Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-11-07

| WlSneu 10 leave commission about
some domestic matter. 1t was not far
out Of the way, to be sure, tut we had
been delayed already, and the after
noon was getting on; and, as the er
rant was one Of no very great impor-
tance, | gave up the idea, and Dick
turned the horses head towards the
Galoosa road, and drove swiftly out of
! the village.
| AS we turned into the openings,
through which our path lay for some
distance, we passed one of the teams,
ters from the mill going up to the vii
lage with load of boards. This said
teamstcr, commonly known as Dutch
Jake, was an exceedingly slow man,
and was never known, under any cir
cumstanco, to adopt any plan of action
on the spur of the moment. As we
passed, he nodded by way Of saluta-
ton; but, after the swift colts had left
team far behind, we saw that he had
stopped his horses and was looking at
ter us, apparently pondering in his
mind some matter with which we were
connected.
We heard afterward that Jake had
had ga great mind" to give us warning
Of the danger that lurked that day in
in the September woods; but, before
his mind had become quite "great"
enough for expression, we had passed
out Of sight
81 wonder what he wanted of us ?"
said Diana
"Oh, he only stopped to let his
horses rest" said Dick; and yet glanc.
ing back, though turn in the road
had now hidden Dutch Jake from our
sight !; and then suddenly Master Dick
became very animated on the subject
Of the beauties of those openings
through which we were passing.
The road lay through a rolling coun-
try, among what, in Michigan, for lack
Of something better, are called hills.
1t was the last of September, and there
had been just frost enough to turn the
leaves.
We had been riding in silence for
some minutes when Diana suddenly
exclaimed, "Why, there is the ugly
dog!"
There he was, sure enough. He
must have followed us at long dis
tance, and, now that he had came so
far from home, he seemed to think it
safe to make his appearance; and run
ming by the side Of the buggy, looked
up to us, wagging his half tail, and
barking his satisfaction till the woods
rang.
81 never in my life saw anything SO
ugly as that dog" said Dick.
"IIe's good creature, if he is ugly
said Diana, who was always ready to
stand on the defensive for any person
or thing, herself excepted.
"And his ugliness is so extreme that
it becomes almost a beauty" said |.
Giles not much to look at, but he's
a cool one to bark" said Dick. And, |
indeed, the ugly dogs voice was a
powerful organ. Ilis bark was quite
unlike that of any dog | ever heard,
and seemed a sort of a cross between
the sonorous ring Of the foX-hound and
tho ha1frOor Of thn noctiff
A mile or two brought us to the en-
trance OF swamp, through which ran
a log road, which, if we followed it
would cut off full three miles.
Hadn't we better take the swamp
road ?" said Dick-"it's so much short
er; and then you'll have more time
for your visit, and we can get home
before dark
"What's the hurry about getting
home before dark p asked Diana. "lt
will be beautiful moonlight"
ooh, nothing, said Dick, careles ly;
"only you know, Di, they say strang-
ers that stay out at night sometimes
get fever and ague, and | thought Mrs.
Graham would like to get home as
soon as she could"
| was rather surprised at this in
stance of prudence and consideration in
Master Dick, but / consented to take
the short cut, as | knew that this par
ticular corduroy" had lately been men
ded.
We proceeded slowly, though sure
ly, and with no more pitches and bumps
than was reasonable to expect. 1t was
Diana's first experience of log-roGd,
and she laughed and chatted in high
glee; but it began to strike me that
Dick was even more silent than would
seem to be justified by the attention
the horses demanded, and | noticed
that he occasionally glanced round
with look of apprehension, and once,
at some sudden rustic in the bushes he
started and actually turned pale.
Dick Monroe was not boy to be
scared merely at finding himself in
strange place, and a vague nervous
ness and foreboding of / knew not
what began to creep over my mind.
Yet what possible cause of d cad could
lurke in the tamarack-swamp? In the
depts of winter there might have been
some faint possibilities of wolves, but
none had been seen in the country for
years, and, though it was just barely
on the cards that we might see black
bear leisurely crossing the road, yet |
knew that at this season of the year
all the brute would ask would be to be
let alone. But, in spite of myself,
there grew upon me sense of danger
of which l was ashamed to speak, so
uttarlv hosolnss and obsurd did il seem |