Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-11-05
SAM,S STORY.

j suppose because he feels sort of BASH
full and Uncle RUFF says a hero neN er
ought to tell his own story. Rob pre-
tends that it wasn't much of anything
that he did, but we all think it was
pretty smart Rob is smart, if he is my
brother. He can puzzle the school
master asking arithmetic questions, and
he isn't afraid of the minister. If any
body in this town ever gets to be Presi-
dent, L know pretty well who it will
be. But Bob says to go on telling the
story il I'm going to, and not put in so
many fourishes.
We live at White Oak Farm, with
Uncle Rufe and Aunt Penelope, and
Dolly. There are three of us-Rob and
and Philly is eight, AMI am great
deal older than Philly, but not quite so
old as Rob. We haven't any father or
mother, but Aunt Penelope and Uncle
Rufe think Just as much of us as they
do of Dolly; anyway none of us can see
any difference. Dolly is eight, but she
is girl, and she seems kind of small
and young We take care of Dolly.
White Oak Farm is splendid big
farm, but Uncle Rufe has been growing
poor lately. A bad man cheated him
out of a great deal of money, and then
il was a bad year for crops, and it costs
ever so much TO take care of us, Rob
thinks. lie is in an awful hurry to grow
up on that account, and he tries to learn
everything. He knows almost as much
about farming as Uncle Rufo does, and
he can handle tools like carpenter l
don't see OF what use those things arc
when he says he's going to be n civil
engineer, or an architect, but he says
h6Tonts to lie ready fog anything.
Well, as l was saying, Uncle Rufe has
grown poor, so poor that he had to
mortgage the farm, and then he could
not pay the interest on the mortgage
when il came due. He fell pretty badly,
| can tell you, that day when he went
over TO Easton TO tell the man that he
couldn't pay him. He didn't know but
the man would foreclose, and take the
farm right away, and then we should
be homeless. We loved every inch of
White Oak Fam, and to think of its be-
longing TO anybody else was awful. It
was December day, and there was
snow in the air. Aunt Penelope went
with Uncle Ru!e because she wanted to
sec her sister, Aunt Maria, who lived in
Easton, and they were not coming home
until the next day. 'Lisha, the hired
man, and Keziah, the hired girl, were
left to keep house and take care of us.
OF course we could take care of our
selves, but Aunt Penelope used not to
think so; perhaps she thinks differently
now.
They went away in the forenoon, and
that afternoon Keziah got message
that her sister, over at Oxford Mills,
was very sick, and wanted her. OF
course 'Lisha had to harness old Pegasus,
and carry her over there. lie made a
great fuss about leaving us alone, and
so did Keziab, though she was awfully
worried about her sister, but we were
not afraid.
White Oak farm was mile and hall
from the village, and in pretty lone
some place, but tramps didn't often
come around at that time of year, and
we couldn't think of anything that
could trouble us. Keziah could, though.
She's awfully nervous. She said we
should let Dollys apron get on fire, and
she would be burned to death, or we
should tumble over Beelzebub, the old
black cat, who always would sit on the
stairs, and break our neeks, or go out
to the barn and drop n lighted match
on the hay, and burn everything up, Oh
put kerosene on the stove, and blow
everything up, or choke ourselves, OF
cat the rat poison on the top shelf OF
the closet. 1 can't begin to tell you all
the things that Keziah prophesied would
happen TO us, but she didn't once think
of what did happen! That's always tho
way with people that worry. Rob says
it's never any use.
1t had begun to snow in the middle Of
the afternoon, and it was very bust
ness-like snow-storm.
IL don't know about getting back on
wheels tonight" said 'Lisha, 'but
shall have to try it, for can't get along
on runners now"
We told him not TO try to get back
that night, for we shouldn't be BIZ
afraid 10 stay alone all night, but he
shook his head. When l saw him dc
that knew he'd come back if he had
to walk. 'Lisha is like that; you car
depend upon him.
AS he was driving out of the yard he
called to Rob TO be sure not to let any
stranger into the house. The bank in
the village had boon broken into the
week before, and lots of bonds and
things stolen. / suppose that was
what made him think of that. But
didn't think there was much danger OF
burglars coming TO White Oak Farm.
After they were fairly out of the yard
Keziah made 'Lisha drive back so she
could call TO US not TO get blown up
with the gunpowder and shot that was
up in the barn chamber. We never
went up in the barn chamber, and the
ladder was broken, anyway, but tina,
was just like Keziah.
u was night before they were of