The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1899-07-28

marsh and get some tamarack gum
and wintergreen berries. OF course, |
was ready-if he didn't take a book
along. Jim and book was a very dis
agreeable combination for good COM
pany, but without his book he was
splendid. So, after searching his pock-
cts, his sleeves, his cap, and vest, and
making sure that by no sleight of hand
he had transferred the undesirable ar
ticle from one to the other during the
process, we started. We had lots of
fun, and by the time Jim had filled one
pocket with gum and the other with
berries for the girls at school, who had
ordered him not to come to school
again until he could furnish these COM
missary stores, and had big bouquet
of the longest-stemmed wintergreens
with the biggest berries could find for
mother, who always stood by me, we
ad come out of the marsh on the side
opposite our home.
The day had turned foggy, and
fearing we might get lost If we crossed
the marsh again, Jim determined to go
around through the woods. Bidding
me keep the alders that fringed the
marsh always at my left hand, in case
we got separated, jim led the way. |
couldn't see him, if he was a rod
ahead, but | could see and follow his
footsteps through the big patches of
snow. BY and by, | noticed that he
wobbled here and there, and as l was
getting tired | yelled at him to get
home the shortest way, and not stop
for blue jays and squirrels nests. He
stopped until came up, and then asked
me how I'd feel if knew | was lost. l
was real cross and said he'd better quit
fooling when it must be dinner time.
"'All right he said, let's go to that
big tree and rest bit, then you can
lead out, for l don't know where we
are
Il was scared, for if Jim didn't know
his way in any woods within miles OF
home, we were lost indeed.
Truth and honor, Jim? | says.
"'Good Injun, Bobby. I'm sorry, but
l can't make out where we are. If I've
calculated right we ought to be clear
around the end of the marsh, and near
the main road. But l don't remember
any such trees as this, and we must be
lost. 1t doesn't look as though we'd
get any dinner to-day
perhaps dinner time made me think
of it, but just then, as plainly as hear
you speak, l heard my mother call
sRob-ertl Rob-er-rt!'
II told Jim, and we both thought we
must be near the road, and circled
around farther and farther, but could
find no trace.
"'1t:s no use, Bobby Jim said, final
ly; we're certainly lost. Here's that
big tree again; if I'd ever seen that be-
fore to-day would have remembered it.
Are you sure you heard mother call?'
"''Course did, ! told him; I could
almost see her, too, at the corner of the
house with pan in her hand
'That last idea didn't make Jim be-
lieve my word any the faster, but just
then 1 heard again, 'Rob-er-rt!'
Il yelled back: I'm lo-ost!'
"After a minute l heard, Where's
James?
"'Here.' l answered. Then l heard a
confused sound, like different voices, it
seemed, but nothing clearly. shouted
again: 'Moth-er!' and she called back:
Don't fool! Come home!' Then all was
silent. Jim was five or six feet away,
watching me cuEiously, for he didn't
hear q word, except those l spoke.
"'We must be near home, Bobby, If
you heard all that; mother thinks so,
too, and that we are fooling her by play
ing lost. Now he went on, you walk
right straight ahead in the direction of
mothers voice
II obeyed, and he followed. Half way
down the rise of ground on which the
big tree stood we both heard her call
something, and Jim gave tremendous
shout in reply, and 'Ja-a-mes, 1-cant-
ll-what-you-say,' came back.
"Then 1 said: Keep talliing!' and
after that every ten rods or SO we'd hear
'Rob-ert!' and Jim concluded that she
could hear my voice best.
"Ofteh and often we failed to get an
answer, and l thought mother had
grown tired, but Jim went back along
the line of our footsteps and found that
| invariably in that case we had taken a
circular course instead of going in Il
| straight line. In ten minutes or so jim
| shouted that we'd struck a wood road
through the timber some three miles
| from home. Then we knew our where
| abouts and began to look for mother,
for we made sure she must be out look
| ing for us. But there were no tracks In
the snow save our own, and about two
o'clock two hungry boys bounced into
the kitchen and found mother almost
fainting in her rocking chair and fa-
ther and all the boys around her.
1--WE were greeted with such a storm
of Indignation that all Jim could do was
to stand and take it while l slipped
around to mother and laid my hand i'll
her lap among the wlntergreens.
"'Iou're a fine fellow!' they scolded
at Jim. 'Playin' tricks on MOTHER and
so on, until father said, sternly, young
man, explain yourself
Jim had only been waiting for the
chance. Father remembered the big
tree, but nobody believed we had heard
mother call while we stood under it
though they admitted that she had
called, because she thought we had
missed our way across lots. But we
stuck to our story, and explained, and
explained, until father said something
| about echoes, and stopped the discus