Evening journal., 1905-04-03

and, sitting on that hrm foundation, I
ate my dinner Of salt pork and potatoes
and milk gravy-a diet as grateful as it
was familiar to my taste.
"Orphan, ehY' said the man Of the
house, looking down at me
orphan" Uncle Eb answered, nod
ding his head.
God fearin' folksY
'Best in the world" said Uncle Eb.
"Want T. bind i'm outgr the man
asked -
Couldn't spare i'm" said Uncle -Eb
decisively.
"Whereye goln'?"
Uncle Eb hesitated, cropping for an
answer. l suppose. that would do no
violence 20 our mutual Understanding.
Coin E heaven" ventured to say
presently. an answer that gave rise to
conflicting emotions at the table.
That's right" said Uncle Eb, turn
ing to me and patting my head.
Were on the road T. heaven. hope,
an yen see It some day. sartin sure,
If ye keep in the straight road aud be a
good boy" ..,..
After dinner the good woman took
on my clothes and put me in bed while
she mended them. went asleep then
and did not awake for a long time.
When / got up at last, she brought a
big basin OF water and washed me
with such motherly tenderness in voice
and manner that / have never forgot
ten it, Uncle Eb lay sleeping on the
/ nd sfsnn oh Hrtfu al
dressing me Fred and / went out to
play in the garden. 1t was supper
time I'm a little while and then again
the woman winded the shell and the
men came up from the field We sat
down to eat with them, as we had done
at noon. and Uncle Eb consented to
spend the night after some urging. He
helped them with the milking and as
/ stood beside him shot jet OF the
warm white food into my mouth that
tickled it so l ran away laughing
The milking done, sat on Uncle
Eb's knee in the dooryard with all the
rest Of that household, hearing many
tales Of the wilderness and Of robbery
and murder on Paradise road. / got
the impression that it was a country
Of uneXampled wickedness and ferocity
In men and animals. One man told
about the ghost Of Burnt brldge-how
the bridge had burnt one afternoon
and how certain traveller in the dark
Of the night driving down the hill
above il, fell to his death al the brink
Of the culvcrt.
An every night since then" said
the man very positively, I'VE can hear
him drivin' down thet hill ies' as plain
as ye can hear me talkin'-the rattle o.
the wheels an all IL stops sudden,
an then We can hear i'm hit the rocks
way down there at the bottom o. the
gulley an groan an groan. An folks
say it's curse on the town for leavin
thet hole open"
"Whats a ghost, Uncle Ebg' I whis-
pered.
"Sumthin' like a swift" he answer
cd, "but not so powerful. We heard a
panther las night" he added, turning
20 our host. "Hollered like sin when
he see the FIRE"
E "Scairtr said the man o. the house,
. gaping. "Thats what allied him. I've
. lived twenty year on Paradise road, an
II was all woods when ! put up the
cabin. Seen deer on the doorstep an
bears in the garden, an apanthers. in the
] fields. But tell We there's no critter so
: terrible as a man. All the animals
. Know 'im--Eow he roars an spits fire
an smoke an lead so it goes through a
body er bites OF a leg mebbe Guess
they'd made friends with me, but them
1 didn't kill went away smartin' with
I holes in 'em. An ] guess they told all
their people bout mer-the- terrible crit
{; ter that walked on its hind legs an het
a.EVI.cp race an drew upsa AM spit 4,
! teeth ipto their vitals cross .aoteneaer,
lot An. purity soon they concluded
I they didn't want & hev no truck witt
, me. They thought this clearin' was thl
valley O. death, an they got very care
+ full. But the deer they KEEP peelSip' il
at me. Sumthin funny bout a deer
: they're so GURUS. SEEMS though tbe1
: loved the look o. me an the taste o. tn,
tame grass. AIebbe God meant EN- I
Z serve in tho yoke some way an be th,
Z friend O man. They're the outcasfs O
the forest the prey O the other ami
mails, an men like 'em only when theyrl
Z dead. An they're the puruest critic
= alive an the spriest an the mos grace
4 full" sre
Al a''Afen are the mos terrible Of all crit