Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-07-15
like breaking the hard-taked earth with

! y
voice, :" if we don't get this haul into
barracks before the weeks out we may
as well sink it in the river" Then fol-
lowed something about "the point, :"
and Jerry and "dear old grand
mother" with much cursing and laugh
ter. There were three men at least,
and soon heard enough to learn that
they had been on the island since the
middle of the night before. Thorough
ly frightened and hardly able to move
for minute, [ knew 1 must escape
from the place as soon as possible
! They were laughing at something about
coffin when l slipped noiselessly down
| the bank and into my boat. l kept in
the hiding of the trees until I could
safely put out from the shore. had a
hard struggle with the swift current,
but mastered it and got home in time
to have fathers dinner ready when he
came in. He had finished his dinner
and was filling his pipe, when asked:
''What was you saying about brandy
smugglers this morning?''
There's too many of 'em for Cap
Bedell for onc't, Peggy. Them bar
racks is just afloat with Canada brandy.
How the soldiers gets it nobody can
tell.''
"Who lives in that little house out
on the point?''
The "point' was a desolate sandy
bluff on the lake shore, not far from the
river; a bleak spot, the last place in the
world, one would think, for building a
house, but then we can't all choose
where we will live, you know.
30, that's Jerry Clark's. He runs a
hack at the Falls. Makes lots of money,
they say. Supposin' I run hack, Peggy.
Supposin' now"
"Does he live there on the point?
How can he do business at the Falls!'
80, Jerry lives at the Falls. You
wouldn't mind stayin' here, would you
Peggy, if could do handsome drivin' a
hack somewhere else?'
':But who lives on the point, father?
Is there anybody in that lonesome
houser'
Jerry Clark's grandmother lives on
that point. She is bit crazy, he says,
and thinks she can't sleep anywhere
else. Her husband went down in the
the-that '42 steamboat-or was it '43?
But of course you don't know, Peggy"
:" Who takes care of his grandmoth-
erP''
Jerry is drefful kind to her, says
she can't live much longer at the most.
There is big bouncin' girl over there
bigger than what you are, Peggy; she
was rowin' out here on the river the
other day. Cap'n Bedell happened down
Just then and she hailed him and asked
him where she could get good doctor
for the old woman. She was took worse
she said. Then she asked the Cap'n if
he knew of good boy to help 'em over
there. They are wonderfully put to it
for boy. The Cap'n sent her to
Browns, but she didn't get one. for
see her goin' back without any,"
There! l have forgotten to tell you
about Popt. The story without Pont
in it would have to be told by somebody
beside Peggy Herrick. Point was my
dog, big brown water spaniel. He
could talk with his eyes, dear old Pont,
and after mother died, not right away,
but after awhile, he loved me just as he
had loved her.
That night when father sat smoking
his pipe under the cherry tree picked
up heart to say:
6 Father, am thinking about going
away to look for work"
III.
had nothing to do beside cry when
1 shut myself into my little bedroom.
First tried on fathers best pantaloons.
He had never worn them since mothers
funeral and had forgotten he had any
thing but his old velveteens. They were
a pretty good fit and so were his boots.
1 would have to make a blouse of an
old flannel dress of mothers, a blue
plaid, and hating to cut into that and
wondering what she would say about
my venture, hindered me good while.
Well, it was three o'clock in the morn
ing when dressed in my new suit and
tried to see myself in my bit of a look
ing glass. started back half fright
ened, such big boy I looked to be.
had cut off my hair. That was dread
fully hard thing to do, but if 1 had
stopped at that l would have had to
give up going. If you will be-
1ieve it, father never noticed my red
eyes in the morning nor my short hair,
but then 1 kept on my sun bonnet.
from our house to .:T1he Point" but I |
made it before noon. put into mar
row ravine about half mile on the |
river side from Jerry Clark's grand
mothers and eat my bread and cold |
fapjack's sitting in my boat. There 1
hid Dancing Polly well under the flags;
nobody would have dreamed the boat
was there. cut stick and swung my
little bundle over my shoulder, show
cred myself with road dust and struck
off down the road with long, swing
ing gait. My greatest fear was that 1
should forget to be as deaf and stupid
rs l had decided to be, SO, if you will
believe it. scratched the back of my
right hand with thorn-no little |
scratch either-to tell me of my ears.
A few rods from the lonely cabin a
log lay by the footpath. There 1 sat
down, knowing that somebody would
be watching me. pretended to fall in
to doze, but through the meshes of
my hat saw the big bouncing girl
come to the door several times and
watch me close. She tried saving
wood but the saw got fast. Then she
began picking up chips, watching me
all the time.
The big girl came out when 1 got