Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1907-08-30

Hats flats
! her youth and most Of her energy in
searching, and here she is now, forty
years old and looking fifty. with her
/ fortune as safely hidden as ever and
herself as poor as anybody could be
outside the town farm.
! For Theodore Rodrord widely and,
] am panied To add. somewhat I'M
= favorably Known rs that Terry Rod
| ford'-the old oil house down on War
/ ble's wharf had wonderful attrac-
tion. He had peeped through the
/ chinks in the boards time and again.
and what lie had seen inside had made
/ him wildly eager to explore ii thor
oughly, for strewn about the floor
Were old harponns and piles of de-
! lightful ropes and big and little blocks
and oars. He was almost certain that
he could make out among the shad-
GWs under the stairway leading to the
fail loft that was over the storehouse
Il little brass cannon partly covered
with a bit of old sail.
Thinking Of that cannon and of what
he could do with it if he only could
get hold of it sometimes kept him
awake all night He even had tried on
several occasions TO make friends with
Miss Ruth. TO the end that he might
gain permission to invest gate this
delectable place. Once, when he dis
covered the Barkums' pigs in Miss
Ruth'S garden ana drove them out he
fore any great harm had been done,
he almoS had succeeded
To Miss Ruth in her poverty the loss
of her garden stuff would have been a
very serious matter. She was truly
grateful to Teddy for saving it and
told him so with some warmth
Being thus encouraged, he was EN-
bOldened to ask her If she wouldn't
some time or another let him take
look around in her oil house. And Miss
Ruth, still mellowed hy her gratitude,
said almost kindly that maybe some
time or other she would
Nye's wharf down on the point was
where the boys usually went in swim
ming. Marbles wharf was nearer, but
because of the bar the swimming was
not very good there, even AT high wa
ter. But it happened one hot June day
that Teddy felt too lazy to walk all the
way down to the point. SO he thought
he would just step down to Marbles
wharf and get cooled off little
Although 1t was low water and the
bar was bare there was cool looking
pool just in front of and shaded by the
old oil house. and into this pool he set
tied down very comfortably. While he
was sitting on the sandy bottom in this
pleasant place. with only his head out
of water he made Il very exciting and
delightful discovery.
1t was dead low tide. and the stone
foundation wall OF the oil house was
bare clear down to the tops of the piles
on which ii rested. The sliding door
was out of water entirely. To his JOY
Teddy perceived that so large part of
ed away, probably by a bang from the
nose of some badly steered boat in a
long past time. that a boy twice as big
as he was could wriggle through the
hole.
He gave look up and down the riv-
er to see if anybody in a boat was in
sight, and then. having assured himself
that the coast was clear, he slipped
out of the water and across the bit of
bare sand and through the hole,
He found himself in something like
little open dock in the floor of the oil
house evidently a place where in for
mer times a boat had been kept Steps,
black rotten with age. led to the level
of the floor. Up these slippery steps
Teddy went gingerly. His first object
of investigation was the shadowy place
under the stairway. He found that he
had been right. 1t was a cannon, lit
tie six FOUNDER, such as whalers used
to carry to fire signals with, and it was
regular little beauty.
He did not stop to examine the other
about him. With these, thanks to his
frequent peepings through the cracks,
he already was tolerably familiar The
sail loft was an undiscovered country
that he longed to explore, so up the
stairway that led to it he went two
steps at time The loft was far light
er than the room below, for the sun
beams came through the cracks in the
walls. 1t was great bare place, with
some old sails piled up In one corner,
some sail making gear still lying on
little bench and some chalk marks still
on the floor that doubtless showed the
exact cut of the Harmony Homes last
suit of sails.
There was something a little awe
some in finding all these things just as
Captain Marble, years and years be-
fore, had left them, but unpleasant
thoughts of this nature were driven
quickly and completely out Of Teddy's
head as he caught sight Of delightful