Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-10-05

came up to ~, pufi1ng like a spent
horse, and Picked me up unhurt and
began to untangle the harness OF old
Fred. II g,iess he must "a thought the
devil was after him."
The dog growled a little for a mo.
ment and bit at the harness, but coax.
ing reassured him, and he went along
all right again on the level At a small
settlement the children came out ask
ing me questions. Some Of them tried
to pct the dog, but old Fred kept to
looked neither TO right nor left We
stopped under n tree by the side Of a
narrow brook for our dinner. and one
incident Of that dinner I think of al.
ways when think Of Uncle Eb It
shows the manner Of man he was and
with what understanding and sym.
pnthy he regarded every living thing.
In rinsing his teapot he accidentally
poured bit Of water on n big humble
bee. The poor creature struggled TO
lift himself, and then another down
pour caught him and still another until
his wings fell drcnchcd. Then his
breast began heaving violently, his
legs stiffcned behind him, and he sank
head downward I'm the grass. Uncle
Eb saw the death throes Of the bee
and knelt down and lifted the dead
body by one Of its wings.
"Jcs' look at his velvet coat" he said
"an' his wings all wet an stiff. They'll
never carry him another journey. It's
too bad man has T. kill every step ne
takes"
The bees tail was moving family. and
V'ncic Eb laid him ont in the warm
sunlight and famed him awhile with
his hat, trying to bring back the breath
Of life.
"Guilty!' he said presently. coming
back with sober face "Thct's dead
bee. No tellm' how many was de-
pendent on him or what plans ne he'd.
Must "a gin him lot O pleasure t. fly
round in the sunlight, workin' every
fair day. IS all over now"
He had gloomy face for an hour aft
or that and many time in the days
that followed heard him speak Of the
murdered bee.
We lay resting awhile after dinner
and watching big city Of ants. Uncle
Eb told me how they titled the soil of the
mound every year and sowed their own
kind of graina small white seed like
rice-and reaped their harvest in the
| late summer. storing the crop In their
dry cellars under ground. He told me
also the story Of the ant Iona big
| L. Al
grain and the grass-of which remem-
Der only an outline, more or less imper-
feet.
Here II is in my own rewording of his
tale On n bright day one of the little
black folks went Off on long road In
great field OF barley. He was going
to another city Of his own people to
bring helpers for the harvest. He came
shortly to a sandy place where the bar
ley was thin and the hot sunlight lay
near to the ground. In little valley
close by the road Of the ants he saw a
deep pit in the sand with steep sides
sloping to a point in the middle and as
big around as biscuit. Now. the ants
are , curious people and go looking for
things that are new and wonderful as
they walk abroad, so they have much
to tell worth hearing after Il journey.
The little traveller was young and had
no fear, so he left the road and went
down to the pit and peeped over the
side Of il.
What in the world is the meaning of
this queer place." he asked himself as
he ran around the rim. In moment
he had stepped over, and the soft sand
began to cave and slide beneath him.
Quick as II flash the big lion beetle rose
up in the center Of the pit and began
to reach for him. Then his legs few
In the caving sand. and the young ant
struck his blades in 1t to bold the little
he could gain.
Upward lie struggled. leaping and
hOundering in the dust. He had got
near the rim and had stopped clinging
to get his breath. when the lion began
fiinging the sand at him with his long
feelers. 1t rose in a cloud and fell OH
the back Of the ant and pulled ut him
as it swept down. He could feel the
mighty cleavers Of the lion stril. ing
near his hind legs and pulling the sand
from under them. He must 20 down In
a moment, and he knew what that
meant. He had heard the old men Of
the tribe tell often how they hold one