Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-29
eleg, to make music for the great occa-

Peleg, to make music for the great occa-
sion.
At precisely the same instant the two
logs across the two sawhorses fell in
twain.
How everybody cheered, sending lit
tie tingles OF excitement thrilling along
every boyish nervel And Uncle Nathan
waved one of the eyes out of his specta
cles and Aunt Nabby, over his shoulder,
futtered her big calico apron, and
bobbed her gray cockscrew curls, to the
tune of Pop Goes the WEASEL which
Peleg's cracked fiddle was merrily play
ing.
The hours wore on. The crowd came
and went, surging in and out of the
back yard with jolly chat and laughter.
The saws shrieked the axes flashed in
the air /; the wheelbarrows trundled from
woodpile to woodshed. Peleg fiddled
through and through his repertory OF
tunes from "Yankee Doodle TO "Mon.
ey Musk y and at length came high
noon, with twenty minutes for refresh
ments.
In the afternoon the excitement waxed
stronger. The boys sawed steadily on
with scarcely any symptoms of fatigue,
save that there was a scarlet flush on
Max's dark cheek, and Sandy's lips
were pale and trembled little nery-
cusly.
Everybody was laughing aud talking
OF the sport. Even Mrs. Col. Grosvenor,
the great lady of the village, drove up
to the backyard gate in her carriage,
bringing demijohn Of delicious iced
lemonade for the young sawvers and
their friends. Capt. Winty Coolidge
walked around, rubbing his pudgy hands
together, and sprinkiing in encouraging
remarks between the shrieks Of the saws
aud the squeaks of the fiddle.
It's good thing to strengthen the
muscles-the muscles. A long-chalk
sensibler than walking ten hours to a
stretch, go tits, SO It's Good boys /!
Doing well, all on ye-all on vel"
And how earnest every one became.
to be sure, when at length the sticks in
each woodpile might be counted!
You never saw anything like it r.
said Max to his mother, between huge
mouthfuls of bread and jam, at the tea
table that night. Everybody who had
a handkerchief shook it, know, and
Aunt Nabby waved her big checked
apron. They were all singing out Go
it and Good! till fellow couldnt
hear himself think. Uncle Nathan sat
in the door trotting his foot and wiping
his eyes, though what for I can't mag
inc; and Peleg jumped up on his nail
key and fiddled like the whole town was
burning! Oh, twas great And when
we counted up the money there was
$3.50 cash for Uncle Nathan, and ev-
erybody cheered again like fun when we
handed it over. And Capt. Winty made
one of his speeches. Uncle Nathan
broke right down when he tried to thank
us, and Aant Nabby kissed us boys all
round. Yes, ma'amr'
ooh, yes'm Sandy beat by twenty
four seconds, and Sandy's Cap'n again
at school, and, of course, Dickey beat
Charley, because Charley couldn't split
my last stick till I'd sawed it, for they
Kept right on our heels the whole time.
But Art Humphrey beat Jack Jardine
For Art caught up the wood in hi;
arms, quick as Charley split it, and ran
into the shed with it and out while Jack
was unloading his wheelbarrow. Il
gives a fellow an appetite" concluded
MAX, with sidelong glance from his
laughing eyes, as he reached for his
third helping Of jam 'but it's little
hard on the arms p Vide Aw0ke.