Evening journal., 1905-04-05

a lantern as he stood before me. the
blaze dickering. There was a fear-
sonic darkness all around.
Come, Willie, make haste" he whis-
pered as I rubbed my eyes. "Put on
yer boots, an here's yer little coat an
mufier.v
There was a mighty roar in the for
est and ley puffs Of snow came whis-
Ting in upon US. We stored the robes
and pals and buckets and covered the
big kettle.
The lofty tree tops reeled and creaked
above US, and a deep, scnorous moan
was sweeping through the woods as
If the fingers Of the wind had touched
a mighty harp string in the timber,
We could hear the crash and thunder
Of falling trees.
Make hastel Make hastel It's resky
here" said Uncle Eb, and he held my
hand and ran. We started through the
brush and steered as straight as we
could for the clearing The little box
Of light he carried was soon sheathed
In snow, and remember how he
stopped, half out Of breath, often and
brushed It with his mittens to let out
the light We had made the scatter
ing growth OF little timber at the edge
OF the woods when the globe Of the
lantern snapped and fell. A moment
later we stood In utter darkness
knew for the first time then that we
We're in a bad fix.
Il guess God II take care Of us, VIII
lie" said Uncle Eb. If he don't Wen
never get there In this world-nevery'
II was a black and icy wall Of uight
and storm on every side Of us. Ineyer
saw a time when the light OF Gods
heaven was so utterly extinguished;
the cold never went to my bone as on
that bitter night. Ny handsyand feet
were numb with aching as the roar Of
the trees grew fainter in the open.
remember how I Jagged and how the
4 old man urged me on and how we tOiled
in the wind and darkness, straining
our eyes for some familiar thing. OF
a sudden we stumbled upon wall that
we had passed an hour or so before
TOhr lie groaned, and made that
funny, deprecating cluck with his
tongue that have heard SO much from
Yankee lips
eGod o Mercy said be, "we've gone
round ia half circle! Now Wen take
the wall an mebbe it'll bring US home"
Thought I couldn't keep my feet any
longer. fer an irresistible -drowsiness
had come over me. The voice Of Uncle
Eb seemed far away, and when l sank
in the snow and shut my eyes to sleep
he shook me as a terrier shakes a rat
wake up, my boy" said he; "ye
mustn't sleep" ora n1fD
Then he boxed my ears until cried
and picked me up and ran with me
along the side Of the wall was but
dimly conscious when he dropped me
under tree whose bare twigs lashed
the mir and sDlng my cheeks. l heard
him tearing the branches savagely and
mutterng. Thanks to God, it's the
blue beech" l shall never forget how
he turned and held TO my hand and
put the whip on me as l lay in the
snow. and how the sting Of it started
my blood Up l sprang In jiffy and
howled and danced. The stout rod bent
and circled on me like a hoop Of fire
Then l turned and tried to run, while
he clung to my coat tails, and every
step l felt the sstingng grab Of the
beech. There is a little seam across
my cheek today that marks a football
Of one Of those whips. In a moment l
was as wide awake as Uncle Eb and
needed no more stimulation.
The wall led us TO the pasture lane
and there it was easy enough to make
our way to the barnyard and up to the
door of the house, which had a candle
in every window, I remember. David
was mp and dressed to come after u.s.
and recall how he took Uncle Eb in
his arms when he fell fainting on the
doorstep and carried him to the lounge
l saw the blood on my face as l passed
the mirror, and Elizabeth Brewer came
running and gave me one glance and
rushed out Of doors with the dipper II
was full Of snow when she ran in and
tore the wrappings Of my neck and be-
gan TO rub my ears and cheeks with the
cold snow. calling loudly for Grandma
Bisnette. She came III a moment and
helped at the stripping Of our feet and
legs. l remember that she slit my
trousers with the shears as lay on the
door, while the others rubbed my feet
with the snow Our hands and ears
were badly frosted, but in an hour the
whiteness had gone Out Of them and the
returning blood burnt like a fire
How queer he staresv I heard them
say when Uncle Eb first came to. And
in a moment a roar Of laughter broke
from him.
"Ill never fergit." said he presently,
'ff live a thousan' years the licSin' 1
gin thet boy. But it hurt me worsen
It hurt him."
Then he told the story Of the blue
beech,
The next day was that "cold Friday"
long remembered by those who felt its
deadly chill day when water thrown
IN the magic air came down in clinking
crystals and sheaths of frost lay thick
upon the windows. But that and the
one before it were among the few days
In that early period that lie like a rock
under my character.
CHAPTER VIII.
lE~0 0RANDMA BISNETTE came
~ from Hanado "a .t-prir fo,. f1,,