Litchfield enquirer., 1872-02-29

! of the speaker, hastened to assure him
 that Johnny was better and that a '.little fun might 'iven him up." Whereupon i Dick arose, shook himself, and saying,
 s.I'm ready. Lead the way, Old Man;
 here goesp himself led the way with a leap, characteristic howl, and darted out into the night. Asshe passed through the outer room he caught up 8 blazing brand from the hearth. The action was repeat ed by the rest of the party, closely follow l ing and elbowing each other, and before the astonished proprietor of Thompson's s l grocery was aware of the intention of his l guests, the room was deserted.
 The night was pitchy dark. In the first 1 gust of wind their temporary torches were extinguished, and only the red brands dancing and fitting in the gloom like drunken will-o' '-the-wisps indicated their whereabouts. Their way led up Pine Tree Canon, at the head of which broad, low, -thatched cabin burrowed in the mountain-side. It was the home of the Old Man, and the entrance to the tunnel in which he worked when he worked at all. Here the crowd paused for a moment, ont of delicate deference to their host, who came up painting in the rear
 "P'r'aps ye'd better hold on a second out yer, whilst I go in and see thet things is all right, said the Old man, with an indifference he was far from feeling. The suggestion was graciously accepted, the door opened and closed on the host, and the crowd, leaning their backs against the wall and covering under the caves, waited and listened. For few moments there was no sound but the dripping of water from the caves, and the stir and rustic of the wrestling boughs above them. Then the men be- came uneasy, and whispered suggestion and suspicion passed from the one to the other. Reckon she's caved in his head the first lick r' "Decoyed him inter the tunnel and barred him up, likely" 'rGot him down and sittin' on him." 'Prab1y bilin suthin to heave on us; stand clear the door, boys ]" For just then the latch clicked, the door slowly opened and a voice said, ''Come in out O the wet"
 The voice was neither that of the Old Man nor of his wife. It was the voice of small boy, it's weak treble broken by that preternatural hoarseness which only vagabondage and the habit of premature self-assertion can give. It was the face of a small boy that looked up at theirs,-a face that might have been pretty and even refined but that it was darkened by evil knowledge from within, and dirt and hard experience from without. He had blan- ket around his shoulders and had evident ly just risen from his bed 'Come in," he repeated, "and don't make no noise The Old Mans in there talking to mar," he continued. pointing to an adjacent room which seemed to be kitchen from which the Old Mans voice came in depre- eating accents. 'sLet me be" he added, 1xv &1 D,-11o ,1o 1o1 caught him up, blanket and all, and was O me, you d-d old fool, dye hear p
 Thus adjured, Dick Bullen lowered Johnny to the ground with a smothered laugh, while the men, entering quietly, ranged themselves around long table of rough boards which occupied the centre of the room. Johnny then gravely pro- ceeded to the cupboard and brought out several articles which he deposited on the table. ''Thar's whiskey. And fffsehers. fs And 1a.5 Eea 1 tg on his way to the table ''And sugar." He scooped mp mouth ful en route with small end very dirty hand. ''And terbacker. Thar's dried ap- pills too on the shelf, but I don't admire lem Appils is syeilin,. Thar, he 1 con
 
 b'long to me. s1ong.
 He had stepped to the threshold of 8 small room, scarcely larger than closet, partitioned off from the main apartment, and holding in its dim recess small bed. He stood there a moment looking at the company, his bare feet peeping from the blanket, and nodded.
 "Hello, Johnny ! You ain't going to turn in agin, are ye ?" said Dick.
 "Yes, are," responded Johnny, decid- edly ....-..
 ''Why, wot's up, old fellow?"
 "I'm siok,"
 "How sick ?"
 '1've got fevier. And childblains. . And roomatiz," returned Johnny, and vanished within. After Q moment's pause, he added in the dark, apparently from un- der the bedclothes, s,-'And piles l"
 There was an embarrassing silence. The men looked at each other, and at the fire. Even with the appetizing banquet before them, it seemed as if they might again fall into the despondency of Thompson's gro- cery, when the voice of the Old Man, in- cautiously lifted, came deprecasangiy from the kitchen. .- ....
 Certainly Thet's so. In course they is. A gang O lazy drunken loafers, and that ar Dick Bullen's the ornariest of all. Didn't hev no more sdbe than to come round var with sickness in the house and no provision. Thet's what said: sBullen, sez I, its crazy drunk you are, or fool,' sez I, to think O such thing Staples, I sez, be you man, Staples, and 'spect to raise h-n under my roof and invalids lyin' round 9 But they would come,- they would. Thet's wot you must 'spect O such tFash as lays round the Bar"
 A burst of laughter from the men fol- lowed this unfortunate exposure. Wheth- CT it was overheard in the kitchen, or whether the Old Mans irate companion had just then exhausted all other modes of expressing her contemptuous indigna- tion, I cannot say, but back door was suddenly slammed with great violence. A moment later and the Old Man reappear- ed, haply unconscious of the cause of the late hilarious outburst, and smiled bland ly.
 ssThe old woman thought she'd jest run over to Mrs, McF Fadden's for g sociable call, he explained, with jaunty indiffer- ence, as he took seat at the board.
 Oddly enough it needed this untoward incident to relieve the embarrassment that was beginning to be felt by the party, and their natural audac1ty returned with their host. I do not propose to record the con- ,vivialities of that evening. The inquisi- tive reader will accept the statement that the conversation was characterized by the same intellectual, the same fastidious del icacy, the same rhetarieal precision, and the same logical and coherent discourse somewhat later in the evening, which dis tinguish similar gatherings of the mascu- sx>, under more favorable auspices. No glass es were broken in the absence of any; no liquor was uselessly split on floor or table in the scarcity of that article. It was nearly midnight when the festiv- ities were interrupted. Hush," said Dick Bullen, holding up his hand. Hwas the querulous voice of Johany from his adjacent closet: 90 dad r s
 l The Old Man arose hurriedfy and dis appeared in the closet. Presently he re- appeared "His rheumatiz is coming on | | 2 H.