Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1901-08-10

give 1t time
Scraping away the rotten wood, he
selected place where the wall seemed
thin, and began hacking. Progress
was slow. At first his stiff muscles
and sore body hurt acutcly, but this
pain wore away rs he went on. The
wood cbarrcd outside and very dry,
was hard and tough. Although it was
sunny day, and his eyes had adjust.
cd their vision to the dimness Of his
pit, he could hardly see where to
strike. He dared not pry out large
sllyers, for If edge OF handle Of his
hatchet should break. he might never
get out. His awkward position and
the one hand work tired him rapidly,
and he suffered occasional cramps.
During one of his frequent rests he
heard Ban barking loudly outside.
Good dog! I'm coming" lie shout
cd
The dog bnyed frantically. leapcd
against the tree, scratched. whlncd
tore the wood with his teeth. and be.
gan digging furiously between two
great roots evidently intending to tun
mel under to his young master.
When Tom did not appear for sup
per, Mrs. Cornwiler began to fret, but
not much, for he was often late. After
supper, with no Tom to do the chores,
Mr.. Cornwiler grumbled, but did them
himself saying:
Come, now, wife, the boy probably
has good excuse. He's pretty regu-
lar, considering"
BY bedtime Mrs. Cornwiler was
anxious.
I'm sure he's lying hurt somewhere
in the woods. fallen from tree; or
maybe he's got lost"
"pshaw, now, Edith! Tom couldn't
lose himself anywhere in this county
the darkest night that ever was; and
lie doesn't know how to fall from q
tree He'll be home all right pretty
soon. Likely he's hindered by some
thing he thinks important"
At ten O'Clock Mrs. Cornwiler was
insislent and Cornwiler less confident
He proposed to take the dog and
search.
Maybe he's at one Of the reighbors.
He'd stay, Of course, If lie could be OF
any use. Anyhow, Ban'll track him.
Blow the horn X he comes home while
I'm gone"
Ban, being told to go find Tom"
set OFF joyfully, wagging his tail. He
led Cornwiler straight 10 the charred
stub, and barked, leaplng against it.
Cornwiler locked the stub all over.
There were no signs Of Tom. He
called. and fired his rifle. There was
no reply. He supposed the stub solid,
but thumpcd it. Unfortunately the
and where Tom had packed the debris
hardest inside. 1t sounded solid. Mr..
Cornwiler thought that Pan had fool
ishly tracked squirrel up it, or per-
haps coon had been there and gone.
He dragged the dog away, ordering
him again to Find Tom! Ban in
SANITY ran back to the stub, and
whined and scratched, but Mr.. Corn
wiler pulled him away.
Ban then led into thicket, and
here were sgns-a slender pole cut and
trimmed. a bittcrnut saplins peeled of
Two strips of bark. Tom had been
there. The sapling was slender for a
fish-pole, but Mr.. Cornwler thought
that must be it. The strips of bark
meant strings, but what Tom wanted
Of strings he could not conjecture.
Having concluded 1t meant fishing. he
hurried to the river, his anxiety con-
siderably increased. Tom was n
strong, cool swimmer and knew every
foot Of the river. There were few deep
places. and no really dangerous places.
Mr.. Cornwiler searched long time,
but found no trace Of Tom, and Ban
seemed puzzled and not much inter-
csted. After midnight Cornwiler be-
gan terribly anxious inquiry, rousing
any tidings. Mr.. Millwaite dressed,
took his rifle, and accompanied Corn
wiler. Mrs. Millwaite, nOtwithstand-
ing her depreciation Of Tom, went to
cheer an! comfort his mother all she
could.
AIillwaite suggested going first to
the charred stub. "You know Toms
been there" he said. land it's the
right point to start from" AS soon
as they arrived. Fan began whining
and scratching about the stub. Corn
wilcr sternly ordered him off, and the
poor dog, probably supposing 1t was all
right. reluctantly obeyed. Both men
believed the stub solid, and that Tom
had merely come and gone. The news
of the lost boy spread, and by sunrise
n dozen men and boys were securing
the woods.
After getting breakfast and doing
the homework. Clara Millwaite, who
had been thinking. concluded that
Tom must after all, be at or near the
charred stub "a dog never mistakes
In such matters; men do" the sensible
girl reasoned. She would go and take
look for herself.
III Tom is there he'll be hungry and
thirsty" she thought, so she put Il
generous breakfast and bottle of
new milk in n bark basket.
Ban went home with Cornwiler and
Millwaitc, who wished to see If Tom
had taken his fish-linc. They found
1t gone. and their delusion as to the
river was confirmed.
Thinking Ban Of no service, Corn
wller left him at the house. and the
dog Immediately returned to the stub
and resumed his barking. Clara heard
him. and hurried to reach the spot and
judge for herself Of the dogs behavior.
She arrived just as Tom drove 4 long
silver through. and put out his fingers
for Ban to lick.
In few moments more he had the
aperture sufficiently enlarged for Clara
to pass in the bottle and slices of food.
Tom drank tirst-a long. thirsty pull.
Then how he did eat! with the appe-
tlte Of a starved wolf and the gratitude