Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-07

CdAFLMh 4 ". s# G~@ AOR Eve days Thorpe cut wood,
 made fires, drew water, swept floors and ran errands. At the
 end of the week he received $4 frorn his employer. dumped his va lfise into a low bobSleigh driven by man mufEled in a fur coat, assisted in loading the sleigh with : variety of EhingR from Spearhead plug to ratsins, and turned his face at last toward the land of his hopes and desires
 The long drive to camp was1at once delight and misery to him. First his feet became numb, then his hands, then his nose was nipped, and finally his warm clothes were lifted from him by invisible hands. and he was left naked to sfivers and trembhngs. He found it torture to sit stin on the top of the bale of hay, and yet he could not bear to contemplate the cold shock of jumping from the sleigh to the ground The driver pulled up to breathe his horses at the top of hill.
 You're dressed pretty light he ad- vfsed. Better hoof it a ways and get warm"
 The words tipped the balance of Thorpe's decision. He descended stifdy, conscious of disagreeable shock from 8 six inch jump.
 In ten minutes the wallowing, slip ping and leaping after the tail of the sled had sent his blood tingling to the last of his protesting members. Gold withdrew.
 ftnr a Jf+flo xuhSIo %kar e r.,.;x,aS5 lYxy way of hill, over which they plunged Into the middle of the camp. Thorpe saw three large buildings. backed end to end, and two smaller ones, all built of heavy logs, roofed with plank and lighted sparsely through one or two windows apiece The driver pulled up opposite the space between two larger Buildings and began to unload his pro visions Thorpe set about aiding him and so found himself for the first time In a sscook camp.''
 It was a commodfous building One end furnished space for two cooking ranges and two hunks placed one over the other. Along one side ran broad table shelf, with other shelves over 1t and numerous barrels underneath, all filled with cans, loaves of bread, cook 1es and pies. The center was occupied by four long bench danked tables, down iwhose middle struggled utensils con aaining sugar, apple butter, condiments and sauces and whose edges were set with tin dishes for about forty men. .The cook, a rather thin faced man with mustache, directed where the provisions were to be slowed, and the sscookee," a hulking youth, assisted Thorpe and the driver to carry them in.
 Tn few moments the task was fin ished, with the exception of half doz- en other cases, which the driver desig- mated as for the wan" The horses were unhftched and stabbed in the third of the big log buildings. The driver indicated the second
 Better go into the mems camp and sit down till th' boss gets in,' he ad- vised.
 Thorpe entered dim, overloaded structure lined on two sides by dou- bIe tier of large hunks partitioned from one another like cabins of boat and ceIJtered by a huge stove over which hung slender poles. The latter were to dry clothes on. Just outside the Dunks ran straight, hard bench. Thorpe stood at the entrance trying to accustom his eyes to the dimness.
 ''Set down." said voice, Ion tn floor if you want to, but I'd prefer tn dea- con seat"
 SRorpe obedientIy took position on the bench, or deacon seat" His eyes, more used to the light, could make out a thin, tall, bent old man, with bare cranium, two visible teeth and three days stubble of white beard over his neager, twisted face.
 He caught, perhaps, Thorpe's surpris- cd expression.
 "You think tn old mans no good, do you2' he cackled without the slightest malice. Looks is deceivin'." He gprang up swiftly, seized the toe of his right foot in his left hand and jumped his left foot through the loop thus formed. Then he sat down again and laughed at Thorpes sstonishment