The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1877-07-24


in a weeks time. There's the supplies
to be got, and the hands to be hired;
lemmee see-five cutters, two teamsters
and cook; that's about it, and to have
'em ready to start when do, and amt
so young as was. Heydey, it's rub and
| grind, a lumberman's IS life isl"
Alas there was more to be gotten
through with in weeks time than Mr..
Bruce had an inkling of; so much that
it ran over into the next week, as work
has trick of doing.
When Louisa saw that it was only her
old father trudging along with the re-
turning OK team her mercury went
down to zero in half second. She saw
before her weary three months of lone
illness and longing,and she saw, too, that
she deserved it.
ITS deuced cold day for an old
man." said Mr.. Bruce, shivering before
| the wood fire, as if there should have
been special sets of weather created to
suit customers. What's that you've
got cooking on the crane, LuY Stew ?
l amt got no more appetite than bear
in August. Brindle and Trot were slow
| as cold molasses /; they've seen their best
days, reckon like their master. Wish
I'd swapped 'em to Dunn for the year
lings and boot; it would have been a
| good bargain. ST sent his love to you,
Lu. I've got cold; reckon I'll turn
in and sleep it off,"
"They oughtn't have let you come"
said Lu, Indignantly, as she carried him
a bottle of hot water for his feet. Uncle
ST or Ben ought to have come instead"
1t want their fault; 1 thought L
could drive better bargain with the
| hands. Ben said he'd come in my
place, but his heart want set on it,"
which assurance in no wise comforted
| Louisa.
Mr.. Bruce was restless all night, and
| in the morning was out of his head, and
didn't know his right hand from his left,
called Louisa Ben, and asked grandma
| to put the oxen into the cart, mistaking
her for Uncle Simon. And Louisa, half
frightened to death, jumped upon old
Roan's back and galloped all the way to
| Shopton for the nearest doctor.
"Aheml Nothing more or less than
fever" said he, the instant he laid his
| eyes on Mr.. Bruce.
els he dangerous ?" asked Louisa.
| Dangerous Oh, guess he'll pull
through. I'll leave this prescription,
| l. 20 r..
Maverick, of the tavern - Mavericks
tavern, at our place-had the same
symptoms week ago, and he's about
to-day. There's no telling about these
things; different constitutions take dis
eases differently. AT least, you needn't
be alarmed at present. Good morning."
with an emphasis on the good. Louisa
thought it was anything but a good
| morning, after the comfort of his pro-
fessional presence was withdrawn. But
the next day her father was no better,
nor yet the next day, though the doc
tor assured her that he was doing as well
as could be expected, whatever that
might be.
Louisa was too busy and weary with
watching and nursing, cooking and
looking after the house and seeing to
grandma's cold, and keeping order and
quiet among the children, to take note
of the sick mans delirious words, though
he was constantly talking about the
camp, sixty miles away-where her own
thoughts wandered whenever she had
time to think them-bargaining with
imaginary teamsters, haggling with
Scales & Weight over groceries, and re-
| peating, " Provisions for week, for
week" and counting the days on his
fingers and losing the count, and begin
ming over again and again, as il it were
a puzzle, upon the solution of which his
life depended. And so the fever ran to
the ninth day and turned, and the pa
tient fell into quiet sleep, and awoke
too weak and languid to put words to-
gether, or to remember anything but
that he had suffered fearful nightmare
and it was over. 1t was perhaps the
third day after the fever turned that he
suddenly took up the thread of life where
he had dropped 1t, and asked, "How
long have / been a-laying here, LuY"
"Twelve days"
Where's Ben and Uncle 81 ?"
why, you left them in camp,
father"
LEFT them in camp Twelve days
ago." he gasped, "with weeks pro-