Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-10-12

ed away.
"Sing'lar man." Uncle Eb exclaimed
thoughtfully, but any one tibet picks
him up fer q fool II fnd him q counter.
felt"
Young as I was. the rugged, slemen.
tai power Of the old poet had somehow
got to my heart and stirred my imag.
nation. 1t all came not fully to my
understanding until later. Little by
little It grew upon me, and what an ef-
feet 1t had upon my thought and life
ever after I should not dare to esti-
mate. And soon I sought out the poet
Of the hills" as they called him. and
got to know and ever to respect him
in spite Of his ~unlovely aspect.
Uncle Eb skinned the boiling sap.
put nor wood on the fire and came
and pulled of his boo and lay down
beside me under the robe. And, hear.
Ing the boil Of the sap and the crackle
Of the burning logs in the arch, I soon
went asleep.
remember feeling Uncle Eds hand
upon my check and how I rose and
stared about me in the fading shadows
Of a dream as he shook me gently.
wake mp, my boy" said he. Come,
we mus put fer home"
The fire was out. The old man held
a lantern as he stood before me. the
blaze Pickering. There was a fear
some darkness all around.
Come, Willie, make haste" he whis-
| narnd Qa I pthbo1 n r,.n sY,,A 49,
yer boots, an here's yer little coat a n
muller"
There was a mighty roar In the for
est and icy puffs of snow came whis-
Ting In upon us. We stored the robes
and pals AMI buckets and covered the
big kettle.
The lofty tree tops recled and creaked
above us, and n deep. sonorous 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 haste! Make haste! It's resky
here" said Uncle Eb. and he held my
hand and ran. We started through the
brush and stecred as straight as we
could for the clearing. The little box
of light he carried was 1901 sheathed
In snow, and I remember how he
stopped, half out Of breath, often and
brushed 1t 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 .rcment
later we stood in utter darkness.
knew for the first time then that we
were in a bad fix.
II guess God II take care Of US, Will
lie" said Uncle Eb. "If he don't we'll
never get there in this world-never!"
1t was a black and icy wall Of night
and storm on every side of us. l never
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. My hands and feet
were numb with aching as the roar Of
the trees grew fainter In the open. I
remember how l Jagged and how the
old man urged me On and how we toiled
in the wind and darkness, strain!ng
our eyes for some familiar thing. OF
a sudden we stumbled upon a wall that
we had passed an hour or so before.
"Oh" he groaned, and made that
funny, d%eprecating cluck with his
tongue that l have heard so much from
Yankee lips.
God O. mercy" said he. we've gone
round in a half circle! Now we'll take
the wall an mebbe it'll bring us home"
I thought l couldn't keep my feet any
longer. for an irresistible drowsiness
had come owe 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; we
mustn't Sleep"
Then he boxed my ears until I cried
and picked me up and ran with me
along the side Of the wall. l was but
dimly conscious when he dropped me
under q tree whose bare twigs dashed
the Dir and stung my cheeks. / heard
him tearing the branches savagely and
muttering. Thanks to God, it's the
blue beech" l shall never forget how
be turned and held to my hand and
put the whip On me as I lay in the
snow. and how the sting Of 1t started
my blood. Up l sprang in q 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 chung to my coat tails, and every
step l felt the singing grab Of the
beech. There is a little seam acros,
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 1t 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. l remember. David
was up and dressed to come after us.
and I recall how he took Uncle Eb in
his arms when he fel< fainting on tho
doorstep and carried hen to the lounge. |
! saw the blood on my face as l passed
the mirror, and Elizabeth Brewer came
running and gave me IL glance and
rushed out Of doors with the dipper. 1t
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 in a moment and
helped at the etripDinp of DIR feet md