the trade father
took me one day, and says
Azel," says he, I've got a very par.
ticular Job tomorrow, and it'll do you good
to look on. Its a sign, says he, on a
shop front, and there's eildin and sandin tc
be done, and We must be right careful OF
the spelin You might 90 and tell me
l
Before | started. my little sister she put
up dinner in the pail and gave it to me
and what did she do but says
Azel, I've been reading such dreadful
story in the paper about painter He wa.
mostly always painting high signs, | guess
like father; and one day he was up paint
ing one in Il church, with another man. anc
he stepped back to see whatever twas h,
was doing, and he was Just going off tn,
scaffolding, and the other man he threw ;
pot of paint at his sign and spoiled it, So
to make him step up quick and not fal
over
well, kept just thinking and think
ing about that story all day, and it seemed
as though father was the painter and | wa:
, t'other man, and | kept doing the thing
over and over-seeimg him step back anC
throwing the pot of paint at the picture
,, inst as we do in dreams Well, in the af
ternoon fatherd got his sign most done, anC
stepped back a little to take a look at it
I'd ought to knowed the scaffolding wa
wide and father wouldn't fall, but | ONLY
thought
Now he's going and now | must say,
him.
" And L up and threw pot of paint a
the sign. But o, it didn't come out bi
like the story for father was so dashed a
2 seeing me do what | had no business to do
that he Just gave jump TO one side, and
never could rightly tell how he got his foo
on to a place where two ends of board
came together without anything under 'em
| and so-he went down. Then | though
f again, and what [ thought was, I'll catcl
him ; and so jumped after"
e g But you see there isn't time enough Il
t have two thoughts when bodys fallin;
D through the air-least, couldn't, being
Y little slow witted-so [ went too. Well
that store looked high enough from tn
ground, but it seemed higher yet when yo
: are going through the whole height of il
without anything to hang on to, and
j., thought [ never should get to the ground
| s'pose [ did, though, because they pickle
h us both up, me and father; and father wa
y dead and so was l. this half of me. o, bu
q when we got home it was dreadful Say
[, Sister, it didn't come out like the story
And, when L told them how | first tumble
father off, and then went myself, they didn
n let me die, then either, but loved me jus
n as we'll.
" You see what | look to is this, that
ought not to have jumped when father fel
I'd ought to have thought that | mustn't g
e and get myself famed up, because the fan
o lily would have to depend on me if fathe
= should happen to hit on his head when h
t got to the bottom, and get killed-whic
:, was just what he did. But | didn't thin
r IL