American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-11-14
CHESTNUTS AND ROBBERS.
BY GERALD NORTH,

al
rousing wind and clear, hot sunshine t
dry out the opening burrs and let tn
brown beauties rattle down. Dan an
Silas lived pretty well up the mountai
and they kept watch of the woods an
reported progress. There hadn't bee
such year for chestnuts since we coul,
remember; even the old settlers tree b.
the spring was as full of burrs as i
could stick
I'VE must lay our plans for Saturday,
sad Dan; -" everything is coming on first
rate; father says thcrelI be regula
old singer of frost to- night"
Dams father was an old lumberman
full of the wisdom of camps and wood
and high authority among us boys. /
the singer of frost had failed to com,
according to prophecy it would hav,
puzzled and astonished us almost al
much as if the sun had not put in an APP
pearance at the proper time. W.
showed our faith by collecting ever,
available bag and basket and stuffin:
our pockets a day beforehand with pc
tatoes, eggs and matches, a mixture tina
was looked upon with disapproval by al
existing authorities.
| What a hurly-burly of boisterous talk
when school let out on Friday evening
What medley of advice from every in
dividual boy, to which nobody paid the
least attention, for hadn't we been chest
nuting dozens of times, and didn't we
| know all about it? Bring your lunch
OF course, that was half the funs Meet AT
the old settlers tree"-to be sure, we al
ways did. "Some of the girls might
go :" rather family suggested by Phil
Noble, who had twin sister. and in
stantly stormed down by chorus of dis
approval.
Shall l forget how the lunch was
packed that night in low, brown farm
house with two great naples and Il sum-
mer-sweeting tree in front of it? 1t was
in the milk On the broad shelf in
lighting up the low ceiling and bare,
white floor. On the top shelf were tall
glass jars Oh preserves, peaches and
ounces and damson plums, precious con-
serves, dOled out on company days in
wonderful little glass plates. On the
lower shelves half a dozen great cheeses
one of them with Il wedge cut out, show
ing the brown SHE'LL and rows of pies
tempting to sight and smell. There was
IA square tin box that held the yearly loaf
of black fruit cake and the jumbles that
were not to be eaten for a month after
baking, but these did not concern us
much. The great loaves of bread, the
rolls of golden butter, the stone jar on the
floor full of brown doughnuts, the squares
of fragrant gingerbread-we knew our
baskets would draw heavily ON these, as
well us the cheese and the pie and the
great platter of cold corned beef. When
| think of it it seems as if l can smell the
mingled odor of good things that per-
vaded that cool, dark room, and see the
brown, barefooted boys watching the
gentle woman whose thin, hard
hands filled the great basket with
tempting things and folded the
clean, white cloth over the whole.
One of these boys, stirred to sud
den feeling of her love and care, gave
her a rough hug as they left the room,
and kiss on her soft cheek. All, if he
had only given her more in those pleas
ant days.
There was not boy of us but would
have been glad to be oft before sunrise,
but boys had to work in my DAY, and
even on holiday there was no Sinking
the morning chores. Gray and White
foot must have been astOnished at get
ting their breakfast SO much earlier than
common, and even the gentlest of the
cows whisked her tail in mild remon-
STRANGE at the unceremOniOus way in
which she was made to fill the mllk-pall
at a double-quick.
Seven O'Clock we called the roll at the
old settlers tree. Every boy on hand
but Dan and Sias, and we should take
them into our ranks on our way up the
mountains. We picked up few nuts
under the tree, but nobody touched the
open burrs. 1t had been a point of
honor among the boys in our school to
leave the clearing for the girls. L don't
know who introduced the custom, but it
was one of our traditions, and | think
any fellow who disputed it would have
stood IA fair chance for whipping.
dc n M
grounds, and before we got there the
clear air and hard climbing brought up
our appetites so we couldn't help peep
ing into our baskets and shutting at the
goodies. When we were fairly on the
ground and saw how plentiful the nuts
were, we forgot our hunger, and putting
our lunch baskets under Il big tree we
were soon in the thick of the scrimmage.
Clubs tlying hard and fast, long poles
threshing the loaded branches, and two
or three boys who could stick like squir-
rels shaking the breath out of their
bodies high up in the tallcst trees What
wonderful flavor there was to the little
purple frost grapes, and with what boy
ish relish we munched the hard, plump
chestnuts, Whooping, shouting, laugh
ing, we went deeper into the woods, too
wild with excitement to CLEAN very care
fully, but rapidly filling our bags.
give had enough of this" gasped
Silas, letting himself down from big
tree. 81 say, let's go back and eat din
ner and finish up the nuts afterward."
Not Il dissenting voice, but with one
consent we made our way to the big tree
where we had left our lunch.
Dan looked at Silas; Silas looked up
the tree. Rob put his hands in his
pockets Nick frowned like "A thunder
cloud, and little Yves Rossitcr piped out:
Where's our baskets" and began to
cry.
Where were they? Not there, surely,
and that was the tree where we left
them. Not anywhere in sight, though
we poked stupidity around in the bushes
with the vague idea that some one of our
number had hidden them for II joke.
"A mighty mean joke call it," said
Ed Walker land the fellow that did it
had better keep out of my way; | should
Just like to-to-em him, and Ed CRASHED
his teeth and gave such Il fcrocioIs
growl at little Yves that he laughed and
wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket.
Just few rods away was II round little
glen, followed out of the mountain side
like IA fairy council chamber The trees
made a canopy over il, Il clear spring
crcpt out of Il cleft on the upper side,
and a broad, fiat rock made IA capital