Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-11

begun work upon his autumn picture, giving little touches here and there which later he would amplify until the whole countryside from horizon to horizon would show the result of his glowing skill.
 +'You're not sorry you came hop pickin', are you?" demanded Becraft, as the two stopped for a moment at the spot where Rossiter had encoun- tered "Whiskers."
 The valley of the Blue Creek was at their feet, peaceful and beautiful in the September sunlight.
 "sorry!" exclaimed Rossiter; "very far from it. And I've you to thank for it all. feel that I'm a different man from the vagabond you met that day at 1llica.''
 "There's no doubt O that. No body'd take you for the same chap, But as for thanks, don't want to hear anythin' about that sort O thing. You don't suppose I've for gotten what you did for me, do you?"
 "Well, we'll call its quits, and say no more about it. But why did you let on to your mother in regard to that business in the river? She made other day"
 Becraft grinned.
 "Did she?" said he. "She always thought you was just about right, but, by jinks, now you're the whole thing, an no mistake!"
 What does she think about cer- tain son of hers? Eh, Joe?"
 Becraft tried to look unconcerned, but his effort proved flat failure, and so, in the best of humor, they de- scended into the valley. Along the bank of the singing, cyrstal stream they wandered, now through open pastures, now beneath the shade of great forest trees, and now through a dense undergrowth of beech and maple. On both sides rose lofty wooded bank, sometimes 100 yards or more from the bed of the stream, sometimes close at hand, so that they could see, in moist clefts far 1 above their heads, great sprays of 1 11aaitien-hair and beds of the rare walking fern. They surprised speckled trout in dark pools, hol- ., lowed by the action of the water upon the blue slate which gave the stream its name; and they encountered cu- rious fungus-growth, strange even to Rossiter, who had picked up consid- erable wood-lore in his wayfarings By and by they noted the branch glen, of which Parmelee had spoken, and turned into it. It was contract ed and thickly wooded before they emerged upon the Blue Creek road & highway which ran for some dis tance parallel to the stream and then bent away towards the Merton farm I but above the road 1t expanded, and in places the forest was less dense The road crossed the ravine by an embankment, aud yet there was a sharp dip, so deep was the depres. sion.
 "Golly!" said Becraft, gazing about eff this ain't wild place!"
 Ut certainly is," responded Rossi ter. ''We might be miles from a house, and yet I presume there are farms quite near"
 They did not pause to see, how ] ever, but continued on their way uK the glen.
 ''I think we'd better climb the bank and strike into the woods here," an nounced Rossiter, as they reached a spot where the ravine widened anc its bottom was dotted with dense clumps of scrub hemlock.
 They were making for the thicket covered slope, when, on passing be tween two close set hern1ock clumps they discovered the still smoulderins ashes of fire. Charred potato skins and cobs from which the corn had been eaten were strewn upon the ground.
 s'We're too late for breakfast" sait Rossiter, looking about him as if il search of further traces of those who had hndled the fire. ''It migh1 be interesting to know who feasteC judging the workmen by their chips or if but one he'd been indulginS il a pretty long fast"
 There was nothing further to b. discovered. so they ascended tn, bank and entered the forest. Aftel 8 time, as Parmelee had predicted they encountered the logging-road and ware back at the farm before tn dinner hour. That afternoon they re ported the finding of the remains O the fire to MT. Merton's manager.
 "Of course, there's no tellin' who might have been," Parmelee said 'Well keep watch anyhow. Tha blamed monkey may still be hangin about after al1.'