Evening journal., 1905-04-03

emily. Got T. be up early n the morn
in'.v
We climbed a ladder to the top floor
Of the cabin with the hired men, Of
whom there We're two. The good lady
of the house had made a bed for us on
the floor, and l remember Fred came
up the ladder, too, and lay down be-
side us. Uncle Eb was up with the
men in the morning and at breakfast
time my hostess came and woke me
with kisses and helped me to dress
When we were about going she brought
a little wagon out Of the cellar that
had been a plaything Of her dead boy
and said / could have It, This Won
derful wagon was just the thing for
the journey we were making. When
] held the little tongue in my hand
was halfway to heaven already It
had four stout wheels and a beautiful
red box. Her brother had sent it all
the way from New York, and it had
stood so long in the cellar 1t was now
much in need Of repair Uncle Eb
took It TO the tool shop in the stable
and put It In shipshape order and made
n little pair Of thills TO so IN pioce Of
the tongue Then he made a big flat
collar and back pad out Of the leath-
er In old boot legs and rigged pair OF
tugs out Of two pieces of fQpe, Old
Fred was quite cast down ~ben be
stood in harness between the shaftss
He waited patiently TO have bis coll
lar fitted; he had grinred-and painted
and wagged his tail with no suspicion
Of the serious and humiliatiug career
he was entering upon Now be stood
with a sober face, and his aspect was
full Of meditation.
"You fightn' houndr' said Uncle 1sb.
II hope this II improve geIscharaeter,
Fred tried TO sit down wAea uucle
Eb tied a leading rope 10 BIZ collar
When he heard the wheels rattle and
felt the pull OF the wagon be looked
back at it and growled q little and
started to run. Uncle Eb shouted
"Whoa!" and held him back and then
the dog got down on ,hls belly and
trembled until we patted his bead and
gave him a kind word. lie seemed to
understand presently and came along
with a steady stride. Our hostess met
us at the gate, and the.look Of her face
when she bade us goodby and tucked
some cookies into my pocket has al
ways fingered in my memory and put
in me n mighty respect for all wo-
men. The sound of her voice, the
tears. the waving Of her handkerchief
as we went away are among the things
that have made me what l am.
We slowed our packages in the wag-
on box, and I walked few miles and
then got into the empty basket. Fred
tipped his load over once or twice, but
got a steady gait in the way of indus
try after awhile and a more cheerful
look. We had our dinner by the road
side on the bank Of a brook an hour or
so after midday and came toa little vii
lage about sundown. As we were near.
ing it there was some excitement among
the dogs, and one of them tackled Fred
He went into battle very promptly, the
wagon jumping and rattling until II
turned bottom up. Reinforced by Uh
Gle Ebs cane, he soon saw the heels OF
his aggressor and stood growing saw
/ agely He was like the goal in a puz
zle maze, all wound and tangled inihis
harness. and itrtooR some time to gel
his face before him and his feet free.
At small grocery. where groups OF
men just out OF the fields were sitting
their arms bare to the elbows, we
bought more bread and butter. Inpay
ing for II Uncle Eb took a package out
Of his trousers pocket to get his change
II was tied I'm a red handkerchief
and l remember it looked to be about
the size OF his fist He was putting II
back when 1t fell from his hand heav
lily, and | could hear the chink of coir
as it struck. one Of the men who sat
near picked it up and gave it back tC
him. AS remember well, his kindness
had an evil flavor, for he winked at his
companions. who nudged each other as
they SMILED knowingly Uncle Eb was
a bit cross when climbed into the
basket, and walked along in silence Sc
rapidly It worried the dog TO keep pace
The leading rope was tied to the -stoch
Of the ride, and Feds walking gait
was too slow for the comfort Of hi:
neck. tres.. @
"You shifless cussl I'll puta lanl
in your neck fer you IL Fe don't wall
up" said Uncle Eb as he, looked bach
at the dog in a temper wholly un
worthy Of him.
We had crossed a deep valley anC
were climbing long hill in tue dusky
| twilight. 81 81 rvy-1 ---sr
willie" said Uncle Eb, your eyel
are better'n mine. Look back and Sc,
II any ones comm" ,.,.,~.
Cant see. any one" | answered.
Look way back in the road as, fu
as We can seer ..s.,-,.
l did so, but could see no one Hi
slackened his pace a little after that
and before we had passed the hill 1
was getting dark The road ran int
woods and q river cut through them
little way from the clearing. .t
"Supper time, Uncle Eb,n / suggest
ed as we came to the bridge :.
'N"Supper time, Uncle Eb,n he answer
ed. turning down to the shore. -s
l got out OF the basket then and fol
lowed him in the brush. Fred found I
hard travelling here, and shortly W
took off his harness and left the wagon
transferring its load to the basket
while we pushed on 10 find a camping
place. Back in the thick timber a Ion
way from the road we built a fire ant
had our supper. 1t was a dry nook Il
the pines-"tlght as a house." Uncle E