The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-09-01

ihNiN AhOhtil oSOs Il udNC llGl
to support, as we'll as the rest"
"Do you know where Eben is?"
asked she.
"He is in Canada with Sam Brown
low and the rest of them-so Laura
said when she got home. Eben
brought her as far as he dared to
come; then gave her money to pay
her fare in the stage the rest of the
way. l may as well tell you all. The
girl is not married, and it is on her
account that her mother wants to
leave. She says Laura can never hold
up her head again in Bridgewater. If
| had that Brownlow in my clutches,
| would ring his neck for him."
Silence fell upon the group for a
few minutes, then Mr.. Shaw spoke
again.
"You have been good neighbors
ever since you came here. have not
forgotten how you used to bring pro-
visions for my family that winter
when we were cutting the slash, thirty
years ago. We have seen some
changes since then, you and l. l feel
like crying when l think of pulling
up and going away to make a new
home. But it has to be done, and
the sooner it is over the better. I do
not want any stir made about it. l
thought would come and talk with
you, and see how we could square off.
l am just out of hay, and you had
better take the stock home to winter
out. l am getting to be an old man,
and poor as Jerusalem rat! One
thing more l want to tell you, about
the cave on the Burnap lot. I heard
William say he would give a good
deal if he knew how that came there.
I discovered it. You remember, per.
haps, when built the new barn, that
l wanted some good straight timber
to make shingles, and so bought some
spruce trees of Burnap. When l cut
them down, noticed that the ground
shook and sounded hollow, and
echoed back. l thought it was rather
strange; but when the largest one fell,
the ground shook terribly, so that l
ran back, for I thought it was going
to slide off. When l came with my
oxen and cart-wheels to draw off the
logs, l stuck my iron bar into the
ground while was claiming on the
log. l let 60 of it, when it slipped
down, went out Of sight, and / heard
it strike on solid rock. When l came
for the next load, 1 brought spade
and dug down where the bar went
through. 1t was not over foot and
a half through the soft ground, and
the light shone in, so that I could see
the bar, some eight feet down. lying
on the rock. l could not get it, and
l was terribly driven with work; so I
left it there, and drew the bouphs of
spruce over the hole had dug, think
ing | would 20 sometime and get it,
and examine what sort of place it
was down there. il slipped out of
my mind entirely after a while. 1
reckon it was three years ago 1
thought OF it, perhaps longer; any
way, Eben was about twenty years
old. We were drawing lumber into
Williams mill, and we broke our
crowbar; so told Eben had a good
crowbar on the ledge, above the bend,
and If he had mind to go to the
house and get BEDFORD. l would 90
and open the hole, and he could get
the bar. l let him down by the rope;
he got the bar all right, and had a
smart tussle to draw him up. When
these fellows came around year or
two later, Eben told them about it,
and they went there, and dug to get
an easy entrance, so they could get in
and out. Before they got it fixed to
their minds, that terrible freshet came
on and filled the cave with water, and
suppose undermined the rocks, and
one day, about a week after, the banks
and rocks, trees and bushes slid off in
10 the river. Everybody thought it
was an earthquake; don't you re-
member how everything shook and
AIRED, and the trees came down over