The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1909-06-09
1.-THE nearest town." ..
do you mean Slocum?~
MYaa ANYTHING ~

that'll 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. II be-"
said. 1--WE lost my way. I'll give you
a dollar to haul us back. Maybe you
could tell us where we could get a
lunch" !
That struck him as funny. Lunch
hey? l s'pcse 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 a hunk of bread and a dish OF
milk at the sawmill but he wasn't go.
ing any further. So we climbed in,
and he jolted out of us what little
resignation we had left, and landed us
in 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 honn nyrncf1iro v1yif1, hi To-,
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 l 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
pianissimo 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 it's 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 it's center. l initiated the yell
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 a few moments, and then
went and helped him with my superior
knowledge. l rolled the stones up and
piled them, while he stopped the in.
terstices with sod. 1t was very jolly
to see the water put on an air of
timidity, and race around the basin
as if little frightened and looking
for an escape. l 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,
cious conflict of the water. It was
like romping with handsome, hoy.
denish girl, who as soon as you
caught her eluded you with bursts
of laughter and little gurgles, to run
off defiantly in a new direction. All at
once every interest in the world sus.
pended itself while that basin filled
up. The element was so coy, so
gently self-willed, and so tlashingly
capricious, that the desire to subdue
and tame and possess it stirred some
instructive masculine impulse even in
Charlie. l had no time to think about
it then, but l can see now that we
were savage Angeles painting mural
picture.
The little lake rose to us with fairy
response 1t brimmed the basin, took
on frills and furbelows of ripples,
flung out jubilates as it 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
up in it's Prov like voluptuous 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. l
had sand under my finger rails and
scratches on my wrists, but l 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?"
EYES," l said, II think I'm played
out. Goodnight"
"Good-night, papa"
l changed the memorandum on the
| doctors letter to read: Send for book
on hydraulics" That's all remember
| of that night.
Having initiated Charlie up to this
noint thare was M pO0d reacon u,hx,