The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-12-09

conscious of how lonely II Slood III the
dumb and barren country something
| whirled out Of the darkness above me,
| and fell with a flop on the ground, just
| at nv feet. jumped backward, in point
of fact I made for the kitchen door, and,
with nv hand on the latch, stood still
and waited. Nothing further happened;
the thing that lay there did not stir; l
struck a match. The moment Of tension
turned to bathos as the light fickened
on nothing more fateful than a dead
crow.
Dead it certainly was. l could have
told that without looking at 1t; but why
should it, at some considerable period
after it's death. fall from the clouds at
my feet? But did it fall from the clouds?
| struck another match and stared up at
the impenetrable face Of the house. There
was no hint of solution in the dark Win
dows. but | determined to go up and
search the rooms that gave upon the
yard.
How cold it was, I can feel now the
frozen. musty air Of those attics, with
their rat-eaten floors and wall papers
furred with damp. l went softly from
one to another, feeling like a burglar in
my own house, and found nothing in
elucidation of the mystery. The Win
dows we're Theoretically shut and sealed
with cobwebs. There was no furniture
except in the end room, where a ward
robe without doors stood in a corner,
empty save for the solemn presence Of a
monstrous tall hat. | went back to bed,
cursing these powers of darkness that
had got me out of it.
NV landlord had not failed Of his prom
ise to visit my coverts with his hounds.
| met them all one red frosty evening.
FURRY at their head, in his shabby pink
coat and dingy breeches, the hounds trail
ing dejectedly behind him and his half
dozen companions.
What luck?' I called out, drawing
rein as l met them.
None" said Mr.. Furry briefly. He
did not stop, neither did he remove his
pipe from his mouth; his eye at me was
cold and sour. The other members of
the hunt passed me with equal hauteur;
I thought they took their i'll luck very
badly.
On foot, among the last of the stray
Cling hounds, cracking a carman's whip
and swearing comprehensively at them
all, slouched my friend Slipper. Our
friendship had begun in court, the rela-
tive positions OF the dock and the judg-
ment seat forming no obstacle to its
progress. He was, as usual, a little
drunk, and he hailed me as though l were
a ship.
"Ahoy, Major Yeates'" he shouted.
bringing himself up with a lurch against
my cart; its hunting you should be, in
!, place Of sending poor divils to jail"
But where are all the foXes?" said I.
"Begor. | don't know no more than
your honor. And Shreelane-that there
used to be as many foxes in it as there's
crosses in a yard Of check Well, we'll
> I'll say nothin' for it, only that it's
Quare"
] That frosty evening was followed by
three others like unto it, and a flight of
> woodcock came in. l dispatched invita-
r lions to shoot and dine on the following
6 day to four of the local sportsmen, among
c whom was, of course, my landlord. / re
9 member that in my letter to the latter,
expressed a facetious hope that my
!, bag of cock would be more successful
, than his of foxes had been.
q The answers to my invitations were not
what l expected. All without so much as
T a conventional regret, declined my invi-
tation; Mr.. Knox added that he hoped
the bag of cock would be to my liking
. and that | need not be ''afraid" that the
hounds would trouble my coverts any
more. Here was war. l gazed in stupe-
o faction at the crooked scrawl in which
my landlord had declared it. It was
wholly and entirely inexplicable, and in.
stead of going to sleep comfortably over
the fire and my newspaper, as a gentle
man should, l spent the evening in irri-
y tated ponderings over this bewilderins
and ex~asperating change of front on the
part of my friendly squireens.
Ny shoot the next day was scarcely {
e success. l shot the woods in company
with my gamekeeper, Tim Conner, a gen.
tleman whose duties mainly cOnSiS cd ir
limiting the poaching privileges to his
personal friends, and whatever my
Offense might have been, Mr.. Knox could
have wished me no bitterer punishment
than hearing the unayailing shouts 0
Mark COCK and seeing my birds wing.
ing their way from the coverts far out O.
shot. Tim Conner and l got ten coupl,
N between US; it might have been thirt,
if my neighbors had not boycotted me TO-
what | could only suppose was the slack
ness in their hounds.
l was dOg-tired that night, and I slep
the deep, Unsuitable sleep that I hat
earned. 1t was somewhere about 3 a. m
that was gradually awakened by a con
t1nuous knocking, interspersed Will
- muffled calls. Great-Uncle Mccarthy hat
9 never before given tongue, and l freec
one ear from blankets to listen. The1
L remembered that Peter had told me tn,
sweep had promised to arrive that morn
ing, and to arrive early. Blind witt
sleep and fury, | went to the passag,
window, and thence desired the sweep t,
g go TO the devil. 1t awaited me little
VI For the remainder of the night coul,
hear him pacing round the house. irwin.
! the windows, banging at the doors an,
" calling upon Peter Cadogan. At 6 o'cfoc]
4, | had fallen into a troubled doze, whe]
: Mrs. Cadogan knocked at nv door an,
- impaired the information that the swee,
III had arrived.
We'll. for heavens sake. let him &c
~ at the chimneys md let me go to sleep,
l answered, goa1cd to desperation. ian
you may tell him from me tina. If hea
at his voice agai, , III shoot him."
y subsequent events may be briefly sum
he married. At T-oO T ua, oua.