Daily Kennebec journal., 1878-10-24
foon.ipued from FIRST page,


BILE woman. bustlng into the house before
them TO open the door of pleasant room,
with two sunny windows looking ont over
the rolling meadows of the farm. A
bright carpet was on the floor; the rock.
ing-chairs and lounge were covered with
fresh chiniz, several pretty pictures huno
on the wall. and Annie's books covered
the table and hanging shelves. Mr.. Ford
was very well-to-do farmer, and Annie
had spent two Years away from home al
school, which accounted for the tasteful
arrangement of flowers and trifles about
the room.
The green calash removed. Miss Antiss
proved TO be an exceedingly small. spare
person. with a face yelowed by time and
lined with innumerable wrinkles, a sharp
nose. and faded blue eyes. Her very thin
brown hair was screwed into a mob on the
back of her head, and the front arranged
IN two Hat curls. held in place by side
combs directly over her ears Taking her
patchwork from her bag. she at once be-
gan taking small even stitches, sitting
boit-upright in her chair, casting sharp
glances meanwhile out of the window and
about the room, where no movement of
her favorte Annie escaped her. Mrs.
FORD took rocking-chair and her knitting.
Then the conversation began.
BE the boys and Jacob well ?"
Usually well. Jacob gifts pretty tired
by night. but the boys go ahead, and do
nicelv. Sibyl said you'd been away ?"
'les, I've been clean matter of twen-
iy miles to the Union; but it didn't look
very nat'ral. and | warn't sorry to come
away. There's hardly any body left
there that | knowed. either"
"What is it like, Aunt Ann 2" said LIZ
zie, who had come in and seated herself
on the window-sill beside her.
"Ob. farms now. much as il looks here
When we used to live there. on Greene's
patent, between there and Peru village
the pine-trees stood so thick on each side
of the road two-year-old heifer could't
crowd between them. and the sun never
touched the road in the longest summer
days. 1t was dreadful wild round there
then. One day me and your great-uncle
Ssm'el went into the back lot to carry the
men their dinner-twarn't fur from the
house neiiher-but we had to pass little
wood. and right the other side on it. a
setten' right up on end, looking at us. was
what we took for great gray dog. He
looked at us, and we at him; then Sam
up with a stone and me with stick, and
move at him. He jumped up and roted
off; then we see that 1t was gray wolf
as big one as ever seen. toop"
'.Oh my weren't you frightened?'
Aunt Ann paused to take up fresh
block of patchwork. and cast sharp
glance at the slight figure of Annie in the
south window, bending over her sewing,
with sad, far-away look in the eyes. and
mournful droop at the corners of the pret-
~ mouth. Something was the matter,
Miss Antiss made up her mind then and
there. Annie had not heard one word of
the brisk conversation going on around
her, that was plain enough to be seen.
What was the matter? that was the aues-
tion Miss Ann went over and over 10 her
mind. while her tongue kept time with her
needle. She would keep her ewes open
and find out, for, like good many other
wise women, Miss Antiss never asked
questions when she really wished to get
at the bottom of any thing. SO now she
threaded her needle, settled her spectaces
again. and went on for as she said to
herself, "Talkin' kinder covers UP so,
people don't think you're watchin' on em,
and SO is kinder throwed off their guard
if you keep a-talkin'n
frightened? No, not very. Twarnt
the last one l sec, BY iugful, or OF
other animals either. One night the old
COW came bellering home, tail straight in
The air, and something dark colored and
yellow right between her shoulders; the
creature jumped off the COW stret up a
tree close by the barn. and from one
branch TO another way off in the woods
agin II was catamOunt, and the poor
COW had to be killed, it had tore such
hole In her shoulder"
''How perfectly dreadful Just sup
pose there should be any catamounts
around here !" and Lizzie glanced with a
shudder towards the grove OF sugar-ma-
Piles by the river.
''Do tell some more about it Wasn't
that very wild place ?'
"WildP l guess it was Why, when
i was little, ii any OF the men-folks didn't
come in at dark, big fires would be lit,
and all the tin pans and tin horns would
be banged and blowed all through the
woods. everybody carrying a torch, till
they found 'em or what was left on 'em.
We girls had scare one night. NV.
Me and Ruth and Lizzie had been down
to uncle John Green's. 1t was kinder
late and dark, and we were a runnin'.
The boys had killed bear that day in the
coTniield, and SO they went and got il and
sot it up, nal'ral as lite, right in the path
we were comm by We were a-laugh.
in' and gigglin' they could have "a heard
us mile off; so they hid to see the fun.
Pretty soon we come kerslap on ter the
bear; and then such screechin as we
sot up! Father he comes out and warnt
he mad! Such iickn' as every boy he
ketched got was caution.
.Our folks was Quakers. Nv mother
was a dreadful harsh, strict woman,
though father used ter wink at our hayin'
good times. Many's the time me and
Liz 'beth's throwed our white dresses in
a band box out the winder to our cousins.
the Green boys, and elm out arter them,
to run away TO dance, footin It four or
six miles to it. When we'd be comm
home. through them pine woods, 'twarnt
no laughin' matter-the wolves on each
side of us among the trees. First one
would yelp and howl-make your hair
stand up straight-and then dozen more
would jine in. till ii seemed as if they
were close to our heels. How we would
clip 1t a-goin' The bridge over the river
we had ter cross was jest pine poles with
the bark on The way we went over