Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-12-01
CHAPTER 7

fusion of Babel. They were all well-to-
DO in aspect, rosy-eheeked, blue-eyed and
wholesome. Within certain conditions
pleasanter sight than they afforded could
hardly be asked for, though their pres
ence and the noise they made gave but
poor assistance to the study of the high
er mathematics. A bearded young fell
low of six-and-twenty or Whereabouts,
with penholder between his teeth, and
a heap of papers scattered loosely before
him, sat with both hands in his hair at
a big table by the windc|. and looked
about him occasionally with an air of alb
straction which always melted more or
less quickly into a smile. The smile was
invariably followed by a momentary re-
Taxation from study, while the young
man watched the joyous gambols of the
children, who shouted all together with
a wild hilarity, and seemed TO acquire
fresh vigor from the mere fact of re-
naming unrebuked. Always in a little
time the young mans smile grew abb
stracted, and faded slowly away rs his
thoughts gradually drew back 70 their
own refuge
A great fire with a solid core of red
heat burned on the hearth, and on one
side of it sat an elderly woman in
widows cap and a gown of respectable
black. With all the diversity of feature
and expression which marked the group
of children, there was so strong q like
ness between the elderly woman in the
chimney corner and every individual
member of the noisy little assembly that
stranger weald have had no difficulty
In deciding their relationship. Like the
children, the woman was plump, blue
eyed and rosy, but her countenance, for
all its rosy plumpness, was drawn to an
expression of complaining resignation.
Facing her sat woman of a different
pattern-bolt upright, lean, and full of
nervous energy. Her knitting needles,
which in the light of the glowing Goals
had a quite startling look of being red
hot at moments, clicked with an amaz-
ing swiftness and determination. Her
evening dress of clean-washed and prim-
ly starched light print fitted tightly and
gave to her ungainly figure something of
the look o. an unsymmetrically packed
pincushion into which the bran has been
rammed too hard.
There was a momentary hush among
the children, while they took breath. and
evolved plans for the making of wilder
noise than they had yet created. After
the recent tubbub the kitchen seemed al
most at peace by contrast. Then in a
moment of inspiration one of the group
proposed that their next amusement
should be the game of Sacks to the Mill.
This cheerful and invigorating indoor
pantime begins by everybody trying to
catch hold of somebody else with a view
10 bringing him or her to the ground.
in
ed, it becomes the business of the rest
to choose victim, and forcibly to de-
post that victim upon the recumbent
figure. This point is no sooner gained
than a similar choice, as swift and unan-
imous, remains to be made Finally the
game develops into a wreste of two, and
that happy child who lies uppermost on
the struggling pile is conqueror.
The new game had only lasted for
minute or two when at one appalling
and universal shrek, mingled of joy,
terror, triumph and excitement, the wom-
an in the print dress bundled her knit
ting needles, the unfinished stocking, and
the ball of worsted all together, slapped
them resoundingly upon the big table,
and charged upon the struggling mob.
She sorted them from the confused heap
in which they lay upon the floor, and set
them on their feet with a swiftness and
dexterity which looked dangerous There
was n dreadful silence. The domestic re
sumed her knitting and her seat. The
flashing needles clicked audibly for half
a minute. and the children looked at each
other with shy and disconnected glances.
And how do you think your brother
Edward can do his figures, l should like
fn he Had a 10 IaA
"Oh, let the children play, Hepzibah,"
said the young man, looking up smiling
ly. "They don't hurt me. I've seen
Sacks to the Mill played before tonight"
he added. laughing. II remember when
l was quite a little chap going with a
nurse of mine to some sort of Christmas
merrymaking at Farmer Bache's She
a buNom, strapping girl of about
II or Is, and she had an eye like sloe
and a cheek like cherry in those days"
Get along with you, Edward" said
Hepzibah, cutting the story short, and
rising with an air of diSpleasure not too
well affected Il can't stay istenin' to
your nonsense all night. Children. it's
time you was in bed. Kiss your mother
and troop upstairs with you while l get
the candle-there's good b'ys and CELLS
While the ceremony of kissing and
saying goodnight was in progress there
came a rap at the front door of the
house, and Hepzibah having disappeared
into some darkened backward region in
search of the candle, Edward himself an
swered the summons. The open door adj
mitted a draught of keen and wintry air
and a cloud of whirling snowfiakes. The
white carpet on the road was unmarried
except by the track of the newcomer
THAT you. Shadrach?'' Edward asked.
"Why, yes. Mister Neo. SAM the at
rival, humbly. Il thought I'd TEX the
liberty of mekin' call this evenin' il
I'm not held to be i the way"
Not a bit of it," responded Edward.
"Come in"
The arrival kicked his toes noisily
against the doorstone TO clear his boots
from the snow, and then mounting the
step turned about and repeated the pro-
cess with his heels.
Come in, Shadrach. come in" repeat
ed Edward. standing half-sheltered from
the roaring wind I'VE shall have the
house full of snow"
"Hepzihah's rare an particular about
her Kitchen Quarries. Mister Ned. re-
Sponded the other entering with cium-
sy step. I've ketched it too often not
to have growed biz particular aySelf.
Having entered, he stood stamping in
the dark and polishing his feet upon the
doormat; and Edward. returning TO the
kitchen. left him to follow.
Here's Shadrach." he said. address
inS Hepzihah. who had by this time
found her candle. and was now peeking
cautiously at the glowing fire with a
very small scrap of paper to secure q
light.
oh" said Hepzibah: ''and what
might he want, traipsing all the mud out
of the street into the kitchen. as was
only clean swilled this blessed after
noon?"
"Perha IS he'll tell YOU" said Edward.
with a looS Of humorous mischief i've
often thought he would, and perhaps he