Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-06-16
"The nearest town"
DO you mean Slocum?"
Eyes, anything"

The nearest town"
do you mean Slocum?s
Eyes, anything
well, you strike the Slccum nike
about three miles over yander, and
thatH fetch you to Slocum. It's about
! 1S mile
How far is it back to the Hotch.
| kiss woods?"
He turned square round in his seat,
| threw one leg over the other, and re-
garded us with new interest.
Be you the man that's livin' in the
Hotchkiss woods?"
| felt instinctively that the whole
| county had heard of me. 'T be-" I
said. I've lost my way. I'll give you
dollar to haul us back Maybe you
could tell US where we could get
lunch"
That struck him as funny. Lunch
hey? l s'pose you want yer dinner.
wal, It's an hour past dinner time"
The improperly of being hungry
when the dinner hour was past had
never struck me SO forcibly before.
Finally he allowed" that we might
get hunk Of bread and a dish of
milk at the sawmilI. but he wasn't go
Ing any further. So we climbed in,
and he 3olted out of us what little
resignation we had left, and landed US
In a stable yard Of the sawmill, where
there was strong and not unpleas-
ant odor Of hemlock sawdust, and
where we were speedily the objects
OF benevolent suspicion to several per-
sons who eyed US throug the green
blinds
BY this time the old teamster, who
had been wrestling with himself In
the woodshed, had obtained a victory
over his conscience and concluded to
take US back for the dollar. AS the
life was nearly jolted out of US by the
time we reached the edge of the
Hotchkiss woods, we told him we
would walk the rest of the way, and
then Charlie and ! set out to find our
water pail, coming after much
wandering upon little brook winding
down through the valley among
water cress and marsh grasses with a
planissimo gurgle. We took of our
shoes and stockings. and plunged our
dust-covered feet into it's cool pockets.
and then set out to explore it. wading
along its channel
Presently We came to grassy basin
with sloping green banks-a nature
saucer that must at some time have
been trimming, but now was left
green by the little stream that wound
through its center. l initiated the vel
low dog, and threw myself on the
slope, but Charlie went to work
promptly to dam up the outlet. I
watched his futile hydraulics with lazy
interest for few moments, and then
went and helped him with my superior
knowledge. rolled the stones I'D and
piled them, while he stopped the in!
terst1ces with sod. 1t was very Jolly
to see the water put on an air of
timidity, and race around the basin
as II a little frightened and looking
for an escape. 1 tugged at heavy
stones, digging them out of a neigh
boring bank with my fingers and roll
Ing them over with incredible toll
Both of us worked like slaves. There
was something fascinating in the gra-
c1ous conflict of the water. 1t was
like romping with a handsome, hoy
oenlsh girl, who as soon as YOU
caught her eluded you with bursts
OF laughter and little gurgles, to run
on defiantly in new direction. All at
once every interest in the world sus-
pended itself while that basin filed
up. The element was so coy, SO
gently self-willed, and so flashinely
capricious, that the desire to subdue
and tame and possess it stirred some
instructive masculine impulse even in
Charlie. had no time to think about
1t then, but l can see now that wa
were savage Angeles painting a mural
picture.
The little lake rose to us with fairy
response. 1t brimmed the basin, took
on frills and furbelows of ripples
hung out jubilates as 1t leaped over
our embankment. 1t snatched sky
depths from the air, and planted magi-
cal willowy islets with miniature
palms and ferns, and sailed argosies of
leafy galleons round about-one of
them had luxuriant caterpillar curled
0P AA 10 INV linz q VOluDIuOUS Cleo
patra. 1t was not until the lengthen-
ing shadows warned us that we set
out for our cabin, and then went to
work without any didacticism or
other nonsense to get our dinner.
had sand under my finger Fails and
scratches on my wrists, but 1 re-
marked to Charlie, POT cheese and
strawberries are awfully good, my
boy" and he, with his mouth full.
made voracious response, lawfully.
amt they?"
About half past eight o'clock he
looked at me with sleepy surprise.
Are you going to bed, too?"
YES" l said, Il think I'm played
out. Goodnight"
Goodnight, papa"
/ changed the memorandum on the
dOcf0r'c letter 70 road. 1Card -, h~zt-