The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-01-30

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whole family, tut hey preferred IL as.
it all themselves, They were :, lazy
that instead OF walking down hin 10
schoo' III winter. It perfectly easy task
for it was only a half 4 mile straight
ahead. they coa~ted down OH their
sleds. and as winter At I.oadca lISn al
Ways sets III on the first of November
and lasts until The first OF .AIril. with
SHOW all the while. they. OF coursc,
caastei every day. Then. inSeead of
pulling their sl,-fs up the hill again.
they We're - lazy hat they would wai-
for the mail sledges, which cam" along
jus a> school was let out. and they
would hitch on behind and bc drawn
home again. They were just The same
on the ice pond that lay between them
and their ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
lazy. On Saturdays they always took
dinner with the old lady. and instead Of
walking over the ice 10 her house Il dis
tancc Of three scant miles. these lazy
boys would put ON their skates ami
skate over.
Now il is a tradition among tho conn
try ok Of London Hill that every fall
there Is one chestnut tree loaded down
with burrless chestnuts. But, rs Il mat
ter Of fact. nobody in the memory or
the oldest inhahitant has ever happened
10 find the tree. The forests are Thick
around Loudon Hill, which might ac-
count for il. bur. then. the forests are
full of boys at c~hestnutting time, 50 II
does seem singular that no one had ever
come across the tree since Anderson
Sandcrson gathered five barrels Of the
NUS III 1899.
or course. any Of the boys would have
lau1t plaI 70 nm d. rho rr.Ar h.I1
bless YOU. the woods were always packed
with the ordinary kind of bury chest
nut and after a sharp frost there We're
not many that needed opening.
But YOU may be sure that when
Mason and Jason became old
enough to go chestnuttinG alone they
determined to discover this tree and
so save themselves the bother OF open
ing any burrS.
The morning after tho first hard frost.
just as soon as il was light, they got
out Of bed and actually dressed With
out washing, they were 50 eager 10 be-
gin the search for the burrlesS tree.
Forgetting to put on their hlouses, al
though the air vas nippy they rushed
ont Of the house with red worsted caps
on their heads and their blue school
bags in their hands. If there are II
lot" said each twin to the other-for
they were both twins-"we'l get papa
to harness up Ned and take a barrel
down 10 tho tree.
They We're actually the first boys TO
enter the woods that morning. The
squirrels We're chattcring orders to each
other. for the winter storing began that
day and they fOresaw a hard days
work to got ahead of visiting giants in
the shape of small boys.
Mason and Jason had not gone ten
rods before they came on Il great tree
almost bending beneath the weight OF
clcstnuts. Now, boys. who weren't *
featfully lazy would have tumbled over
each ether in their eagcrness TO get the
bushels of nuts that lay pom the ground
or chung to the open bGrrs as if they
were afraid to drop, but these lazy bones
both said. "ShuckS. We wouldn't StOI
for that kind. Fancy having 10 climb III
a tree and shake it TO get some Of then
down. And get needles in your hands.
said Mason; or perhaps slip on Of thu
tree said Jason.
SO they pressed on. At first the SPUR
relS shouted to each other when the!
saw them coming: Look out. Herr
come two humans but after awhile
they seemed to understand that the boy:
weren't after squirrels. but after burrles'
nuts and they chartered derislvely a
them as much as to say: "We'vc seen
lazy people before. and they never 90
just what they wanted"
After an hours fruitlcSs-Or perhap
| should say nutless-search the woOd
began to resornd with the voices Of othe
boys who We're taking advantage of Sat
urday holiday to fill up their bags an'
baskets and pals.
Bardwell StudwelI. Stillwell Stock
we'll and Howell Newell came upon tn
two boys in the course Of their wander
ings. Each Of the trio had Il buSliel bai
halt full Of the nuts. almost as big Il
the Italian kind. Hello. boys" sai'
Rardwell Studwcll. Why amt yo,
picking up nuts; too hard work.
We're hunting for the burrleS, tree,
said Mason and Jason. +.
oh, ch~estnuts.' said Stillwcll Stock
we'll. Every year some idiot kid doe
that, but it's just a hundred years thi
fall, my grandfather says, since the ire
was ound.
luuM nos op aIouI leVM .iV ~.
than all these nutS?" said Howell Newell
Il never saw so many in my life. Well il
you must 90. good luck. but You'll fin
it easier in the end to get what nut
You see and not hunt Tor the other klliO.
Why. half the fun IS knocking en-
ont Of the burrs." said Bardwell Stud
well.
Work isn't ever fun chorused Ma
son and Jason. and away they Wake
with eyes peeled for the burrleSS tree.
They had foolishly come away with
out any breakfast and long before nool
they began to re awfully hungry. bu
If they We're lazy they We're also mui
ishly obstinate and they wouldn't =
back 10 get anything 10 eat. They at
Il handful OF ordinary cheStnutS tina
they deiGned to pick up, and. quecrl,
enough. each boy got Il pricker in hi
finger. because those particular burr
were no quite open. This made then
moro than ever determined TO search 70
the hurrless kind.
We'll make those boys look sic
when we come home tonight with sev
eral -four barrels full Of nuts said Ma
son.
Why not sugar barrels: Theyr
larger +" said Jason.