Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1899-08-24

! lifted the head, and took out nice Dle
hunk of pork. OF course, Jonas thought
it'd hustle away with that pork on the
( aouble-quiek, but il didn't. 1t laid the
hunk O pork on the ground, and then
headed up the bari agin as proper as
il was before, after doin' which 1t shout
dered the pork and went into the woods
as cool and deliberate as if it'd just
bought the pork. and paid cash down
for il. What do you think, Eph? Must
have been it that Jonas seen, heyg
"Eph he hind o pulled his whiskers
and didn't say nothin', but PauPaek
Steve he lips in and says:
"'Course it was! My idea is that il
logged "a slammin' big mess o them
clubs O. Eph's home with it, and want
ed that pork TO fry 'em in!'
Il hadn't said nothin', but begun to
think that if it was as interestin' as
they was sayin' it was, il behooyed me
to git on its trail, SO says TO Eph:
".Was it much for sizeg says. Was
il as big as any Gil ever killed. says.
"'Cause Gil was a tremendous hunt
er, but poor jedge o heft.
"'Big as any Gil ever Killed. says
Eph Why, thunder! 1t was bigger yit
than any Gil ever said he killed.
"Gil didn't say nothin'. but begun to
Steve he snorted right out, and says:
"'Eph,' he says, if | was you /
wouldn't take jug with me no more
when | went fishin'; and when ! see
Jonas I'll have 10 warn him to have
the size of his snake-cure pocket cut
down from a quart to pint, cause you
fellers is beginning to see things!' he
says.
But | thinks to myself that where
there was so much smoke there must
be some fire, and / thought il mowt be
worth my while gittin' onto its track.
So next day / started out. heerd on
il here and there and most everywhere,
and begun TO think that maybe Pau
pack Steve had been a leetle TOO hard
on Eph and Jonas, after all. l heerd
on it bein at Jake's, where il broke into
the milkhouse, lugged out l2-quart
crock o. cream that Jake's wife was
goin' TO do her chrnin' with, and sot
down on the back stoop and swamped
the hull ~ quarts, hardly stoppin' to
breathe. Then il took the crock and
smashed il ag'in the door, as much as
if TO give notice TO the folks inside that
they'd better be a comm out and look
in after things. Jake told me all about
the doin's. He didn't see 'em himself,
he said, cause he didn't happen 10 be
home, but his wife seen 'em, he said,
and was so scared that il was all She
could do to tell him when he got home
And that's the way it kept goin on
similar all around the country, 'cordin
TO what folks'd tell me here and there,
but | couldn't strike its trail for Ger
tain for more'n six weeks, and then |
did. job told me that 1t had got into
one of his traps, and had took the trap
along with it. This give me the trail,
and il p'inted straight for the big tam
arack swamp. l hadn't gone more'n
two miles when ! come 10 the trap. Ii
laid under a hemlock root and there
was couple o toes in it with claws
on 'em two inches long.
Its yanked itself loose, hay?' / says.
1t won't be so gay and funny now when
come up TO it as folks has been say
in it's been | says.
And before long | come up to it,
backed ag'in big hemlock, nussin' its
sore foot. When il see me II just ripped
and tore. II sot me down as bein' the
,na ,bo, b.d mos Il ;n4, tr,,,ll. ..,,a 1, |
riz up and howled and smashed and |
showed set o teeth that made mt
culver.
Eph was right says /. It's bigger
yit than any Gil ever said he killed
Not wantin' to see such an unpleas-
in shown of temper any longer than
| could help, l pulled up and whanged |
away. That must s'prised il, for II
turned and went smashin' away so fast |
that it got out o sight in the brush |
fore | could give il another one. fol- |
lowed 1t, though, and il led plump 20 the |
laurel patch t'other side O. the Knob
/ hurried round by the cowpath and |
was standin' there when i see Pete |
comm long the path on his way TO the |
Hobby road, and see that he was goin
to leave the path and make short cut
through the patch, jest cause it'd save
him mebbe somethin' like an eighth of |
a miled, and ! says to him:
YOU'D better keep the path. Peter,
| says, and go round
Pete, bein' stubborn and head
strong, kind o. shifted at me and says: |
"'What fer2'
well, l says, it'n be considerable |
further for you, but if you keep the |
path you'n get there a good deal |
sooner
"'Cause / know'd il was in there, but |
Pete gave a sniff and plunged right |
into the patch and went on. l don't !
know exactly whether il was on top !
or whether Pete was on top when they
came out, and ! hain't never been able
TO figure out jist how l managed TO git
a ball through it and stiffen of il out for
good and all without KILN Pete, they
was so kind o. mixed up; but / did. |
Then | get Pete around, and as soon
as he could get back some idee o. what