The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-08-03

l. lOOhO dU lloI lOl a llOllCllb. dh i
says:
"Polly,' says 1, Il loves you, darlin.'
"Dog gone me eff she didt put her
head down on my shoulder an begin {
cry. L didn't know what t. do.
"'Polly,' says I, sis you skeered
darlin'?'
"She lifted up her head an says
soft-like, her head bent down:
"'I die willing, dear, to hear you
say that. I'm cryin' Jim, cause I'm
so happy
Now l wer' happy, too, happy as a
bar n a honey tree, but L didn't feel
like cryin'. Not much, boys. 1 felt,
sore arm an all, ez tho | c'u'd lick all
the redskins this side of the Rockies.
l never did feel so good ez 1 did then.
[ kissed Polly agin. an then L prepared
for work. BY this time them Injuns
had made up their minds ez to
what they'd do, an a few on 'em
come up t. tn house to break in.
They know'd tn old man wer' away, it
seems. I'm glad t. say ez how three
on 'em didn't go back, for Tom settled
"A an 1 fetched two, restin' the rifle
on tn logs an Polly loadin' fur me.
TIL rest, they got out. L s'pose it
wer' too hot fur 'em. TIL next thing
wer' a flight of arrers agin' tn logs, but,
bless we, we didn't care for them.
Then ther' wer' a lull kinder for a
time, an at last | seen some fire arrers
fly out. They'd taken tufts of grass,
wound 'em round the arrers, an shot
'em off blazing. AT first they fell
short, an wharever 1 c'u'd see a red.
skin Id fire, gener'ly hurtin' the chap
L aimed at. But arter a while they
moseyed round tn clearin' ia
tn side nearest tn house, an
here they'd fire them arrers from be-
hind trees, so L didn't see EN-.
"Bimebye n of 'em lit, an fust
thing l knowed, TIL roof were on fire.
Now, l were considerable bothered
bout this, fur 1 had no water to put
tn fire out, an eff 1 had, 1 c'u'dn't
work much with one arm. 1 were
studyin' on it, an them reds were
yellin' outside, when all of a sudden
my eye fell on a long pole in one
corner.
"That ar roof were made of shakes
-slabbed-out boards, you know-an'
they was pinned to tn beams. picks
up tn pole. an putin it agin tn
burnin shake, tn hull lot of us heaved.
Bimebye tn shake give an slid off.
"Wall, l were delighted 1 kissed
Polly an tn two gals, an shook hands
with Tom. 1 calculated that we'd
shove off a shake soon ez it got on fire,
an l knowed' tn logs w'u'dn't burn.
L told Polly to get a mattrass, an get
under it, SO ez to be safe eff any arrers
fell through tn hole, but she put tn
young uns thar, an stayed out herself.
Said she weren't goin' to let me be in
danger, a. she outer it. Pears to me
now ez this were kinder foolish, but
then l thought it were just like Polly,
an in course what Polly did were
I'D do the same now, JIM" said the
old lady.
81 b'lieve you w'u'd. 1 b'lieve you
w'ud! WAL, boys, time slipped on,
an every chance Tom or 1 got we'd
fire, an somebody'd get hurt. I told
Tom an Polly an the gals to keep a
sharp lookout, fur I we're feared of a
run-in by tn reds. Sure enuff. bout
10 o'clock they come. Fust thing 1
knowed they were batterin' away at
tn door, an they got it down.
"Wall, it 'peared t me ez tho I
went crazy just then. l ketched hold
of an ak standin' thar an / set myself
in that doorway an eff you'll b1ieve
me, ther wern't 10 Injun ez come in.
My arm 1 never thought bout my
arm at all till it wer' all over"
"Jim stood up Their in frunt of u.s."
broke in Aunt Polly, with kindling
eyes, Fan it seemed to me ez if he got
bigger. He swung that ak round his
head ez if it wer' a reed. Just beyond
him wer' the bowling crowd of saw
ages, leapin' at him like wolves, and
ez only Injuns can yell. could
them by the freight. Between
them and us stood Jim. an they never
got past him. l tell you it wer' a grand
1t seemed to me ez tho l was
ez safe ez ever 1 was, an I felt sure
jim w'u'dn't get hurt. 1 knowed he
w'u'dntv"
9TH old lady allus gets a leetle off
her head bout that fight" said Uncle
Jim, with a glance full CT affection at
his wife; "bYt it wer' a grand one,
that's a fac. 1 dunno how long it
it mout have bin a minute an
it mout have bin an hour fur all loud
tell. AT last the reds broke an run,
leavin' a pile of m lynn at that door
step. We got up tn door agin, an
arter that they let US alone fur the
Next morning, bout seven, a
lot of men come an the Injuns got
out. l wer' sick with my arm fur a
long time, but Polly, she SISTED on u
bein' married so she c'u'd nuss me, an
we wer'. When 1 got well we gin a
party, an a high old time we had.
Sence them we've had our easy times
an hard times, but take it all round
and we've lived pretty well. An tn
best of it all is that we've never had
no trouble atween us, has we, Polly"
and Uncle Jim looked at his wife.
"No, dear, never a bit" was the